Clem Cattini

Last updated

Clem Cattini
Birth nameClemente Anselmo Agustino Cattini
Born (1937-08-20) 20 August 1937 (age 86)
Stoke Newington, North London, England
Genres
Occupation(s)
Instrument(s)
  • Drums
  • percussion
Years active1958–present
Formerly of

Clemente Anselmo Agustino Cattini (born 20 August 1937)[ citation needed ] is an English rock and roll drummer of the late 1950s and 60s, who was a member of The Tornados before becoming well known for his work as a session musician. He is one of the most prolific drummers in UK recording history, appearing on hundreds of recordings by artists as diverse as Cliff Richard and Lou Reed, and has featured on 42 UK number one singles.

Contents

Biography

Born to Italian parents living in Stoke Newington, North London, Cattini worked in his father's restaurant before deciding to pursue a career in music. He began as a drummer at The 2i's Coffee Bar, backing performers such as Terry Dene, before joining the touring band known as the Beat Boys, backing singers managed by Larry Parnes, [1] including Marty Wilde and Billy Fury. He then joined Johnny Kidd & the Pirates, [1] playing on their hit "Shakin' All Over", and became Joe Meek's in-house drummer, backing artists such as John Leyton and Don Charles, before helping found The Tornados in 1961, and playing on their international No. 1 hit "Telstar". [2]

In 1965 he became a session musician, [3] [4] drumming on tracks by The Kinks, Herman's Hermits, Dusty Springfield, The Merseys, Bee Gees, Lulu, Marianne Faithfull, Tom Jones, P. J. Proby, The Hollies, Paul and Barry Ryan, Gene Pitney, Donovan, Love Affair, Jeff Beck, Engelbert Humperdinck, Nirvana, the Ivy League, Edison Lighthouse, The Yardbirds, The Family Dogg, Marc Bolan, Clodagh Rodgers, Keith West, The Flower Pot Men, Georgie Fame, Roy Harper, Ralph McTell, Harmony Grass, Joe Cocker, Graham Gouldman and Brian Auger. [1] In the 1970s, he played on recordings by Marvin, Welch & Farrar, Lou Reed, Cliff Richard, Justin Hayward, Phil Everly, Julie Covington, Claire Hamill, Alvin Stardust, Bay City Rollers, Kenny, the Wombles, Brotherhood of Man, Carl Douglas, Christie, Tim Rose, Demis Roussos, The Goodies, Stephanie de Sykes, John Betjeman, Malcolm and Alwyn, John Schroeder, Paul McCartney, Hank Marvin, Mike Batt, Chris Spedding, Bob Downes, Dave Kelly, Sweet Dreams, Christopher Neil, Evelyn Thomas, Barbara Pennington, Slapp Happy, Mike Berry and Grace Kennedy, and prog rock bands including Beggars Opera, Amazing Blondel and Edwards Hand. [1]

Cattini has played on at least 42 UK number 1 singles, [5] including "Telstar", Ken Dodd's "Tears", Rolf Harris's "Two Little Boys", Clive Dunn's "Grandad", "Ernie (The Fastest Milkman in the West)" by Benny Hill, "Whispering Grass" by Windsor Davies and Don Estelle, Peters and Lee's "Welcome Home", Typically Tropical's "Barbados", J. J. Barrie's "No Charge", Renée and Renato's "Save Your Love", and "(Is This The Way To) Amarillo" by Tony Christie featuring Peter Kay. He also played in the orchestra for BBC TV's Top of the Pops , and toured with Cliff Richard, Roy Orbison, Lynda Carter, The Kids from "Fame" and many others. He was also considered for Led Zeppelin – he was initially on Jimmy Page's shortlist of drummers when forming the band before they settled on John Bonham. He had earlier played alongside John Paul Jones on Donovan's hit single "Hurdy Gurdy Man". [4]

In the 1980s, he reactivated the Tornados' name for tours [2] [4] and, in 1989, played in the West End run of The Rocky Horror Show . [1] He more recently recorded the drums for the track "No Tears to Cry" from Paul Weller's 2010 album Wake Up the Nation . He was portrayed by James Corden in the 2009 film Telstar , and appeared himself playing John Leyton's chauffeur.

