Colin Leo Hanton (born 12 December 1938) is an English musician, best known as the

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 ...

for the 1950s

skiffle Skiffle is a music genre, genre of folk music with influences from American folk music, blues, Country music, country, Bluegrass music, bluegrass, and jazz, generally performed with a mixture of manufactured and homemade or improvised instruments. ...

band

the Quarrymen The Quarrymen (also written as "the Quarry Men") are a British skiffle and rock and roll group, formed by John Lennon in Liverpool in 1956, which evolved into the Beatles in 1960. Originally consisting of Lennon and several school friends, the ...

, led by a young

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...

. He currently plays for the reformed version of the Quarrymen.

Early life

Hanton was born in

Bootle Bootle (pronounced ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England, which had a population of 51,394 in 2011; the wider Bootle (UK Parliament constituency), Parliamentary constituency had a population of 98,449. It is pa ...

and moved to

Woolton Woolton (; ) is a suburb of Liverpool, in Merseyside, England. It is an area located southeast of the city and bordered by Allerton, Gateacre, Halewood, and Hunt's Cross. At the 2011 Census, the population was 12,921. Overview Originally a ...

, Liverpool when he was eight in 1946. Hanton's mother (Ethel Jones b.1913) died of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

in 1950, when Colin was a child, and he and his siblings moved into their grandparents' house. Colin left school and worked trained as a carpenter, before moving to working as an upholster in Speke.

The Quarrymen

1956–1959

In the summer of 1956, Hanton helped form the Quarrymen along with

, Eric Griffiths,

Pete Shotton Peter Shotton (4 August 1941 – 24 March 2017) was an English businessman. He was known for creating the Fatty Arbuckle's chain of restaurants and for his long friendship with John Lennon of the Beatles; he played the washboard (musical instr ...

and Rod Davis. He was asked to join the nascent band, largely because he had recently purchased a new drum kit. Hanton played drums on the Quarrymen's first recordings, a cover of

The Crickets The Crickets were an American rock and roll band from Lubbock, Texas, formed by singer-songwriter Buddy Holly in January 1957. Their first hit record, "That'll Be the Day", released in May 1957, peaked at number three on the ''Billboard'' Top ...

' "

That'll Be the Day "That'll Be the Day" is a song written by Buddy Holly and Jerry Allison. It was first recorded by Buddy Holly and the Three Tunes in 1956 and was re-recorded in 1957 by Holly and his new band, the Crickets. Buddy Holly and the Three Tunes' ver ...

" and an original song by Paul McCartney and George Harrison, "

In Spite of All the Danger "In Spite of All the Danger" is the first song recorded by the Quarrymen, then consisting of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, pianist John Lowe, and drummer Colin Hanton. McCartney wrote the song and Harrison provided the guitar ...

", in 1958. He left the Quarrymen after an argument with the rest of the band following a disastrous performance at the Speke Bus Depot Social Club in

Wavertree Wavertree is a district and suburb of Liverpool, in the county of Merseyside, England. It is a Ward (country subdivision), ward of Liverpool City Council, and its population at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census was 14,772. Located to ...

on 1 January 1959. The band had gone through several line-up changes until January 1959 (by then, the group's members were Lennon, Hanton,

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...

George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician, singer and songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Culture ...

and John "Duff" Lowe):

1994–present

In 1997, Hanton reunited with the then-surviving members of

The Quarrymen The Quarrymen (also written as "the Quarry Men") are a British skiffle and rock and roll group, formed by John Lennon in Liverpool in 1956, which evolved into the Beatles in 1960. Originally consisting of Lennon and several school friends, the ...

to perform a concert, to commemorate 40 years since the group's formation. Shortly after, they embarked on a tour which took place in the United Kingdom, United States, Germany, and Japan, among many others. Hanton has participated on all Quarrymen releases since; including their three albums; '' Get Back – Together'' (1997), '' Songs We Remember'' (2004), and ''Grey Album'' (2012). Their recent material primarily consists of rock and roll and skiffle songs from the 1950s. Hanton was portrayed by actor Sam Wilmott in the 2009 biopic ''

Nowhere Boy ''Nowhere Boy'' is a 2009 British biographical drama film, directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson in her directorial debut. Written by Matt Greenhalgh, it is based on Julia Baird's biography of her half-brother, the musician John Lennon. ''Nowhere ...

''. The Quarrymen performed in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, for what would have been Lennon's 70th birthday, in 2010. As of 2016, Hanton still tours with Len Garry and Rod Davis.

Later life

Hanton married his wife, Joan, in 1965. Together, they had two children. Hanton continued to work for the Guy Rogers carpentry company until it shut down in 1979. Afterwards, he opened his own upholstery business, which he still runs today. Colin still lives in

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

Discography

With
the Quarrymen The Quarrymen (also written as "the Quarry Men") are a British skiffle and rock and roll group, formed by John Lennon in Liverpool in 1956, which evolved into the Beatles in 1960. Originally consisting of Lennon and several school friends, the ...

Studio albums

Live albums

Singles

References

External links

Original Quarrymen: Colin Hanton
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hanton, Colin 1938 births Living people English rock drummers Musicians from Liverpool The Quarrymen members Skiffle musicians People from Bootle