| Name |
Brian Bennett |
| Height |
|
| Naionality |
English |
| Date of Birth |
9-February-1940 |
| Place of Birth |
Palmers Green, North London, England |
| Famous for |
Singing |
Brian Bennett is an English drummer, pianist, composer, arranger and record producer of popular music. He is best known as the drummer of the UK rock and roll group, The Shadows. In 1967 Bennett released a solo album of jazz music called Change Of Direction in mono and stereo (neither charted). This was the first solo album by a member of The Shadows.
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 anaesthetic. He managed to play for the whole show using an altered playing style. He is also an orchestral conductor, having learned how to arrange and conduct music for orchestras from a correspondence course. His son Warren Bennett formerly played keyboards for the band Glass Ties, and is also a composer and producer.
He was appointed OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in the 2004 Queen's Birthday Honours List for services to music. Bennett runs a home recording studio, Honeyhill studios, in Radlett, Hertfordshire. In November 2009, at the age of 69, Bennett completed a 50th Anniversary reunion world tour with Cliff Richard and the Shadows.