In 2016, he recorded a new version of the 1960s hit "Telstar", with the North London ska band the Skammers. [6]

Clem Cattini's memoirs, My Life, Through the Eye of a Tornado, was published in July 2019. [7]

Related Research Articles

The Tornados were an English instrumental rock group of the 1960s that acted as backing group for many of record producer Joe Meek's productions and also for singer Billy Fury. They enjoyed several chart hits in their own right, including the UK and US no. 1 "Telstar", the first US no. 1 single by a British group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Leyton</span> English singer and actor

John Dudley Leyton is an English actor and singer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Telstar (instrumental)</span> 1962 single by the Tornados

"Telstar" is a 1962 instrumental by the English band the Tornados, written and produced by Joe Meek. It reached number one on the UK Singles Chart and the US Billboard Hot 100 in December 1962. It was the second instrumental single to hit number one in 1962 on both the US and UK weekly charts.

Terence "Jet" Harris was an English rock and roll musician. He was an original member of Cliff Richard's backing band the Shadows, serving as the bass guitarist from the group's inception until April 1962, after which he had success as a soloist and as a duo with that band's drummer Tony Meehan.

<i>The Hurdy Gurdy Man</i> 1968 studio album by Donovan

The Hurdy Gurdy Man is the sixth studio album by Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan. It was released in North America in October 1968 on Epic Records, but not in the UK due to a continuing contractual dispute that also prevented Sunshine Superman (1966) and Mellow Yellow (1967) from being released there. A songbook of lead sheets to the album was nonetheless issued in both countries. In Canada the album reached No. 19.

<i>Donovans Greatest Hits</i> 1969 greatest hits album by Donovan

Donovan's Greatest Hits is the first greatest hits album from Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan. It was released in the United States in January 1969 on Epic Records and in the United Kingdom in March 1969 on Pye Records. Donovan's Greatest Hits peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard 200, and has been certified platinum by the RIAA. In Canada the album reached No. 2.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Shadows</span> English instrumental rock group

The Shadows were an English instrumental rock group, who dominated the British popular music charts in the late 1950s and early 1960s, in the pre-Beatles era. They served as the backing band for Cliff Richard from 1958 to 1968, and have joined him for several reunion tours.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tony Meehan</span> British musician

Daniel Joseph Anthony Meehan was a founder member of the British group the Drifters, with Jet Harris, Hank Marvin and Bruce Welch, which would evolve into the Shadows. He played drums on early Cliff Richard and the Shadows hits and on early Shadows instrumentals.

Johnny Kidd & the Pirates were an English rock band led by singer/songwriter Johnny Kidd. Their musical journey spanned from the late 1950s to the mid-1960s, during which they achieved considerable success with hit songs like "Shakin' All Over" and "Please Don't Touch".

<i>To Whom It May Concern</i> (Bee Gees album) 1972 studio album by the Bee Gees

To Whom It May Concern is the tenth album by the Bee Gees. Released in October 1972, it is the follow-up to, and continues the melancholic and personal sound of its predecessor, Trafalgar. The album was recognised as "a farewell to the old Bee Gees" as the album marked the end of an era for the group in several ways: it was their last album to be recorded solely at IBC Studios, in London, their last with conductor and arranger Bill Shepherd, who had guided them since 1967, and their last under their first contract with Robert Stigwood. Some of the songs were old ones finished or rewritten for the occasion.

Geoffrey Goddard was an English songwriter, singer and instrumentalist. Working for Joe Meek in the early 1960s, he wrote songs for Heinz, Mike Berry, Gerry Temple, The Tornados, Kenny Hollywood, The Outlaws, Freddie Starr, Screaming Lord Sutch, The Ramblers and John Leyton. His song for Leyton, "Johnny Remember Me", reached number 1 in the UK Singles Chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hurdy Gurdy Man</span> 1968 single by Donovan

"Hurdy Gurdy Man" is a song by the Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan. It was recorded in April 1968 and released the following month as a single. The song gave its name to the album The Hurdy Gurdy Man, which was released in October of that year in the United States. The single reached number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S. and number 4 on the UK Singles Chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mo Foster</span> English multi-instrumentalist, record producer and composer (1944–2023)

