Hugh Whitaker (born 18 May 1961) is an English musician and the former

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 British

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...

band

The Housemartins The Housemartins were an English indie rock group formed in Hull who were active in the 1980s and charted three top-ten albums and six top-twenty singles in the UK. Many of their lyrics conveyed a mixture of socialist politics and Christiani ...

. He replaced original drummer Chris Lang and drummed for the band's first album, ''

London 0 Hull 4 ''London 0 Hull 4'' is the debut album by The Housemartins, released in June 1986. It contains the singles "Flag Day" (#124 UK), "Sheep" (#54 UK), "Happy Hour" (#3 UK) and "Think for a Minute" (#18 UK). The title refers to the band's home city ...

'', and its attendant single releases. He left the band before the recording of their second album, '' The People Who Grinned Themselves to Death''. Whitaker left the band on amicable terms and even participated in the promotional video for the band's first single without him, "

Five Get Over Excited Five Get Over Excited is a song by The Housemartins released as a single from their album '' The People Who Grinned Themselves to Death''. The follow-up to their #1 UK hit "Caravan of Love" (although it was preceded by the USA-only release of "F ...

", wherein he was kidnapped by his replacement,

Dave Hemingway David Robert Hemingway (born 20 September 1960) is an English musician and songwriter, best known as a vocalist for the Hull based band The Beautiful South until they disbanded in 2007. Previously he had been a member of The Housemartins. Heming ...

, and locked in a hessian sack. Whitaker went on to play drums in London-based

indie Indie is a short form of "independence" or "independent"; it may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media *Independent media, media free of influence by government or corporate interests *Indie art, fine arts made by artists independent of commer ...

band

The Servants The Servants were an indie band formed in 1985 in Hayes, Middlesex, England by singer-songwriter David Westlake. The band was the original home of Luke Haines. The band’s '' Small Time'' album was well received on its 2012 release, more th ...

, and then in several

Hull Hull may refer to: Structures * The hull of an armored fighting vehicle, housing the chassis * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a sea-going craft * Submarine hull Ma ...

rock bands A musical ensemble, also known as a music group, musical group, or a band is a group of people who perform instrumental and/or vocal music, with the ensemble typically known by a distinct name. Some music ensembles consist solely of instrume ...

, including The Penny Candles, The Juniper Chute, The Fabulous Ducks, and The Gargoyles. In 1993, Whitaker was sent to prison for six years for assaulting former business associate James Hewitt with an axe and setting fire to his house. In 1997 Hugh moved to Leeds. After a short stint as drummer with

Freddie and the Dreamers Freddie and the Dreamers were an English beat band that had a number of hit records between 1962 and 1965. The band's stage act was enlivened by the comic antics of Freddie Garrity, who would bounce around the stage with arms and legs flying ...

he joined a local band, Percy. In 2012, back in Hull, and having played a range of musical styles in many bands, he joined eclectic rock outfit Pocketful O'Nowt. In 2013, he guested on drums on Barnsley comedy band

The Bar-Steward Sons of Val Doonican The Bar-Steward Sons of Val Doonican are a British comedy folk music, folk and Parody music, parody band from Barnsley, South Yorkshire. Formed in 2006, they claim to be the hardest working comedy band in the UK, having played over 1350 show ...

's ''Tarnlife'' single, and worked with them again in 2014 on ''Jump Ararnd'' and ''Place of Spades''.

References

English rock drummers The Housemartins members Workers Revolutionary Party (UK) members Living people 1961 births English people convicted of assault British people convicted of arson {{UK-drummer-stub