Derek Pellicci

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Derek Pellicci
DerekPellicci.jpg
Background information
Birth nameDerek Allan Pellicci
Born (1953-02-18) 18 February 1953 (age 71)
London, England
Genres Soft rock, pop
Instrument(s)Drums, percussion
Years active1968–1997
LabelsBootleg, EMI, Capitol, MCA,
Formerly of Little River Band, Mississippi

Derek Allan Pellicci (born 18 February 1953) is an English-born Australian drummer. He is best known as a founding member of Little River Band. Pellicci lives in Melbourne with his wife, Anne and a son.

Contents

Early life

In 1960, Pellicci's family, his father Arthur, mother Jessie and older brother John, emigrated to Melbourne, Victoria, Australia as "Ten Pound Poms".

In 1964, his older brother John took the then 11-year-old Pellicci to see The Beatles greet their "sea" of fans from the balcony of Melbourne's Southern Cross Hotel. Pellicci said he was spellbound by the experience and it moulded his career path. Shortly after, John bought him a Trixon drum kit which had been traded in at a local car dealer. With his passion for music now fully determined, Pellicci's school attendance took second billing to his beloved drum practice (which entailed playing along with every pop record he could get his hands on!)

After the family moved to King Island, Tasmania in 1966, Pellicci attended the local high school while John and Arthur took jobs at the King Island Scheelite mine. This rural culture shock was magnified by the fact that Pellicci was passionate about music but had to wait up to a month for the latest pop 45s to be freighted over from mainland Victoria.

Early career

In 1968 Pellicci returned to Melbourne to pursue his music career in earnest, first with the semi-pro band Recital, then his first professional group Plum.

The break-up of Plum led to stints with various groups: Ash (initially under the name Derek Allen), [1] Arthur & The Argonauts, Island, Blackfeather and New Zealand Highway.

Mississippi

In 1972 Pellicci joined a new band, Mississippi (featuring future Little River Band members, Graeham Goble and Beeb Birtles). [2] Mississippi not only served to develop his studio skills, but also was an orientation into the gruelling road tours that lay ahead. This led to more studio experience, both in recordings with Mississippi and session work in radio jingles and recordings with other artists.

In 1974 Mississippi sailed for England (coincidentally on the same ship that had brought Pellicci to Australia, the Fairsky ).

Whilst in the UK, Pellicci was stunned to learn he had been adopted as a baby. In 2003, he learnt that his birth mother, Gladys Sylvia Hadley had died in Jerusalem on 29 May 1990. Pellicci never met either of his biological parents.

Little River Band

In 1975 Mississippi returned to Australia and commenced rehearsals with new lead singer Glenn Shorrock, subsequently changing their name to Little River Band. Three years later, in 1978, two significant events occurred in Pellicci's life. In May he suffered a serious burns accident which hospitalised him for two months. [3] In December of that year, he married his longtime girlfriend, Anne Deacon.

Pellicci played drums on John Farnham's adult contemporary album Uncovered with guitarists Tommy Emmanuel, David Briggs, Barry Sullivan, Mal Logan and Peter Jones in 1980.

In April 1981, Pellicci and the other band members flew out to the Caribbean island of Montserrat to record the album Time Exposure with legendary Beatles producer George Martin. [4]

After the departure of Beeb Birtles from Little River Band, in 1984, Pellicci also quit the band and he and his wife Anne moved to Los Angeles to focus on his songwriting. Cold Chisel's Stephen Prestwich replaced Pellicci. Pellicci played on all 13 of Little River Band's Top 40 US hits.

Pellicci and Anne moved back to Australia for the birth of their son Joel in 1985. Over the next few years Pellicci worked on projects with well-known artists including Colin Hay, Daryl Braithwaite, Stevie Wright, Shirley Strachan, Ross Wilson, Marc Hunter, Stephen Cummings, Joe Camilleri, Renee Geyer, Eddie Rayner and Goanna, amongst others. He also composed lyrics for Japanese pop star, Yōsui Inoue's 'English language' album.

