Michael John Underwood (5 September 1945 – 28 July 2024) was an English drummer. He first played drums at the age of 14 and was a professional musician by the time he left school. Underwood collaborated with a number of notable musicians and groups, including

Jet Harris Terence "Jet" Harris (6 July 1939 – 18 March 2011) was an English rock and roll musician. He was an original member of Cliff Richard's backing band the Shadows, serving as the bass guitarist from the group's inception until April 1962, aft ...

, The Outlaws (with

Ritchie Blackmore Richard Hugh Blackmore (born 14 April 1945) is an English lead guitarist. He was a founding member and the guitarist of Deep Purple, one of the pioneering bands of hard rock. After leaving Deep Purple in 1975, Blackmore formed the band Rainbow ...

), The Herd (with

Peter Frampton Peter Kenneth Frampton (born 22 April 1950) is an English-American guitarist, singer, and songwriter who rose to prominence as a member of the rock bands the Herd and Humble Pie. Later in his career, Frampton found significant success as a s ...

Episode Six Episode Six, Episode 6 or Episode VI may refer to: Film * ''Return of the Jedi'' also known as ''Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi'', a 1983 film Music * Episode Six (band), a British band Television episodes * Episode 6 (All of Us Are ...

(with

Ian Gillan Ian Gillan (born 19 August 1945) is an English singer who is best known as the lead singer and lyricist for the rock band Deep Purple. He is known for his powerful and wide-ranging singing voice. Initially influenced by Elvis Presley, Gillan ...

and

Roger Glover Roger David Glover (born 30 November 1945) is a Welsh bassist, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as a member of the hard rock bands Deep Purple and Rainbow. As a member of Deep Purple, Glover was inducted into the Rock and Roll ...

), Quatermass (with John Gustafson) and Gillan (again with Gillan). He was also the drummer for Mick Underwood's Glory Road and Raw Glory.

Early life

Underwood was born in

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

on 5 September 1945. At the age of 14 he was given his first drum, a second-hand

snare drum The snare drum (or side drum) is a percussion instrument that produces a sharp staccato sound when the head is struck with a drum stick, due to the use of a series of stiff wires held under tension against the lower skin. Snare drums are often u ...

, and added a third-hand

bass drum The bass drum is a large drum that produces a note of low definite or indefinite pitch. The instrument is typically cylindrical, with the drum's diameter usually greater than its depth, with a struck head at both ends of the cylinder. The head ...

shortly after. He received drum tuition from Jim Marshall, who went on to become the inventor and manufacturer of the

Marshall amplifier Marshall Amplification is a British company that designs and manufactures music amplifiers, speaker cabinets, and effects pedals. Founded in London in 1962 by shop owner and drummer Jim Marshall, the company is based in Bletchley, Milton Key ...

. During this period, Underwood met

(then known as Ricky Blackmore) and the two played together in a band called The Dominators, although Underwood was eventually asked to leave the band for "...playing too loud!" His next band was The Satellites, until he was invited to join The Crescents, who were playing residencies at large

ballroom A ballroom or ballhall is a large room inside a building, the primary purpose of which is holding large formal parties called ''balls''. Traditionally, most balls were held in private residences; many mansions and palaces, especially histori ...

s. Underwood left school at 16 to work with

, and joined a tour of Britain with

Sam Cooke Samuel Cooke (; January 22, 1931 – December 11, 1964) was an American singer and songwriter. Considered one of the most influential soul music, soul artists of all time, Cooke is commonly referred to as the "King of Soul" for his distin ...

and

Little Richard Richard Wayne Penniman (December 5, 1932 – May 9, 2020), known professionally as Little Richard, was an American singer, pianist, and songwriter. He was an influential figure in popular music and culture for seven decades. Described as the "Ar ...

. It was at the end of this tour that Screaming Lord Sutch (in whose band, The Savages, Blackmore now played) suggested he approach the independent record producer

Joe Meek Robert George "Joe" Meek (5 April 1929 – 3 February 1967) was an English record producer and songwriter considered one of the most influential sound engineers of all time, being one of the first to develop ideas such as the recording studio a ...

for further session work.

