Brian Bennett
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| Brian Bennett | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Brian Laurance Bennett |
| Born | 9 February 1940 |
| Origin | Palmers Green, North London, England |
| Genre(s) | Rock & Roll, Film & TV scores |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, composer, music director |
| Instrument(s) | Drums, piano |
| Years active | 1956–present |
| Associated acts | Marty Wilde's Wildcats, The Shadows, Cliff Richard, Survivors |
| Website | www.brianbennettmusic.co.uk |
Brian Laurance Bennett (born 9 February 1940, in Palmers Green, North London, England) is a drummer, pianist, composer, arranger and record producer of popular music. He is best known as the drummer of the UK rock and roll group, The Shadows.
[edit] Biography
Educated at Hazlewood School, Palmers Green, London and Winchmore Hill School. He finished school at the age of sixteen to play drums in a Ramsgate skiffle group performing for holiday makers. After returning to London he became the in-house drummer at The 2i's Coffee Bar in Soho and was a regular on Jack Good's TV show Oh Boy!
He then became a member of Marty Wilde's Wildcats in 1959. After a successful period with the Wildcats, during which he appeared on their instrumental record without Wilde (recorded as the Krew Kats), "Trambone", he backed Tommy Steele for some of his London stage performances, and then in October 1961 he joined Cliff Richard and The Shadows as the replacement for Tony Meehan.
He stayed with the group throughout all of their subsequent line-ups, and in May 2005 took part in The Shadows' European tour. During a show in Reykjavik, Iceland he sustained what was thought to be a minor injury to a finger. A splinter from a drumstick pierced under his fingernail on his right hand, he removed it with a pair of old pliers and applied a plaster. A few days later after arriving in Paris, France he was in so much pain he called a doctor. The doctor diagnosed a bad infection and recommended Bennett go to hospital immediately. Thinking it would be a short visit he attended only to find out that it would involve a minor, but very painful, operation to remove the poison. He was due to be playing on stage that evening and had already missed the soundcheck. He arrived at the theatre 15 minutes before the show with his right-hand bandaged and still numb from the anaesthetic. He managed to play for the whole show using an altered playing style.[1]
In addition to his work with the Shadows he is also a prolific composer, particularly of soundtrack music for films and television programmes, including The Ruth Rendell Mysteries and Pulaski. He also appeared in Cliff Richard's backing band and plays piano and occasionally vibraphone.
Two of his most famous works were "The Journey" and "Just a Minute", used for the ITV Schools on 4 broadcasts between 1987 and 1993. He has composed many popular TV theme tunes including BBC's "Rugby Special", sitcoms "Robin's Nest" and Birds of a Feather, "New Tricks" and "Murder in Mind". Probably one of his most recognisable themes is the BBC Golf theme ("Chase Side Shoot Up").
He is also an orchestral conductor, having learned how to arrange and conduct music for orchestras from a correspondence course. His son Warren Bennett formerly played keyboards for the band Glass Ties, and is also a composer and producer.
[edit] External links
- Brian Bennett's own web site
- Brian Bennett appreciation web site
- Brian Bennett at the Internet Movie Database
[edit] References
- ^ Diary of a Drummer. Retrieved on 2008-01-30.
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| Jet Harris · Hank Marvin · Tony Meehan · Bruce Welch Brian Bennett · 'Licorice' Locking · John Rostill · Ian Samwell · Terry Smart |
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| Singles (UK) | The Drifters: "Feelin Fine" · "Jet Black" · The Shadows: "Saturday Dance" · "Apache" · "Man of Mystery" · "FBI" · "The Frightened City" · "Kon-Tiki" · "The Savage" · "Wonderful Land" · "Dance On!" · "Guitar Tango" · "Foot Tapper" · "Atlantis" · "Shindig" · "Geronimo" · "Theme for Young Lovers" · "The Rise and Fall of Flingel Bunt" · "Rhythm and Greens" · "Genie With the Light Brown Lamp" · "Mary Anne" · "Stingray" · "Don't Make My Baby Blue" · "The War Lord" · "I Met a Girl" · "A Place in the Sun" · "The Dreams I Dream" · "Bombay Duck" · "Somewhere" · "Running out of World" · "Dear Old Mrs. Bell" · "Slaughter on Tenth Avenue" · "Turn Around and Touch Me" · "Let Me Be the One" · "Run Billy Run" · "It'll Be Me Babe" · "Another Night" · "Love Deluxe" · "Don't Cry for Me, Argentina" · "Theme from the Deer Hunter (Cavatina)" · "Rodrigos Guitar Concerto" · "Riders in the Sky" · "Heart of Glass" · "Equinox (Part V)" · "Mozart Forte" · "The Third Man" · "Telstar" · "Imagine/Woman" · "Treat Me Nice" |
| Production | Norrie Paramor · Peter Vince · Warren Bennett · Abbey Road Studios |
| Related articles | Cliff Richard |
