Michael Waller (6 September 1941 – 29 April 2008) was an English drummer, who played with many of the biggest names on the UK rock and

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

scene, after he became a professional musician in 1960. In addition to being a member, albeit sometimes briefly, of some of the seminal bands of the 1960s, Waller played as a

session musician A session musician (also known as studio musician or backing musician) is a musician hired to perform in a recording session or a live performance. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a reco ...

with a host of UK and US artists.

Biography

Waller was born in

Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. It ...

, London. Waller's first professional band, The Flee-Rekkers, had a No. 23 hit in the UK Singles Chart in 1960, with their recording of "Green Jeans" produced by

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 ...

. He soon left to join a well-known band of the day, Joe Brown and the Bruvvers. In July 1963, he joined the Cyril Davies R&B All Stars, a band with a volatile line-up, replacing the band's original drummer Carlo Little. At that time the line-up was: * Cyril Davies (vocals, harmonica) *

Long John Baldry John William "Long John" Baldry (12 January 1941 – 21 July 2005) was an English musician and actor. In the 1960s, he was one of the first British vocalists to sing the blues in clubs and shared the stage with many British musicians including ...

(vocals) * Geoff Bradford (guitar) * Cliff Barton (bass) * Keith Scott (piano) * Micky Waller (drums) Davies died on 7 January 1964,The 1960s
The Dead Rock Stars Club. Retrieved on 28 December 2012. and Waller left as the band was changed by Long John Baldry to become the Hoochie Coochie Men. Waller went on to play with

Marty Wilde Marty Wilde, (born Reginald Leonard Smith; 15 April 1939) is an English singer and songwriter. He was among the first generation of British pop stars to emulate American rock and roll, scoring several 1950s and 1960s hit singles including " E ...

as one of the Wildecats. While with Wilde, Waller played on two

tours Tours ( ; ) is the largest city in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabita ...

with

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 ...

around the UK. Like many musicians of the day, Waller moved frequently from band to band, or as was often the case, the band he was in metamorphosed into another. After a short stint with

Georgie Fame Georgie Fame (born Clive Powell; 26 June 1943) is an English R&B and jazz musician. Fame, who had a string of 1960s hits, is still performing, often working with contemporaries such as Alan Price, Van Morrison and Bill Wyman. Fame is the only B ...

and the Blue Flames, a band he was to rejoin several times, he joined

Brian Auger Brian Albert Gordon Auger (born 18 July 1939) is an English jazz rock and rock keyboardist who specialises in the Hammond organ. Auger has worked with Rod Stewart, Tony Williams, Jimi Hendrix, John McLaughlin, Sonny Boy Williamson, Eric B ...

to become part of The Trinity, and was soon followed by Long John Baldry. In April 1965, the group was expanded by

Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British singer and songwriter. Known for his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists of all time, having sold ...

and

Julie Driscoll Julie Driscoll Tippett (born 8 June 1947) is an English singer and actress, known for her work with Brian Auger and her husband, Keith Tippett. Career Driscoll is known for her 1960s versions of Bob Dylan and Rick Danko's " This Wheel's on F ...

and evolved into a new band,

Steampacket Steampacket (sometimes shown as Steam Packet) was a British blues band formed in 1965 by Long John Baldry with Rod Stewart, Julie Driscoll, and organist Brian Auger. History A musical revue rather than a single group, Steampacket was formed i ...

: *

(vocals) *

Vic Briggs Victor Harvey Briggs III (14 February 1945 – 30 June 2021) was a British blues and rock musician, best known as the lead guitarist with Eric Burdon and The Animals from 1966 to 1968. Briggs, a convert to Sikhism, later played classical ...

(guitar) *

(keyboards) * Rick Brown (bass) * Micky Waller (drums) In April 1966, Rod Stewart left, followed by Long John Baldry. The remaining members formed the nucleus of a new band, Brian Auger, Julie Driscoll & The Trinity: * Julie Driscoll (vocals) * Vic Briggs (guitar) * Rick Brown (bass) * Brian Auger (keyboards) * Micky Waller (drums) Waller subsequently joined John Mayall's Bluesbreakers for a few gigs in April 1967, while Mayall looked for a permanent drummer, and was soon replaced by Keef Hartley. *

John Mayall John Brumwell Mayall (29 November 1933 – 22 July 2024) was an English blues and Rock music, rock musician, songwriter and producer. In the 1960s, he formed John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, a band that has counted among its members some of ...

(vocals, guitar, keyboards) * Peter Green (guitar, vocals) *

John McVie John Graham McVie (; born 26 November 1945) is a British bass guitarist. He is best known as a member of the rock bands John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers from 1964 to 1967 and Fleetwood Mac since 1967. His surname, combined with that of drummer ...

