Mad, Bad and Dangerous: The Book of Drummers' Tales (Paperback)
From the story of the drummer who had to fly separately from the rest of Oasis because they thought he was bad luck, to the drummer who drummed his way out of prison
Never have so many famous drummers been gathered together in one place—this is the ultimate collection of stories about legendary drummers, and they are guaranteed to be stories fans have not heard before. Drummer and writer Spike Webb has spent more than three years meeting fellow drummers in bars, clubs, and cafes, shooting the breeze for a couple of hours, and extracting anecdote after anecdote for posterity. This is truly a labor of love—and somebody had to do it. The stories here are about drummers like Nick Mason of Pink Floyd, Don Powell of Slade, Adam Facek of Babyshambles, Steve White who worked with Paul Weller, Topper Headon of the Clash, Woody of Madness, and world-class session players like Toto drummer Simon Phillips. Sometimes hilarious, sometimes poignant, but always entertaining, this is the ultimate insight into what it really means to be a drummer, and an explanation, at last, for what really makes someone do a 20 minute solo.
Spike Webb has been a drummer for more than four decades, most notably with Sid Sideboard and the Chairs in the late 1970s. He was also a copywriter in advertising for 25 years, working for top agencies such as J Walter Thompson, Proximity London, and Saatchi & Saatchi.