Career

1963–1965

Meek's studio, RGM Sound, was based in

North London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames and the City of London. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshi ...

, where he used a band called The Outlaws as his permanent studio musicians, also allowing them to record material under their own name. When Underwood arrived to

audition An audition is a sample performance by an actor, singer, musician, dancer or other performer. It typically involves the performer displaying their talent through a previously memorized and rehearsed solo piece or by performing a work or piece gi ...

for Meek, the Outlaws were also recruiting for a lead guitarist and it was Underwood who suggested Ritchie Blackmore should fill the role, an invitation he duly accepted. Between January 1963 and June 1965, The Outlaws released six singles, as well as playing on hundreds of Meek's recording sessions with various artists. They also headlined at the

Star-Club The Star-Club was a music club in Hamburg, Germany, that opened on Friday 13 April 1962, and was initially operated by Manfred Weissleder and Horst Fascher. In the 1960s, many of the giants of rock music played at the club. The club closed on 3 ...

in Hamburg with both

Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American pianist, singer, and songwriter. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as "rock 'n' roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis m ...

and

Gene Vincent Vincent Eugene Craddock (February 11, 1935 – October 12, 1971), known as Gene Vincent, was an American rock and roll musician who pioneered the style of rockabilly. His 1956 top ten hit with his backing band the Blue Caps, "Be-Bop-a-Lula", is ...

. In 1964, they appeared in the movie '' Live It Up!'', performing their single "Law & Order", mislabelled "Law and Disorder" on the end screen credits. A reviewer of Underwood's work at this time described his drumming style as "...coupling

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

type steadiness with little

Jim McCarty James Stanley McCarty (born 25 July 1943) is an English musician, best known as the drummer for the Yardbirds and Renaissance. Following Chris Dreja's departure from the Yardbirds in 2013, McCarty became the only founding member to still tou ...

style flourishes." Blackmore eventually moved to another of Meeks' bands, joining Heinz Burt's backing band The Wild Boys, but he and Underwood still collaborated in recording sessions with Meek's engineer Derek Lawrence. One of the Derek Lawrence sessions produced Blackmore's first official release, the now highly sought-after single "Get Away" / "Little Brown Jug", released in July 1965. They also recorded "Earthshaker" and "Satan's Holiday, " which were released on the Titan label, credited to The Lancasters. "Satan's Holiday" was a fast, rock adaptation of Grieg's "

In the Hall of the Mountain King "In the Hall of the Mountain King" () is a piece of orchestral music composed by Edvard Grieg in 1875 as incidental music for the sixth scene of act 2 in Henrik Ibsen's 1867 play ''Peer Gynt''. It was originally part of Opus 23 but was later ex ...

", a tune that stayed in Blackmore's stage repertory right into the 1990s. Shortly afterwards, Underwood also left The Outlaws to take up an offer to join The Herd.

1965–1968

With The Herd, Underwood began playing at all the major venues on the circuit, such as the

Marquee Club The Marquee Club was a music venue in London, England, that opened in 1958 with a range of jazz and skiffle acts. It was a small and relatively cheap club, in the heart of London's West End of London, West End. It was the location of the first ...

and Eel Pie Island. Despite their busy schedule and the release of three singles, Underwood grew increasingly frustrated at the band's lack of success, and in 1966 he resigned from the band and the music business. However, a year later he accepted an invitation from singer James Royal as a session drummer for a two-week residency at Hatchets in London's West End. At the end of the residency, Underwood decided to stay with the band, the James Royal Set to tour with

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter. Most of his music contains themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially songs from the later stages of his career. ...

. At the end of this tour, Underwood spoke with Peter Grant, whom he knew from the time that Grant had been tour manager for Gene Vincent when The Outlaws had been his backing band. Grant explained that he was currently working with guitarist

Jimmy Page James Patrick Page (born 9 January 1944) is an English musician and producer who achieved international success as the guitarist and founder of the Rock music, rock band Led Zeppelin. Page began his career as a studio session musician in Lo ...