(bass) * Micky Waller (drums) In August 1967, Waller joined the Jeff Beck Group, with former bandmate Rod Stewart: * Rod Stewart (vocals) *

Jeff Beck Geoffrey Arnold Beck (24 June 1944 – 10 January 2023) was an English musician. He rose to prominence as the guitarist of the rock band the Yardbirds, and afterwards founded and fronted the Jeff Beck Group and Beck, Bogert & Appice. In 1975, ...

(guitar) *

Ron Wood Ron is a shortening of the name Ronald. Ron or RON may also refer to: Arts and media * Big Ron (''EastEnders''), a TV character * Ron (''King of Fighters''), a video game character *Ron Douglas, the protagonist in '' Lucky Stiff'' played by Joe ...

(bass) * Micky Waller (drums) The group produced two albums. ''

Truth Truth or verity is the Property (philosophy), property of being in accord with fact or reality.Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionarytruth, 2005 In everyday language, it is typically ascribed to things that aim to represent reality or otherwise cor ...

'' in 1968 saw the four piece play a mixture of blues with guitar

riff A riff is a short, repeated motif or figure in the melody or accompaniment of a musical composition. Riffs are most often found in rock music, punk, heavy metal music, Latin, funk, and jazz, although classical music is also sometimes based ...

s. The

instrumental An instrumental or instrumental song is music without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through Semantic change, semantic widening, a broader sense of the word s ...

, "Beck's Bolero", with

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 ...

on rhythm guitar,

The Who The Who are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup (1964–1978) consisted of lead vocalist Roger Daltrey, guitarist Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon. Considered one of th ...

Keith Moon Keith John Moon (23 August 1946 – 7 September 1978) was an English musician who was the drummer for the rock band the Who. Regarded as one of the greatest drummers in the history of rock music, he was noted for his unique style of playing and ...

on drums, and bassist

John Paul Jones John Paul Jones (born John Paul; July 6, 1747 – July 18, 1792) was a Scottish-born naval officer who served in the Continental Navy during the American Revolutionary War. Often referred to as the "Father of the American Navy", Jones is regard ...

; combined with Waller's playing on the remake of

The Yardbirds The Yardbirds are an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1963. The band started the careers of three of rock's most famous guitarists: Eric Clapton (1963–1965), Jeff Beck (1965–1966) and Jimmy Page (1966–1968), all of whom ...

' hit "

Shapes of Things "Shapes of Things" is a song by the English rock group the Yardbirds. With its Eastern-sounding, feedback-laden guitar solo and environmentalist, antiwar lyrics, several music writers have identified it as the first popular psychedelic rock ...

"; set the template for a heavier blues style. The following year, a second album from the band was '' Beck-Ola''. But by this point Waller had already departed the band, to be replaced by Tony Newman. The mercurial Beck had decided he wanted a "heavier" drummer, and on 11 February 1969 manager Peter Grant fired Waller and Wood - although Wood was retained per Beck's wishes. In 1969, Waller flew to Venice Beach Los Angeles to form the band "Silver Metre" with guitarist Leigh Stephens of

Blue Cheer Blue Cheer was an American rock band that initially performed and recorded in the late 1960s and early 1970s and was sporadically active until 2009. Based in San Francisco, Blue Cheer played in a psychedelic blues rock or acid rock style. The ...

fame, fellow Brit

Pete Sears Peter Roy Sears (born 27 May 1948) is an English rock musician. In a career spanning more than six decades, he has been a member of many bands and has moved through a variety of musical genres, from early R&B, psychedelic improvisational rock ...

on bass and keyboards, and Jack Reynolds (singer). They recorded one album at

Trident Studios Trident Studios was a British recording facility, located at 17 St Anne's Court in London's Soho district between 1968 and 1981. It was constructed in 1967 by Norman Sheffield, drummer of the 1960s group the Hunters, and his brother Barry ...

in London, England (one track, "Gang bang" containing an extended drum solo) which was released on the National General label, produced by their manager, FM rock radio pioneer Tom Donahue. Also in '69, Waller sat in on '' An Old Raincoat Won't Ever Let You Down'', Rod Stewart's first solo album (it was known as ''The Rod Stewart Album'' in the US). The backing band on the album also included

, Ian McLagan,

Keith Emerson Keith Noel Emerson (2 November 194411 March 2016) was an English keyboardist, songwriter, composer and record producer. He played keyboards in a number of bands before finding his first commercial success with the Nice in the late 1960s. He be ...

