When Steel Talks (WST) extends belated Happy Birthday greetings to champion Panorama drummer Richard Bailey
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| Richard Bailey |
November 8th
When Steel Talks extends Birthday Greetings to veteran drummer Richard Bailey
He was the winning Panorama drummer for Phase II Pan Groove in 1987 and 1988. Bailey shared his thoughts as follows, with When Steel Talks:“Phase II [Pan Groove] is my home/family. As a kid I lived at 13 Hamilton Street, my family home and the birthplace of the ‘Phase’ - also Selwyn Tarradath, a founding member, is my first cousin.
“My first Panorama was in 1979 (‘79 is mine) after returning to TnT [Trinidad & Tobago] for 4 months. As you know Panorama was cancelled after the first round. I didn’t play again until 1986 (Pan Rising). From then on, I played every year up to the mid-nineties.
“As for my greatest challenge - I don’t recall having one; I was having a ball playing great music by Dr. Len “Boogsie” Sharpe with friends I grew up with from 5 years old. I was totally ‘at home.’
“If I play now it’s more of a challenge as there’s lots of youngsters I don’t know, and Panorama drumming is a demanding job - not for the faint-hearted, with a lot of responsibility on your shoulders - but I love it. Hope that helps, one love.”
Phase II Pan Groove “This Feeling Nice” - Panorama Finals 1987
Related content:
- Leon Foster Thomas - When Steel Talks - Panonthenet
- Leon “Foster” Thomas - Drumming for 2013 Steelband Panorama Champion Phase II Pan Groove
Richard Bailey with Incognito - Always There
Early years
Guyanese-born Richard Bailey started his drumming career in Trinidad at the age of nine, sitting in on percussion, drums and even bass guitar with his elder brother Robert's (Robert Bailey, keyboard -OSIBISA) group, the top band in Trinidad and Tobago at that time. He also accompanied Robert, who played Hammond organ, to perform TV/Live concerts as a duo.
At twelve years old Richard's family moved to London where Richard went to school, sitting in on occasional gigs in his spare time, but while at school Richard also excelled in athletics, becoming Southern England school champ at 100 metres. His father, Emmanuel McDonald Bailey had held the world record for the 100 yards and won an Olympic Bronze for England.
Even so, Richard decided to leave school at fifteen to play drums, leaving behind athletics.
Music Career
At sixteen Richard was recording and touring the UK and USA with Johnny Nash and the great Bob Marley.
By eighteen he had recorded Jeff Beck's biggest selling album “Blow By Blow” (1975, Epic/Sony Japan) to critical acclaim and appeared on the film soundtrack “Tommy” alongside Pete Townsend, Phil Chen and Roger Daltrey.
The next decade saw many recordings and tours varying in style from Rock to Reggae to Jazz to Pop and Latin including two world tours with Billy Ocean and Basia.
Richard occupied the drum seat with the the excellent British acid jazz/rock/soul fusion collective “INCOGNITO” for the past 15 years.
More recently he has been an integral part of Steve Winwood's two important return-to-form recordings, 2003's About Time (Wincraft) and last year's Nine Lives (Columbia).
Richard Bailey’s versatility and unique style has made him a first-call kit-man for over four decades keeping him in high demand.
Guyanese-born Richard Bailey started his drumming career in Trinidad at the age of nine, sitting in on percussion, drums and even bass guitar with his elder brother Robert's (Robert Bailey, keyboard -OSIBISA) group, the top band in Trinidad and Tobago at that time. He also accompanied Robert, who played Hammond organ, to perform TV/Live concerts as a duo.
At twelve years old Richard's family moved to London where Richard went to school, sitting in on occasional gigs in his spare time, but while at school Richard also excelled in athletics, becoming Southern England school champ at 100 metres. His father, Emmanuel McDonald Bailey had held the world record for the 100 yards and won an Olympic Bronze for England.
Even so, Richard decided to leave school at fifteen to play drums, leaving behind athletics.
Music Career
At sixteen Richard was recording and touring the UK and USA with Johnny Nash and the great Bob Marley.
By eighteen he had recorded Jeff Beck's biggest selling album “Blow By Blow” (1975, Epic/Sony Japan) to critical acclaim and appeared on the film soundtrack “Tommy” alongside Pete Townsend, Phil Chen and Roger Daltrey.
The next decade saw many recordings and tours varying in style from Rock to Reggae to Jazz to Pop and Latin including two world tours with Billy Ocean and Basia.
Richard occupied the drum seat with the the excellent British acid jazz/rock/soul fusion collective “INCOGNITO” for the past 15 years.
More recently he has been an integral part of Steve Winwood's two important return-to-form recordings, 2003's About Time (Wincraft) and last year's Nine Lives (Columbia).
Richard Bailey’s versatility and unique style has made him a first-call kit-man for over four decades keeping him in high demand.
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