, and was recruiting musicians to form a new band around him. Underwood considered the offer, but instead accepted one to join established act

. Grant had asked one of his other acts, singer

Terry Reid Terrance James Reid (born 13 November 1949), nicknamed "Superlungs", is an English rock vocalist, songwriter, and guitarist best known for his emotive style of singing in appearances with high-profile musicians as vocalist, supporting act and s ...

, to join the project, who had also turned down the offer. Undeterred, Grant went on to recruit two previously unknown musicians, the singer

Robert Plant Robert Anthony Plant (born 20 August 1948) is an English singer and songwriter. He was the lead singer and lyricist of the rock band Led Zeppelin from its founding in 1968 until their breakup in 1980. Since then, he has had a successful solo ca ...

and drummer

John Bonham John Henry Bonham (31 May 1948 – 25 September 1980) was an English musician who was the drummer of the rock band Led Zeppelin. Noted for his speed, power, fast single-footed kick drumming, distinctive sound, and feel for groove, John Bonh ...

, and the band became

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1968. The band comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones (musician), John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham. With a he ...

. Underwood joined ex-The Authentics frontman Henry Turtle in psychedelic rock outfit The Doves from 1967 to 1968 alongside former The Herd guitarist Terry Clark plus Brian Curtis, Ian McGlynn, and Harvey Hinsley (formerly of The Outlaws and later a member of

Hot Chocolate Hot Chocolate are a British soul band formed by Errol Brown and Tony Wilson. The group had at least one hit song every year on the UK Singles Chart from 1970 to 1984. Their hits include " You Sexy Thing", a UK number two which also made ...

. Underwood departed in July 1968 after EMI declined to release intended single She's Not There, with Decca having done the same with the band's planned debut single, Smokeytime, Springtime, the previous autumn.

1968–1970

, bass player for Episode Six, said of their new drummer: "Mick represented a step up for us because he had been around in other bands. ''The Herd'' had one fairly big hit so it was as if we had been connected with success." Also in the band was singer

. Despite numerous BBC sessions and two singles, commercial success never came for the band and there was a feeling that they were failing to move with the times as the music scene rapidly changed at the close of the 1960s. Along with Gillan, Underwood was drawn to the heavier sound of the emergent new bands, in particular

Deep Purple Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock, although their musical style has varied throughout their career. Originally for ...

(Ritchie Blackmore's new band) and Led Zeppelin. When Blackmore contacted Underwood for a recommendation for a singer, he immediately gave them Gillan's name. Along with Jon Lord, Blackmore attended an Episode Six gig to listen to Gillan, and shortly afterwards recruited both him and Roger Glover into Deep Purple. Following this shake-up, bassist/singer John Gustafson and keyboard player Pete Robinson were called in to shore up the band, but shortly afterwards the two newcomers left, along with Underwood, to form their own band Quatermass.

1970–1979

After several showcase gigs, Quatermass were signed by

George Martin Sir George Henry Martin (3 January 1926 – 8 March 2016) was an English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, and musician. He was commonly referred to as the "fifth Beatle" because of his extensive involvement in each of the Beatle ...

's Air London company and began to put together their first album, using their own material plus several songs written by Steve Hammond. Recorded at

EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...

Abbey Road Studios Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a music recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, London, Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of ...

the band's eponymous album was released on EMI's

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...

label

Harvest Records Harvest Records is a British-American record label belonging to Capitol Music Group, originally created by EMI in 1969. History Harvest Records was created by EMI in 1969 to market progressive rock music, and to compete with Philips' Vertigo ...

. One of the Hammond tracks on the album was titled "Black Sheep of the Family", later covered by Blackmore on the first

Rainbow A rainbow is an optical phenomenon caused by refraction, internal reflection and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a continuous spectrum of light appearing in the sky. The rainbow takes the form of a multicoloured circular ...

album. To promote the album the band undertook a European tour, with performances on radio and TV timed to coincide with the release of the album in various countries. Despite wide critical acclaim, the project had insufficient financial backing however, and there were many problems on their subsequent tour of the United States. On their return to the UK the band dissolved. In the summer of 1971, Underwood began discussions with

Paul Rodgers Paul Bernard Rodgers (born 17 December 1949) is an English-Canadian singer. He was the lead vocalist of numerous successful rock bands, including Free (band), Free, Bad Company, The Firm (rock band), the Firm and The Law (English band), the L ...

who was looking to form a new band after the initial break up of Free, and along with bass player Stuart McDonald they formed the band Peace. Signed to

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in Jamaica by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in 1959, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, another ...