, and guitarists Martin Pugh (of Steamhammer, and later

Armageddon Armageddon ( ; ; ; from ) is the prophesied gathering of armies for a battle during the end times, according to the Book of Revelation in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. Armageddon is variously interpreted as either a literal or a ...

and 7th Order) and

Martin Quittenton Martin Quittenton (22 April 1945 – 16 April 2015) was a British guitarist and composer. He played in the blues rock band Steamhammer, formed in 1968. Their debut album '' Steamhammer'' was released in 1969. Quittenton also worked with Rod Stew ...

(also from Steamhammer). Waller's relationship with Stewart and Wood served him well, as he would go on to join them on the next three Stewart solo albums, '' Gasoline Alley'', '' Every Picture Tells a Story'' and '' Never A Dull Moment'' The coupling meant that Waller played percussion on Stewart's transatlantic

chart A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphics, graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can repres ...

topping

hit single A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single, or simply hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record'' ...

, " Maggie May". Waller also shared drum duties on Stewart's '' Smiler'' album - the opening song of which contained Waller's dog making noises. In 1971, Waller joined the

blues band for Baldry's first tour of the United States. The band included Ian Armitt on piano, and fellow Rod Stewart session men, Sam Mitchell on guitar, and

on bass. Waller continued to work regularly in both rock and blues bands, and joined the original line-up of the Deluxe Blues Band, with Dick Heckstall-Smith, and bassist Bob Brunning. * Danny Adler (vocal, guitar) * Bob Brunning (bass) * Bob Hall (piano) * Dick Heckstall-Smith (sax) * Micky Waller (drums) In the early 1980s, Waller was a member of the Terry Smith Blues Band, with Jo Ann Kelly (vocals) and

Tony Ashton Edward Anthony Ashton (1 March 1946 – 28 May 2001) was an English rock pianist, keyboardist, singer, record composer, producer and artist. Early life Born in Blackburn, Lancashire, Ashton spent his formative years in the seaside town of Blac ...

(organ). Over the intervening years Waller's playing experience included credits with

The Walker Brothers The Walker Brothers were an American pop group formed in Los Angeles in 1964 by John Walker (musician), John Walker (real name John Maus) and Scott Walker (singer), Scott Walker (real name Noel Scott Engel), with Gary Walker (musician), Gary Wal ...

Cat Stevens Yusuf Islam (born Steven Demetre Georgiou; ), commonly known by his stage names Cat Stevens, Yusuf, and Yusuf / Cat Stevens, is a British singer-songwriter and musician. He has sold more than 100 million records and has more than two billion st ...

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English Rock music, rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s l ...

Bo Diddley Ellas Otha Bates (December 30, 1928 – June 2, 2008), known professionally as Bo Diddley, was an American guitarist and singer who played a key role in the transition from the blues to rock and roll. He influenced many artists, including Buddy ...

Dusty Springfield Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien (16 April 1939 – 2 March 1999), better known by her stage name Dusty Springfield, was a British singer. With her distinctive mezzo-soprano voice, she was a popular singer of blue-eyed soul, Pop mus ...

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 ...

and

Billy Bragg Stephen William Bragg (born 20 December 1957) is an English singer, songwriter, musician, author and political activist. His music blends elements of folk music, punk rock and protest songs, with lyrics that mostly span political or romantic th ...

. In the early 1980s, Waller also played in the Sam Mitchell Band. Brunning subsequently hung onto the Deluxe Blues band name, reusing it for a number of line-ups, whilst Waller went to play in Italy for a period. Upon his return to London, Waller briefly joined a revived Deluxe Blues Band that reunited him with Heckstall-Smith and Brunning, along with new members Dave Beaumont, Alan Vincent and Phil Taylor. He continued to play intermittently with a number of blues bands in the London area, including the eponymous Micky Waller Band. In his later years, he took a degree in law, and used his gained knowledge to win court claims for unpaid

royalties A royalty payment is a payment made by one party to another that owns a particular asset, for the right to ongoing use of that asset. Royalties are typically agreed upon as a percentage of gross or net revenues derived from the use of an asset or ...

. Waller died of

liver failure Liver failure is the inability of the liver to perform its normal synthetic and metabolic functions as part of normal physiology. Two forms are recognised, acute and chronic (cirrhosis). Recently, a third form of liver failure known as acute- ...

in London on 29 April 2008, aged 66.

References

External links

Obituary in the Guardian
*
Soundcloud.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Waller, Micky 1941 births 2008 deaths English blues musicians English rock drummers Musicians from the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham People from Hammersmith English session musicians Deaths from kidney failure in the United Kingdom British rhythm and blues boom musicians The Jeff Beck Group members All-Stars (band) members Steampacket members Brian Auger and the Trinity members