In 1988 Pellicci reunited with Little River Band (Birtles, David Briggs and George McArdle did not participate) for a triumphant show at the opening of the Brisbane World Expo 88 with a special guest, Eagles member Glenn Frey. [5] Little River Band performed with Warren Zevon and Christopher Cross as special guest members and continued to tour internationally for at least three months every year after the Brisbane Expo. At this time he co-wrote three songs for Little River Band's album Monsoon , and in a joint acknowledgement of their emigration experience, co-wrote "I Dream Alone" with Glenn Shorrock for the Get Lucky album.

After the completion of a successful US tour in 1997, Pellicci played his last show with Little River Band in Biloxi, Mississippi and subsequently retired from the music business.

The classic line-up of Goble, Birtles, Pellicci, Shorrock, Briggs and McArdle reunited for a live performance of "Help Is on Its Way" at Little River Band's induction into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 2004. [6]

Further reading

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little River Band</span> Australian rock band

Little River Band (LRB) are a rock band formed in Melbourne, Australia, in March 1975. The band achieved commercial success in both Australia and the United States. They have sold more than 30 million records; six studio albums reached the top 10 on the Australian Kent Music Report albums chart including Diamantina Cocktail and First Under the Wire, which both peaked at No. 2. Nine singles appeared in the top 20 on the related singles chart, with "Help Is on Its Way" (1977) as their only number-one hit. Ten singles reached the top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 with "Reminiscing" their highest, peaking at No. 3.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glenn Shorrock</span> Musical artist

Glenn Barrie Shorrock is an English-born Australian singer-songwriter. He was a founding member of rock bands the Twilights, Axiom, Little River Band and post LRB spin-off trio Birtles Shorrock Goble, as well as being a solo performer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beeb Birtles</span> Musical artist

Beeb Birtles is an Australian musician, singer, songwriter and guitarist. He has been a member of various Australian groups including Zoot (1967–71), Mississippi (1972–74), Little River Band (1975–83) and Birtles Shorrock Goble (2002–07). He has also worked as a solo artist, including releasing an album, Driven by Dreams (2000). In 2004, Birtles and other members of the classic line-up of Little River Band were inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Graeham Goble</span> Musical artist

Graeham George Goble, is an Australian musician, singer-songwriter and record producer, best known as a founding member of Australian rock group Little River Band and Birtles Shorrock Goble.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Birtles Shorrock Goble</span>

Birtles Shorrock Goble are an Australian pop/rock group composed of the three original singers and songwriters of Little River Band, namely Beeb Birtles, Glenn Shorrock and Graeham Goble. The members are known for their extensive writing and performance of hit songs and distinctive vocal harmonies. They are sometimes referred to by the initials BSG.

<i>Monsoon</i> (Little River Band album) 1988 studio album by Little River Band

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<i>Sleeper Catcher</i> 1978 studio album by Little River Band

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<i>Time Exposure</i> (Little River Band album) 1981 studio album by Little River Band

Time Exposure is the sixth studio album by Little River Band (LRB), which was recorded with producer George Martin at Associated Independent Recording (AIR) in Montserrat and released in September 1981. It peaked at No. 9 on the Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart. In the United States, it reached No. 21 on the Billboard 200.

<i>First Under the Wire</i> 1979 studio album by Little River Band

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<i>Uncovered</i> (John Farnham album) 1980 studio album by John Farnham

Uncovered is a solo studio album by British-born Australian singer John Farnham, produced by Little River Band's Graeham Goble, and released on 3 July 1980, which peaked at No. 20 on the Australian Kent Music Report album chart and was certified gold in 1981.

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References

  1. "The Ash". milesago.com. Archived from the original on 25 November 2010. Retrieved 21 March 2010.
  2. "Mississippi". milesago.com. Archived from the original on 15 October 2018. Retrieved 21 March 2010.
  3. Campbell, Mary (13 October 1979). "Little River Band has four writers". The Free Lance-Star. Archived from the original on 12 October 2020. Retrieved 22 February 2010.
  4. "'Little River Band' Has New Producer". Herald-Journal. 11 September 1981. Archived from the original on 12 October 2020. Retrieved 21 March 2010.
  5. Quill, Greg (30 September 1988). "Ex-Eagle soaring into middle age". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on 4 June 2011. Retrieved 21 March 2010.
  6. Sams, Christine (12 September 2004). "ARIAs reunite Little River Band". Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 7 October 2008. Retrieved 21 March 2010.