Anthony “Tony” McCarroll was one of the founding members of English rock group Oasis, as their drummer from 1991 to May 1995.

Born in Levenshulme, Manchester, England, McCarroll joined pre-Oasis incarnation The Rain in 1990, replacing their drum machine, and linking up with rhythm guitarist Paul Arthurs, bassist Paul McGuigan and singer Chris Hutton. Hutton was later sacked, and replaced by Liam Gallagher. Liam’s brother Noel soon joined with a bag full of songs that were to make Oasis famous.

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Larry Mullen Jr. was born 31st of October 1961 in Artane, Dublin, Ireland and is best known as the drummer for the Irish rock outfit known as U2.

Raised in Artane, a suburb of Dublin City located on the north side of the city, Larry was the only son of three children fo Larry Mullen Snr. and Maureen Mullen who was killed in a car accident in 1978.
As a child, Larry’s parents decided it would be a good idea for their only son to take up a musical instrument and thus began his first foray into music which began with pain lessons, however it did not take very long for Larry to realise he preferred being behind a drum kit than a piano. So, at the age of 9, Larry received his first drum kit.

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Modern Drummer have come up with 25 of the most Legendary Talents who Changed Drumming as we know it. In a special collector’s edition publication, Modern Drummer magazine spotlights some of the all-time greats of drumming, from yesteryear right up to today. Jazz giants, rock legends, studio greats-they’re all here, like you’ve never seen them before. As well as biographical info, classic photos, style & analysis sections, tips, quotes, and even lessons from the artists themselves are included!

Drummers profiled include:

Buddy Rich (A Big Band Legend)
Gene Krupa (Drumming’s First Star)
Steve Gadd (The Recording Giant)
Tony Williams (Miles Davis)
Neil Peart (Rush)

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Steve Hewitt the drummer for Placebo was born 22nd of March 1971 in Northwich, Manchester, United Kingdom which incidentally is also home to Tim Burgess of The Charlatans. Who Steve actually played with for a period with the band Electric Crayons. At the age of 17 after seeing an advert for ‘Genius duo’ who required a drummer for a German tour, he duly joined the ranks of Breed and touring Germany with them. As well as stints with the Boo Radleys, Steve was also playing simultaneously with early 90’s dance outfit K-Klass, who had scored five top 40 hits from 1991 to 1994. As time progressed, Steve found himself becoming more and more involved with session work doing music for car adverts amongst other things. Following a dismal and somewhat disastrous gig at the Bull and Gate, Breed decided to part ways and call it a day on the band.

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Where does one start with Steve Gadd?The man is modern day legend for all drummers, aspiring or professional. His body of work is phenomenal with a tally of over 600 albums to his name. A tireless drummer, teacher and entertainer the same Steve Gadd is synonymous with Drumming. Having worked with such names as Steely Dan, Joe Cocker, Chick Corea, Paul Simon, Eric Clapton and James Taylor its easy to see why Steve Gadd has become recognised as one of most well known session drummer around.

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Alan John Wren born on 10 April 1964, in Manchester, England better known as Reni, was the drummer of the ever influential rock band The Stone Roses from 1984 to 1995.

Reni is considered by many to be one of the best drummers of his generation, and quite possibly the “single most important drummer in UK indie circles” according to Rhythm magazine in 2004, he is also credited as being a “genius drummer” on John Squire’s official Web site, and according to former Hacienda General Manager Howard Jones he, “played the drums like Hendrix played the guitar.” His laid-back style of off-beat rhythms was influential in bringing about the blend of indie and dance music that formed much of the Manchester or Madchester (as it would become known) sound of the day.

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Rick Buckler born Paul Richard Buckler, 6 December 1955, in Woking, Surrey, England, was the drummer and one of the founding members of The Jam, the English rock band that enjoyed considerable success in the UK from 1977 until their premature demise in 1982. Although spearheaded by Paul Weller, the rhythm section of Buckler on drums and Bruce Foxton on bass guitar were an integral part of the Jam’s sound and success. The Jam split at the behest of Weller.

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Joey Castillo was born March 30, 1966, in Gardena, CA. He is best known as the powerhouse drummer currently playing in Queens of the Stone Age. Castillo joined the band in 2002 after the departure of Dave Grohl who played and toured with Queens while his Foo Fighter’s album at the time was on hiatus.

A native of southern California, Castillo began playing drums at age fifteen, influenced by everyone from Al Green to Zeppelin to Black Flag. Prior to Queens of the Stoneage, Joey completed an eight-year tenure with Danzig, preceded by gigs with Wasted Youth, Sugartooth, and the Mark Lanegan Band.

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In honour of Roger Taylor’s 58th birthday, what better way to celebrate the man himself than with a look back on the fantastic career of the drummer of Queen and stadium rocker himself!

Since first teaming up with Brian May, and later Freddie Mercury, in the late 60s, Roger Taylor has become one of rock’s most successful musicians, combining his role as the world-renowned drummer/singer for Queen with that of accomplished singer and songwriter in his own right. Born in Kings Lynn, Norfolk, on July 26th 1949, Roger became fascinated with music in the early 50s, when his family moved to Cornwall. He learned his first instrument, the ukulele, at a tender age, and enjoyed a brief taste of things to come in a pre-teen skiffle band whose collective talent survived just two public performances.

