Brian Bennett
Brian Laurence Bennett, OBE (born 9 February 1940) is an English drummer, pianist, composer and producer of popular music. He is best known as the drummer of the UK rock and roll group the Shadows. He is the father of musician and Shadows band member Warren Bennett.
Bennett was born in Palmers Green, North London, England. Educated at Hazlewood Lane School, Palmers Green, London and Winchmore Council 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 performer 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.
In October 1961 he joined Cliff Richard and the Shadows as the replacement for Tony Meehan. The Shadows were known for their instrumental songs, mainly; Apache (1960), F.B.I. (1961), Wonderful Land (1962), and Foot Tapper (1963), among many others. The band split up briefly between 1968 and 1973, but was reformed by Marvin, Welch and Bennett.
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 Reykjavík, 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 anesthetic. He managed to play for the whole show using an altered playing style.
In addition to his work with the Shadows he has also appeared in Cliff Richard's backing band and plays piano and occasionally vibraphone.
In 1967, Bennett released a solo album of jazz music, entitled Change of Direction, in mono and stereo (neither charted). This was the first solo album by a member of the Shadows. In the 1970s, music by Bennett was selected for several Radley Metzger films, including Barbara Broadcast and The Opening of Misty Beethoven. ...
Source: Article "Brian Bennett" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.
Known For | Acting |
---|---|
Most Rating | 2.1 |
Birthday | 1940-02-09 |
Place of Birth | Palmers Green, North London, England, UK |
Also Known As | The Shadows, |
2004
The Shadows - The Final Tour
7.3/3
The Shadows long and influential career has spanned 6 decades, with hit singles or albums in every one of them. Hank Marvin's guitar playing has been...
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The Shadows - The Final Tour
1966
Finders Keepers
5.5/2
Cliff Richard and the Shadows arrive in a small Spanish town for a concert when a U.S. plane accidentally drops a mini-bomb on it. The Shadows look fo...
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Finders Keepers
2005
The Shadows - Live in Liverpool
0/0
The legendary Shadows perform live in Liverpool featuring all of their classic hits such as Apache, Wonderful Land, Dance On and FBI. All remastered a...
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The Shadows - Live in Liverpool
1964
Wonderful Life
5.4/5
Cliff Richard and The Shadows are hired to star in a movie shot amid the lush tropical scenery of the Canary Islands. A sunny seaside spectacular, fil...
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Wonderful Life
2000
The Shadows: Live
0/0
The kings of twang perform live at the Birmingham NEC in 1986, stepping out of Cliff Richard's shadow to showcase their own back catalogue of hits, in...
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The Shadows: Live
2009
Cliff and the Shadows: The Final Reunion
9.7/3
The Shadows are Britain's most successful (instrumental and vocal) group with at least 69 UK hit singles, 35 as 'The Shadows' and 34 as 'Cliff Richard...
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Cliff and the Shadows: The Final Reunion
1964
Rhythm & Greens
0/0
Short film starring and featuring the music of The Shadows
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