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Rob Harper | |
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| Born | 28 November 1955 |
| Origin | London, England |
| Genres | Rock, punk rock, reggae, rock and roll |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instrument(s) | Guitar, bass guitar, drums |
| Years active | 1976–present |
Rob Harper is an English musician, noted for being an early drummer for The Clash from December 1976 until January 1977.
Harper started out playing guitar in a college band and when the singer invited a guitarist called Mark Knopfler to join, Harper switched to the bass so that Knopfler could join on guitar. It was Knopfler's suggestion to name the band The Cafe Racers. After college, Harper went to Sussex University and at that time he was invited by Knopfler to play bass in the band that was to become Dire Straits. Harper declined his offer as he was concentrating on his studies at University.
During his year at Sussex University (he dropped out in mid 1976), he played in a band called The Rockettes, [1] (as a lead guitarist) with William Broad (later to become Billy Idol) (vocals, rhythm guitar), Phil Siviter (drums) and Steve Upstone (bass). [2]
In December 1976, Harper joined The Clash on the December 1976 "Anarchy Tour" supporting the Sex Pistols.
After the tour, Harper quit and the band replaced him with their original drummer, Terry Chimes, who was the drummer on the Clash's first album. Harper's drumming does not appear on any studio recordings, but can be heard on the 9 December 1976 bootleg recording of the Clash playing at the Electric Circus in Manchester.
Harper was for a time the guitarist in a South London R&B band called The Marauders, a band set up by UK Subs singer Charlie Harper. When The Marauders became the UK Subs in 1977 Harper switched to drums, alongside bassist Steve Slack. The pair left the UK Subs later in the year to form The Dazzlers.
Harper later formed a short-lived UK power pop band called The Dazzlers as a guitarist (he was equally proficient on guitar and bass in addition to drums). They released several singles (including "Lovely Crash" in 1979) and an LP produced by Tommy Ramone, although the band split up shortly before the album was released.
The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the post-punk and new wave movements that emerged in the wake of punk and employed elements of a variety of genres including reggae, dub, funk, ska, and rockabilly. For most of their recording career, the Clash consisted of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Joe Strummer, lead guitarist and vocalist Mick Jones, bassist Paul Simonon, and drummer Nicky "Topper" Headon.
Dire Straits were a British rock band formed in London in 1977 by Mark Knopfler, David Knopfler, John Illsley and Pick Withers. They were active from 1977 to 1988 and again from 1990 to 1995.
Mark Freuder Knopfler is a British singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. Born in Scotland and raised in England, he was the lead guitarist, singer and songwriter of the rock band Dire Straits. He pursued a solo career after the band first dissolved in 1988. Dire Straits reunited in 1990, but dissolved again in 1995. He is now an independent solo artist.
Mallard was the name of an American band featuring ex-members of Captain Beefheart's Magic Band.
Terence Chimes is an English musician, best known as the original drummer of punk rock group The Clash. He played with them from July 1976 to November 1976, January 1977 to April 1977, and again from May 1982 to February 1983 both preceding and succeeding his replacement Topper Headon. He later drummed for Hanoi Rocks in 1985, before the band broke up that same year. He briefly toured with Black Sabbath from July 1987 through December 1987, and in a one-off gig in May 1988. He also appeared as their drummer in Black Sabbath's music video for their single "The Shining" from their 1987 album The Eternal Idol.
The Heartbreakers, sometimes referred to as Johnny Thunders' Heartbreakers, were an American punk rock band formed in New York City in 1975. The band spearheaded the first wave of punk rock.
Pure Prairie League is an American country rock band whose origins go back to 1965 and Waverly, Ohio, with singer and guitarist Craig Fuller, drummer Tom McGrail, guitarist and drummer Jim Caughlan and steel guitarist John David Call. Fuller started the band in 1970 and McGrail named it after a fictional 19th century temperance union featured in the 1939 Errol Flynn cowboy film Dodge City. In 1975 the band scored its biggest hit with the single "Amie", a track that originally appeared on their 1972 album Bustin' Out. Pure Prairie League scored five consecutive Top 40 LPs in the 1970s and added a sixth in the 1980s. They disbanded in 1988 but regrouped in 1998 and continue to perform as of 2021. The line-up has been fluid over the years, with no one member having served over the band's entire history. The band's most recent line-up consists of Call, drummer Scott Thompson, keyboardist Randy Harper, guitarist Jeff Zona and bassist Jared Camic. Among the other notable past musicians to have played with Pure Prairie League include guitarists Vince Gill, Gary Burr and Curtis Wright.
Mungo Jerry are a British rock band who experienced their greatest success in the early 1970s, with a changing line-up that has always been fronted by Ray Dorset. The group's name was inspired by the poem "Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer", from T. S. Eliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats. The group's biggest hit was "In the Summertime". They had nine charting singles in the UK, including two number ones, five top 20 hits in South Africa, and four in the Top 100 in Canada.
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 U.S. No. 1 "Telstar", the first U.S. No. 1 single by a British group. Today Dave Watts has his own version.
Nicholas Bowen "Topper" Headon is an English drummer, best known as the drummer of punk rock band the Clash. Known for his instrumental contributions to the drumming world, Headon was inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the rest of The Clash in 2003.
Outlaws are an American southern rock band from Tampa, Florida. They are best known for their 1975 hit "There Goes Another Love Song" and extended guitar jam "Green Grass and High Tides" from their 1975 debut album, plus their 1980 cover of the Stan Jones classic "(Ghost) Riders in the Sky".
Blackfoot is an American Southern rock band from Jacksonville, Florida, formed in 1969. Though they primarily play with a Southern rock style, they are also known as a hard rock act. The band's classic lineup consisted of guitarist and vocalist Rickey Medlocke, guitarist Charlie Hargrett, bassist Greg T. Walker, and drummer Jackson Spires.
Gerard "Jerry" Nolan was an American rock drummer, best known for his work with the New York Dolls and The Heartbreakers.
Anthony Eric James is an English pop musician and producer, who was the bassist for the 1970s–1980s bands Generation X, Sigue Sigue Sputnik and The Sisters of Mercy.
U.K. Subs are an English punk rock band, among the earliest in the first wave of British punk. Formed in 1976, the mainstay of the band has been vocalist Charlie Harper, originally a singer in Britain's R&B scene. They were also one of the first hardcore punk bands.
John Edward Illsley is an English musician, best known as bass guitarist of the rock band Dire Straits. With it, he has received multiple BRIT and Grammy Awards, and a Heritage Award.
Adam Bomb is an American guitarist who has worked with artists like TKO, Black 'N Blue, Steel Pulse, John Paul Jones, and Michael Monroe. His stage name is a play on the name Atom Bomb.
Charlie Harper is a British singer and songwriter, best known as the lead singer of the punk band UK Subs. Harper is reportedly a nephew of actor Cesar Romero.
Nick Sheppard is a Bristol-born guitarist. He played lead guitar for The Clash from 1983 until the band's breakup in 1986.
William Michael Albert Broad, known professionally as Billy Idol, is a British-American singer and songwriter. He first achieved fame in the 1970s emerging from the London punk rock scene as the lead singer of the group Generation X. Subsequently, he embarked on a solo career which led to international recognition and made Idol a lead artist during the MTV-driven "Second British Invasion" in the United States. The name "Billy Idol" was inspired by a schoolteacher's description of him as "idle".
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