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.
Wonderful Life
as Brian - The ShadowsCliff Richard and The Shadows are hired to star in a movie shot amid the lush tropical scenery...
Movie pageFinders Keepers
as Brian - The ShadowsCliff Richard and the Shadows arrive in a small Spanish town for a concert when a U.S. plane...
Movie pageThe Shadows: Live
as SelfThe kings of twang perform live at the Birmingham NEC in 1986, stepping out of Cliff Richard's...
Movie pageCliff and the Shadows: The Final Reunion
as Self - drumsThe Shadows are Britain's most successful (instrumental and vocal) group with at least 69 UK hit...
Movie pageThe Shadows - Live in Liverpool
as SelfThe legendary Shadows perform live in Liverpool featuring all of their classic hits such as...
Movie pageRhythm & Greens
as Self - The ShadowsShort film starring and featuring the music of The Shadows
Movie pageThe Shadows - The Final Tour
as Self - drums & percussionThe Shadows long and influential career has spanned 6 decades, with hit singles or albums in...
Movie pageCilla
as SelfA mostly live weekly entertainment show starring Cilla Black and her special guests.
TV Show pageMichael Barrymore's Saturday Night Out
as Self - The ShadowsA BBC variety entertainment summer series, for the first season presented from The Fort Regent...
TV Show pageThe Marti Caine Show
as Self - The ShadowsMarti Caine presents a star studded variety show in which she performs comedy material, sings...
TV Show page