Rob Harper is an English musician, noted for being an early drummer for

The Clash The Clash were an English rock music, 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 and new wave music, new wave moveme ...

from December 1976 until January 1977.

Biography

Harper started out playing guitar in a college band and when the singer invited a guitarist called

Mark Knopfler Mark Freuder Knopfler (born 12 August 1949) 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 s ...

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 , mottoeng = Be Still and Know , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £14.4 million (2020) , budget = £319.6 million (2019–20) , chancellor = Sanjeev Bhaskar , vice_chancellor = Sasha Roseneil ...

and at that time he was invited by Knopfler to play bass in the band that was to become

Dire Straits Dire Straits were a British rock band formed in London in 1977 by Mark Knopfler (lead vocals and lead guitar), David Knopfler (rhythm guitar and backing vocals), John Illsley (bass guitar and backing vocals) and Pick Withers (drums and pe ...

. 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, (as a lead guitarist) with William Broad (later to become Billy Idol) (vocals, rhythm guitar), Phil Siviter (drums) and Steve Upstone (bass). In December 1976, Harper joined

on the December 1976 "Anarchy Tour" supporting the

Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they were one of the most groundbreaking acts in the history of popular music. They were responsible for ...

. 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 Power pop (also typeset as powerpop) is a form of pop rock based on the early music of bands such as the Who, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Byrds. It typically incorporates melodic hooks, vocal harmonies, an energetic performance, and ...

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 Thomas Erdelyi (born Tamás Erdélyi; January 29, 1949 – July 11, 2014), known professionally as Tommy Ramone, was a Hungarian American record producer and musician. He was the drummer for the influential punk rock band the Ramones for t ...

, although the band split up shortly before the album was released.

Notes

References

* * * * * * 1955 births Alumni of the University of Sussex English punk rock drummers Living people The Clash members {{England-musician-stub