, Peace began to write and record material for a debut album and also embarked on a UK tour supporting Mott the Hoople but in January 1972 Free reformed, and Underwood formed another new band, called Sammy. It was around this time that Underwood was offered the position of drummer with

but he declined and successfully recommended Tony Connor – who had recently left Audience – for a position which was then held, temporarily, by session drummer

Cozy Powell Cozy Powell (born Colin Trevor Flooks; 29 December 1947 – 5 April 1998) was an English drummer who made his name with major rock bands and artists such as The Jeff Beck Group, Rainbow, Michael Schenker Group, Gary Moore, Graham Bonnet, B ...

. Underwood called on Gillan to produce their first single, and the band then went into rehearsals for their debut album, which was then recorded in a single 72-hour session. As in previous projects, there was little commercial success and Underwood dissolved the band, returning to session drumming. His next band was Strapps. Their eponymous debut album was recorded in 1976 at Ian Gillan's Kingsway Recorders studio in London, produced by former Episode Six colleague Roger Glover. They then toured as support act on Deep Purple's tour of the UK, and went on to release three further albums. Underwood worked again with Gillan as the support act on the UK tour of the Ian Gillan Band, whose line-up included former Quatermass colleague John Gustafson, on bass and backing vocals. Underwood sometimes took the opportunity to view the show from within the audience after playing his own set, and recalled that he "really picked up this bewildered vibe. The fans just couldn't connect with the music, however well it was played." Strapps fourth and final album ''Ball of Fire'' was recorded at Ian Gillan's Kingsway studios and during recording Underwood was asked by Gillan if he could use a couple of hours of their studio time to lay down a vocal with his latest band, Gillan. Several weeks later Gillan invited him to be the drummer in this new venture.

1979–1982

Former Deep Purple drummer

Ian Paice Ian Anderson Paice (born 29 June 1948) is an English musician who is the drummer and last remaining original member of the rock band Deep Purple. He remains the only member of Deep Purple who has served in every line-up since the band's incep ...

had also auditioned for Gillan but according to guitarist Bernie Torme "...he had some difficulty after playing "Secret of the Dance" due to his only having one lung, and being a bit out of practice. He played it brilliantly but he had to lie down on the floor for five minutes afterwards. He did not want to join because of our fast tracks, he said he no longer wanted to play stuff like that. I think the fact that he had been offered to join

Whitesnake Whitesnake are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1978. The group were originally put together as the backing band for singer David Coverdale, who had recently left Deep Purple. Though the band quickly developed into their ow ...

with his old friend Jon Lord made a big difference. Meeting Gillan again at the studio had obviously put Underwood's name on the list of potentials for the job, and as Torme revealed "...we finally found the magnificently solid and under-appreciated Mick Underwood. The day after he accepted the job, Underwood and the band began to record the '' Mr. Universe'' album, released in October 1979.

2006 onwards

In 2006, Underwood along with bassist Johnny Heywood and former

Heavy Metal Kids Heavy Metal Kids are a British rock band. History Early years (1973–1985) Heavy Metal Kids were formed in 1972 by the merger of two previous bands: Heaven and Biggles. They took their name from a gang of street kids, featured in the nove ...

guitarist Cosmo Verrico formed the band Raw Glory, who released an album, ''City Life'' in 2007. In 2012, he formed Mick Underwood's Glory Road, initially with Rob Cooksley as the singer (followed by

Paul Manzi Paul Manzi (born 6 May 1963) is an English singer, best known as a member of Sweet, Cats in Space and Arena, and for performing with the likes of Ian Paice, Gordon Giltrap and Oliver Wakeman. Career Early career Manzi chose performing ...