Michael Ralph "Mo" Foster was an English multi-instrumentalist, record producer, composer, solo artist, author, and public speaker. Through a career spanning over half a century, Foster toured, recorded, and performed with dozens of artists, including Jeff Beck, Gil Evans, Phil Collins, Ringo Starr, Joan Armatrading, Gerry Rafferty, Brian May, Scott Walker, Frida of ABBA, Cliff Richard, George Martin, Van Morrison, Dr John, Hank Marvin, Heaven 17 and the London Symphony Orchestra. He released several albums under his own name, authored a humorous book on the history of British rock guitar, written numerous articles for music publications, continued to compose production music, and established himself as a public speaker. Foster was an assessor for JAMES, an industry organisation that gives accreditation to music colleges throughout the United Kingdom. In 2014, Foster was a recipient of a BASCA Gold Badge Award to honour his lifelong contribution to the British songwriting and composing community.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johnny Remember Me</span> 1961 single by John Leyton

"Johnny Remember Me" is a song which became a 1961 UK Singles Chart #1 hit single for John Leyton, backed by The Outlaws. It was producer Joe Meek's first #1 production. Recounting the haunting – real or imagined – of a young man by his dead lover, the song is one of the most noted of the 'death ditties' that populated the pop charts, on both sides of the Atlantic, in the early to mid-1960s. It is distinguished in particular by its eerie, echoing sound and by the ghostly, foreboding female wails that form its backing vocal, by Lissa Gray. The recording was arranged by Charles Blackwell. Despite the line, "the girl I loved who died a year ago" being changed to the more vague "the girl I loved and lost a year ago", the song was banned by the BBC, along with many other 'death discs', which were popular at the time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Have I the Right?</span> 1964 single by The Honeycombs

"Have I the Right?" was the debut single and biggest hit of British band The Honeycombs. It was composed by Ken Howard and Alan Blaikley, who had made contact with The Honeycombs, a London-based group, then playing under the name of The Sheratons, in the Mildmay Tavern in the Balls Pond Road in Islington, where they played a date. Howard and Blaikley were impressed by the group's lead vocalist, Dennis D'Ell, and the fact that they had a female drummer, Anne (‘Honey’) Lantree. The group were looking for material to play for an audition with record producer Joe Meek, and they played the songs Howard and Blaikley had just given them. Meek decided to record one of them, "Have I the Right?", there and then. Meek himself provided the B-side, "Please Don’t Pretend Again".

Alan Caddy was an English rock guitarist, arranger, record producer and session musician. He was an original member of Johnny Kidd and the Pirates and the Tornados.

<i>Telstar: The Joe Meek Story</i> 2008 British film

Telstar: The Joe Meek Story is a 2008 film adaptation of James Hicks' and Nick Moran's play Telstar, about record producer Joe Meek, which opened at the New Ambassadors Theatre in London's West End in June 2005. The film is directed by Moran and stars Con O'Neill, who also played Joe Meek in the original play, while Kevin Spacey plays Meek's business partner, Major Wilfred Banks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Devil Woman (Cliff Richard song)</span> 1976 single by Cliff Richard

"Devil Woman" is a 1976 single by British singer Cliff Richard from his album I'm Nearly Famous.

<i>Thank You Very Much</i> (album) 1979 live album by Cliff Richard and The Shadows

Thank You Very Much is an album of the March 1978 reunion concerts at the London Palladium by English singer Cliff Richard and the group that backed him in the 1950s and 1960s The Shadows. It was released in February 1979 on the EMI label and reached No. 5 in the UK Albums Chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Time in Between (song)</span> 1965 single by Cliff Richard and the Shadows

"The Time in Between" is a song by Cliff Richard and the Shadows, released as a single in August 1965. It peaked at number 22 on the UK Singles Chart.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Larkin C., Virgin Encyclopedia of Sixties Music, (Muze UK Ltd, 1997), ISBN   0-7535-0149-X, p.101
  2. 1 2 Bruce Eder (28 August 1939). "Clem Cattini | Biography & History". AllMusic . Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  3. ↑ "Clem Cattini – Mapex Drums". Mapex.co.uk. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  4. 1 2 3 "Mike Dolbear DRUMS". Mikedolbear.co.uk. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  5. ↑ "Clem Cattini – Drummer on 43 Number 1 Hit Singles". Coda-uk.co.uk. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  6. ↑ "Celebrated drummer Clem Cattini joins the Skammers to record hit Telstar | Enfield Advertiser & Gazette". Enfield-today.co.uk. 28 February 2016. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  7. ↑ "Clem Cattini: My Life, Through the Eye of a Tornado". Clemcattinibook.com. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.