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“I play the drums,” says John Densmore, with tangible pride.

He may be be laboring the obvious, considering that, as the rhythmic engine of The Doors, he’s responsible for some of the most famous beats in rock history. But Densmore still bristles at what he calls the “dumb drummer” stereotype.

“The drum was the first fucking instrument,” he declares. “The reason people move and dance is that they’re trying to get back to that heartbeat. It’s the heartbeat you hear in the womb that started the whole deal. An orchestra, a four-piece rock band, whatever it is, they’re trying to get back to that heartbeat.”

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2007 will mark the 40th anniversary of the beginning of legendary drummer, Carmine Appice who to this day continues to astound and inspire listeners and indeed drummer alike with the originality of his licks and utter dedicate to the art of music and drumming. Breaking new ground in every facet of his career
as a writer, a teacher and of course a performer. It was clear even from the early days of Vanilla Fudge that Carmine Appice was creating a new standard in rock drumming.

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Taylor Hawkins was born on February 16, 1972 in Fort Worth, Texas. Hawkins is not only a drummer but also an adept musician, best known of as the drummer of the rock band Foo Fighters.
After touring through the spring of 1996, the band entered a Seattle studio with producer Gil Norton to record its second album. Conflict erupted between Dave Grohl and then drummer, William Goldsmith, eventually causing Goldsmith to leave the band. The band regrouped in Los Angeles and almost completely re-recorded the album with Grohl on drums.

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John “Mitch” Mitchell was born on July 9 1947 in Ealing, Middlesex. A drummer, most famous for his involvement with The Jimi Hendrix Experience.

Mitchell was one of the most influential drummers of the late 1960s and early 1970s. In the few years before joining The Experience he was known locally as an outstanding session drummer and had hosted a children’s program on TV. Pre-Experience bands included The Riot Squad and Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames.

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Tre Cool is an alias for Green Day drummer Frank Edwin Wright III who was born December 9, 1972 in Frankfurt, Germany, making him the youngest member of Green Day. He lived in Laytonville, California with his father and his 2 older siblings. His dad, a helicopter pilot in the Vietnam War, decided the move the family there to insulate them upon his return to the United States. Tré’s closest neighbor was future Lookout! Records owner Lawrence Livermore, who at the time was the singer of the punk band The Lookouts. At age 12, Livermore recruited Wright to join The Lookouts, and gave him the moniker of Tré Cool. It was when Green Day’s drummer current drummer at the time Alo Sobrante left the band that they recruited Tré to play drums. Tré decided to drop out of high school his sophomore year. However, he passed an equivalency test and earned his GED, and began taking classes at a nearby community college. He had to drop out of college however, when the demands of Green Day’s touring intensified.

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Bill Bruford grew up with jazz. As an amateur drummer in the 1960s, and after a handful of lessons from Lou Pocock of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, he began his professional career in 1968. He was a guiding light in the so-called British “Art Rock” movement, touring internationally with Yes and King Crimson from 1968-74. There then followed several years spent observing and participating in the music making processes of, among others, Gong, National Health, Genesis and U.K., until Bill felt ready to write and perform his own music with his own band Bruford, recording four albums from 1977-80.

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Phillip Hugh Norman Rudd (born Phillip Hugh Norman Witschke Rudzevecuis, on May 19, 1954 in Melbourne, Australia) is the drummer for Australian rock band AC/DC. He held the position from 1975 until 1983, and again from 1994 to present. After the 1977 departure of bassist Mark Evans, he became the only Australian-born member of the band. He uses SONOR drums, Paiste cymbals, and Aquarian drumheads.

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Dave Abbruzzese was born on May 17, 1968.

Dave grew up in Texas banging on his dad’s tackle boxes in the early days. He dropped out of high school at an early age and began to focus on playing more than ever. Along the way he formed a band with his buddies called Dr. Tongue. In 1991 Dave got a call from drummer friend Matt Chamberlain, whom Dave knew through the Texas music scene, in regards to filling in for him in the band Pearl Jam when he left. Chamberlain had his eyes set on G.E. Smith’s band on Saturday Night Live. Dave left for Seattle to meet and become acquainted with Pearl Jam. Although his musical tastes were far diverse from Pearl Jam, Dave chose to fill the hot seat behind a DW drum kit on August 23, 1991.

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Philip “Phil” James Selway (born May 23, 1967 in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, England) is the drummer of Radiohead. His precise timing and varied drumming helps to give the band its distinct sound. He is a year older than the other members in the band and people think he’s unkind because he’s bald. Of course it’s not true, but that’s why the other members of the band call him Bald Member (~bandmember). He joined Radiohead because their primitive drum computer broke down and they couldn’t afford a new one. Before Radiohead became succesful, Phil studied English and history at Liverpool Polytechnic. He had worked for various touring musicians and worked as an English teacher as well. Phil has a wife, Kate, and three sons: Leo, Jamie, and Patrick (to whom Kid A, Amnesiac, and Hail to the Thief were dedicated, respectively).

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