Anthony Chapman is a British

drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drums. Most contemporary western bands that play rock, pop, jazz, or R&B music include a drummer for purposes including timekeeping and embellishing the musical timbre. The drummer's ...

and songwriter who was especially active during the 1960s. He gained valuable drumming experience as part of the Cliftons in 1960, then jammed with an early line-up of

the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically dr ...

before they settled on their permanent band members. He appeared with the band in 1962, including a performance at Sidcup Art College, Bexley, which

Keith Richards Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943), often referred to during the 1960s and 1970s as "Keith Richard", is an English musician and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the co-founder, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-princi ...

had attended, and was reputedly the drummer at the first official performance of the group, on 12 July 1962 at the

Marquee Club The Marquee Club was a music venue first located at 165 Oxford Street in London, when it opened in 1958 with a range of jazz and skiffle acts. Its most famous period was from 1964 to 1988 at 90 Wardour Street in Soho, and it finally closed ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

yet Chapman himself, later cast doubt that he had appeared at the Marquee. Chapman was the person through whom

Bill Wyman William George Wyman (né Perks; born 24 October 1936) is an English musician who achieved international fame as the bassist for the Rolling Stones from 1962 until 1993. In 1989, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member ...

was enlisted to the Stones, having been in Wyman's band The Cliftons. It was Chapman who made inquiries about vacancies with the Stones and discovered they might be found at the Wetherby Arms on the King's Road, Chelsea. He and Wyman turned up for a run-through and although they had doubts about the blues style and did not like the name, agreed to join. Another drummer, Steve Harris, also sat in for some sessions –

Charlie Watts Charles Robert Watts (2 June 1941 – 24 August 2021) was an English musician who achieved international fame as the drummer of the Rolling Stones from 1963 until his death in 2021. Originally trained as a graphic artist, Watts developed an i ...

was still with

Alexis Korner Alexis Andrew Nicholas Koerner (19 April 1928 – 1 January 1984), known professionally as Alexis Korner, was a British blues musician and radio broadcaster, who has sometimes been referred to as "a founding father of British blues". A major in ...

. Chapman felt that he did not fit in with the way-out approach, of the group for the time and left to play drums for the Alphabeats before leaving to form a band called The Preachers. Wyman remained to join the Rolling Stones, when Watts took over as their permanent drummer. Chapman's group, the Preachers had a less wild approach and he wrote one side of their only single "Too Old In The Head" the flip side of "Hole In The Soul." The Preachers was one of the first bands that 14 year old

Peter Frampton Peter Kenneth Frampton (born 22 April 1950) is an English musician and songwriter who was a member of the rock bands Humble Pie and the Herd. As a solo artist, he has released several albums, including his major breakthrough album, the live ...

appeared in and was being produced and managed by Bill Wyman. Chapman was responsible for the first meeting between Wyman and Frampton in 1964. The Preachers disbanded for a time following a fatal van crash on the 4 June 1964, Chapman temporarily lost his memory and had no recollection of the collision, when the vehicle left the road and hit a telegraph pole. Chapman (joined Peter Frampton) and tried out for the drums in The Herd but he was eased out as a member in 1965, when they recruited Andrew Steele,

Andy Bown Andrew Steven Bown (born 27 March 1946) is an English musician, who has specialised in keyboards and bass guitar. He is a member of the rock band Status Quo. Career Bown's first major band was The Herd, along with Peter Frampton. After The H ...

(later of

Status Quo is a Latin phrase meaning the existing state of affairs, particularly with regard to social, political, religious or military issues. In the sociological sense, the ''status quo'' refers to the current state of social structure and/or values. ...

) and others. Chapman reformed the Preachers in June 1965, with Peter Frampton, Pete Astwood, Ken Leaton and Peter Gosling, releasing a single on Columbia soon after (1965) produced by Bill Wyman, Chapman wrote the B side, ''Too Old In The Head.'' They opened for the Rolling Stones on ITV's

Ready Steady Go! ''Ready Steady Go!'' (or ''RSG!'') was a British rock/pop music television programme broadcast every Friday evening from 9 August 1963 until 23 December 1966. It was conceived by Elkan Allan, head of Rediffusion TV. Allan wanted a light ente ...

on 2 September 1965 and regularly performed on the circuit, until a year later when they split up. Chapman stepped away from the music business and moved to Palm Springs, Florida in the United States soon after. He built up a

Fine Art In European academic traditions, fine art is developed primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from decorative art or applied art, which also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwor ...

business, which he sold in 2011, when he retired, he moved to

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of th ...

to play

Golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

References

British male drummers British rhythm and blues boom musicians Possibly living people The Rolling Stones members The Herd (British band) members Year of birth missing {{England-musician-stub