, who also sang with Raw Glory), Jeff Summers on guitar, Gary Summers on bass and backing vocals, and Roy Shipston on keyboards, performing songs from the Gillan era. In 2023, it was announced on Underwood's "Glory Road" Facebook page that he had "mixed dementia" and would no longer be contributing to the page. A memorial concert for Mick Underwood was arranged at The Cavern in

Raynes Park Raynes Park is a residential suburb, railway station and local centre near Wimbledon, London, and is within the London Borough of Merton. It is situated southwest of Wimbledon Common, to the northwest of Wimbledon Chase and to the east of Ne ...

, London on 18 April 2025, featuring members of his former bands, with all proceeds going to charity.

Illness and death

In August 2023, Underwood's wife Sue stated that he was battling dementia. Underwood died on 28 July 2024, at the age of 78.

Discography

Underwood performed as a session musician on hundreds of recordings, and much of his catalogue of later works has been reissued on retrospective compilations of other artists' works. This discography covers the work of Underwood in his own bands." *With The Outlaws **"Poppin' (Part 1.)" / "Poppin' (Part Two)" (Released as The Chaps) (single) (1962) **"The Return of the Outlaws" / "Texan Spiritual" (single) (1963) **"That Set the Wild West Free" / "Hobo" (single) (1963) note : Underwood does not play on "Hobo") **"Law and Order" / "Do-Da-Day" (single) (1963) **"Keep a Knockin'" / "Shake with Me" (single) (1964) **"Only for You" / "Don't Cry" (single) (1965) **''The Outlaws Ride Again'' (retrospective compilation album) (1990) *With The Herd **"She Was Really Saying Something" / "Here Comes the Fool" (single) (1965) **"So Much in Love" / "This Boy's Always Been True" (single) (1966) *With

**"Lucky Sunday" / "Mr Universe" (single) (1968) **"Mozart Versus the Rest" / "Jack D'Or" (single) (1969) *With Quatermass **"One Blind Mice" / "Punting" (single) (1970) **"Black Sheep of the Family" / "Good Lord Knows" (single) (1970) **"Gemini" / "Black Sheep of the Family" (single) (1971) **'' Quatermass'' (1970) *With Peace **''The Free Story'' (album) (1973) – Underwood performs on the track "Lady" **''Live at the BBC'' – (22 December 1971) *With Sammy **"Goo Ger Woogie" / "Big Lovin' Woman" (single) (1972) **"Sioux Eyed Lady" / "70 Days" (single) (1972) **''Sammy'' (1972) *With

Graham Bonnet Graham Bonnet (born 23 December 1947) is an English rock singer. He has recorded and performed as a solo artist and as a member of several hard rock and heavy metal music, heavy metal bands including Rainbow (rock band), Rainbow, Michael Schenke ...

**''No Bad Habits'' (1976) *With Strapps **"All Thru the Night" / "Understand It" (single) (1977) **"In Your Ear" / "Rita B" (single) (1977) **"Child of the City" / "Soft Touch" (single) (1978) **"Turn Out Alright" / "Take It Break It" (single) (1978) **''Strapps'' (1976) **''Secret Damage'' (1977) **''Prisoner of Your Love'' (1978) **''Ball of Fire'' (1979) **''Live at the Rainbow 1977'' (2008) *With Gillan **'' Mr. Universe'' (1979) **'' Glory Road'' (1980) **''

Future Shock ''Future Shock'' is a 1970 book by American futurist Alvin Toffler, written together with his wife Adelaide Farrell, in which the authors define the term "future shock" as a certain psychological state of individuals and entire societies, and a ...

'' (1981) **'' Double Trouble'' (1981) **'' Magic'' (1982) **''The Gillan Tapes Vol. 1'' (1997) **''The Gillan Tapes Vol. 2'' (1999) **''The Gillan Tapes Vol. 3'' (2000) **''Triple Trouble'' (2009) (Recorded live 1981/1982) *As Mick Underwood **"Earthquake at the Savoy" / "Redwatch" (single) (1980) *With

**'' What I Did on My Vacation'' (1986) **''Cherkazoo and Other Stories'' (1992) *With Quatermass II **''Long Road'' (1997) *With Raw Glory **''City Life'' (2007)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Underwood, Mick 1945 births 2024 deaths English rock drummers English session musicians Episode Six (band) members Gillan (band) members The Herd (British band) members Musicians from London The Outlaws (band) members Quatermass (band) members