Ben Hamilton Johnston (born 25 April 1980) is a

drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drums. Most contemporary western music ensemble, bands that play Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, or Contemporary R&B, R&B music include a drummer for purposes including timekeepi ...

vocalist Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singi ...

songwriter A songwriter is a person who creates musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music genre and film scoring. ...

and member of Scottish group

Biffy Clyro Biffy Clyro are a Scottish Rock music, rock band that formed in Kilmarnock, composed of Simon Neil (lead vocals, guitar) and twin brothers James Johnston (Scottish musician), James (bass, backing vocals) and Ben Johnston (Scottish musician), Be ...

Early life

Johnston was born and raised in

Kilmarnock Kilmarnock ( ; ; , ), meaning "the church of Mernóc", is a town and former burgh in East Ayrshire situated in southwest Scotland. The town has served as the administrative centre of East Ayrshire Council since 1996 and is the region's main ...

with his twin brother James Johnston (who would go on to be the

bassist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), keyboard bass (synth bass) or a low br ...

for Biffy Clyro), and his younger brother, Adam (who used to be Biffy Clyro's drum tech).

Career

Having previously played drums with schoolfriend Simon Neil and brother James Johnston in a band called Skrewfish in 1995, Simon moved to

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

whilst Ben and James stayed in Ayrshire. They were soon discovered by manager Dee Bahl and then signed to Beggars Banquet in 2001. Johnston plays

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

when the conceptual rock duo

Marmaduke Duke Marmaduke Duke are a Scottish conceptual rock duo from Ayrshire, Scotland, comprising Simon Neil of Biffy Clyro and JP Reid of Sucioperro. Within the band, the pair perform under the pseudonyms The Atmosphere and The Dragon respectively. Accor ...

plays live. When Ben was in College he fronted a

Rage Against the Machine Rage Against the Machine (often abbreviated as RATM or shortened to Rage) was an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1991. It consisted of vocalist Zack de la Rocha, bassist and backing vocalist Tim ...

tribute band Raj Against The Shereen as revealed in an interview with

at Reading Festival where they (Biffy Clyro) performed a cover version of the song "

Killing in the Name "Killing in the Name" is a song by the American rock band Rage Against the Machine, and appears on their 1992 Rage Against the Machine (album), self-titled debut album. It features heavy drop-D guitar riffs. The lyrics protest Police brutality i ...

Personal life

Ben is married to Louise Johnston and they live together in Ayrshire with their son Ross. He is a fan of Scottish football club

. In January 2011 was asked by the club to take part in the half time 'Cross Bar Challenge'. He scored on Soccer AM whilst sporting a Kilmarnock F.C. strip. Ben also took part in Kilmarnock F.C.'s pre season open day football match, alongside James and Simon, with Ben kicking off the match.

Musical equipment used

The following is a list of musical equipment used by Ben Johnston.

Cymbals

* Ben Johnston is endorsed by Sabian (According t

. ** 6" AAX Splash ** 8" AA China Splash ** 14" Legacy Hi-Hats ** 17" AAX X-Plosion Crash ** 18" AAX X-Plosion Crash ** 18" AAX X-Plosion China ** 19" AAX X-Plosion Crash ** 19" Paragon Chinese ** 21" HHX Raw Bell Dry Ride

Drums

Johnston is also endorsed by Pearl Drums, Pearl. * Pearl Reference Kit colour:Rootbear Fade ** Pearl Chad Smith Signature 14x5.5 Snare ** 22x18" Bass drum, 12x9" Rack tom, 14x14" and 16x16" floor toms ** Pearl Eliminator Double Bass PedalBiffyTabs Equipment – Ben
Biffy's Tour Manager Neil told fans on the BC forum that Ben is now using a 'Pearl Eric Singer Signature Snare Drum' and is waiting for a new totally custom Pearl Masters Kit New Kit Pearl Masters Colour :Black 22x18" Bass drum, 12x8" Rack tom, 14x14" and 16x16" floor toms ** Pearl Eliminator Double Bass Pedal Drum Heads: Bass Drum: BATTER: Aquarian coated superkick 2 RESONANT: Coated Pearl Masters Pro Tone Snare: BATTER: Aquarian coated Hi-Energy RESONANT: Hi-Performance Snare Bottom Rack tom, first floor and second floor: BATTER: Remo Pinstripes RESONANT: Remo Ambassador

Other

*The

Neil Peart Neil Ellwood Peart ( ; September 12, 1952 – January 7, 2020) was a Canadian and American musician, known as the drummer, percussionist, and primary lyricist of the rock band Rush (band), Rush. He was known to fans by the nickname "the Profe ...

signature series drumstick *Angel AX25K Glockenspiel *Fender CD-140SCE Can Be Seen Hanging on His Wall in the Live Lounge Videos *Johnston also plays a customised Cajon when Biffy Clyro are playing acoustically.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnston, Ben Scottish drummers Scottish male drummers Scottish rock drummers People from Kilmarnock Alumni of Stow College Living people 1980 births British identical twins Biffy Clyro members Scottish twins 21st-century British drummers Twin musicians Identical twin males