David "Pick" Withers (born 4 April 1948) is an English drummer. He was the original drummer of the rock band

Dire Straits Dire Straits were a British rock band formed in London in 1977 by Mark Knopfler (lead vocals, lead guitar), David Knopfler (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), John Illsley (bass guitar, backing vocals) and Pick Withers (drums, percussion). Th ...

and played on their first four albums, which included hit singles such as "

Sultans of Swing "Sultans of Swing" is a song by the British Rock music, rock band Dire Straits, written by the lead vocalist and guitarist Mark Knopfler. Dire Straits recorded a Demo (music), demo at Pathway Studios, North London, in July 1977, and it acquired ...

", "

Romeo and Juliet ''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...

" and " Private Investigations". Withers was inducted into the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), also simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and the ...

as a member of Dire Straits in 2018.

Biography

Taught by childhood friend Richard Storer, Withers first played a drum in the

Boys' Brigade The Boys' Brigade (BB) is an international interdenominational Christianity, Christian youth organisation, conceived by the Scottish businessman William Alexander Smith (Boys' Brigade), Sir William Alexander Smith to combine drill and fun acti ...

in his home city of Leicester. He became a professional musician at the age of 17, in an Italian band called

The Primitives The Primitives are an English indie pop band from Coventry, best known for their 1988 international hit single "Crash (The Primitives song), Crash". Formed in 1984, disbanded in 1992 and reformed in 2009, the band's two constant members throu ...

. This was followed by a band called

Spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season), a season of the year * Spring (device), a mechanical device that stores energy * Spring (hydrology), a natural source of water * Spring (mathematics), a geometric surface in the shape of a he ...

who had a record contract but little success; they released one album on the

RCA RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded in 1919 as the Radio Corporation of America. It was initially a patent pool, patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Westinghou ...

label. In the mid-1970s Withers was a house drummer at

Rockfield Studios Rockfield Studios is a residential recording studio located in the Wye Valley just outside the village of Rockfield, Monmouthshire, Wales. It was founded in 1963 by brothers Kingsley and Charles Ward. Recording studios Rockfield is a two-stu ...

near

Monmouth Monmouth ( or ; ) is a market town and community (Wales), community in Monmouthshire, Wales, situated on where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, from the Wales–England border. The population in the 2011 census was 10,508, rising from 8 ...

, Wales. He played on records by

Dave Edmunds David William Edmunds (born 15 April 1944) is a Welsh retired singer, songwriter, guitarist and record producer. Although he is mainly associated with Pub rock (United Kingdom), pub rock and New wave music, new wave, having many hit record, h ...

, Michael Chapman, Hobo, the John Dummer Band and the Gary Fletcher Band, amongst others. His nickname has been subject to some variations in spelling. During his time with Spring, he was billed as "Pique Withers". He is billed as "Pic Withers" on the second

Brewers Droop Brewers Droop was a Southern English pub rock band of the early 1970s. Though they did not chart, they are notable as an early exponent of the pub rock style, as well as for their connections with Dire Straits, as both Mark Knopfler and Pic ...

album. Withers has also studied at Drumtech drum school in London.

Dire Straits

He met

Mark Knopfler Mark Freuder Knopfler OBE (born 12 August 1949) is a British musician. He was the lead guitarist, singer and songwriter of the rock band Dire Straits from 1977 to 1995, and he is the one of the two members who stayed during the band's existence ...

1976 in North London. Knopfler called around to the house Withers was living in to borrow

Simon Cowe Simon Cowe (1 April 1948 – 30 September 2015) was an English guitarist and multi-instrumentalist most noted as a member of the folk-rock group Lindisfarne from their original formation in 1970 until 1973, and then again from 1978 to his depar ...

's reel-to-reel tape recorder, and recorded some music with Withers that same day. Withers was briefly a member of folk-rock outfit

Magna Carta (Medieval Latin for "Great Charter"), sometimes spelled Magna Charta, is a royal charter of rights agreed to by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, on 15 June 1215. First drafted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Cardin ...

in 1977, but once Dire Straits gained a recording contract, turned to drumming for that band full-time. His style with Dire Straits is distinctive for being restrained, favouring sparse

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

hi-hat A hi-hat (hihat, high-hat, etc.) is a combination of two cymbals and a pedal, all mounted on a metal stand. It is a part of the standard drum kit used by drummers in many styles of music including rock music, rock, popular music, pop, jazz, an ...

combinations rather than heavy beats, speed and technical flourishes. He played on the Dire Straits albums ''

'' (1978), ''

Communiqué A press release (also known as a media release) is an official statement delivered to members of the news media for the purpose of providing new information, creating an official statement, or making an announcement directed for public releas ...

'' (1979), ''

Making Movies ''Making Movies'' is the third studio album by British rock band Dire Straits, released on 17 October 1980 by Vertigo Records internationally, Warner Bros. Records in the United States and Mercury Records in Canada. The album includes the singl ...

'' (1980) and '' Love Over Gold'' (1982). Withers left Dire Straits in the summer of 1982, soon after completing the ''Love Over Gold'' sessions. In a 2021 interview in which he was asked why he left, Withers said that the band was becoming too loud, he was tired of the treadmill, and he wanted to try new things. His replacement in Dire Straits was Terry Williams, who like Withers had been a Dave Edmunds

sideman A sideman is a professional musician who is hired to perform live with a solo artist, or with a group in which they are not a regular band member. The term is usually used to describe musicians that play with jazz or rock artists, whether solo o ...

Later career

In 2021, Withers re-surfaced with a new

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated within African American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predomina ...

band called 'Slim Pickin's', later renamed 'Pick's Pocket'.

Discography

With Dire Straits

With others

* ''Wrecked Again (Album)-1971'', Michael Chapman * ''Spring'',

* ''How Long Is Forever'', Prelude * ''

Slow Train Coming ''Slow Train Coming'' is the nineteenth studio album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on August 20, 1979, by Columbia Records. It was Dylan's first album following his conversion to Christianity, and the songs either express per ...

'',

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

* ''Giant From The Blue'', Gary Fletcher Band * ''

Sleepwalking Sleepwalking, also known as somnambulism or noctambulism, is a phenomenon of combined sleep and wakefulness. It is classified as a sleep disorder belonging to the parasomnia family. It occurs during the slow wave stage of sleep, in a state of ...

'',

Gerry Rafferty Gerald Rafferty (16 April 1947– 4 January 2011) was a Scottish singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. He was a founding member of Stealers Wheel, whose biggest hit was "Stuck in the Middle with You" in 1973. His solo hits in the ...

* ''

A Rare Conundrum ''A Rare Conundrum'' is an album by Scottish folk musician Bert Jansch, released in 1977 in the UK. The album was first released by Ex Libris Records in Denmark in late 1976 as ''Poormouth'' with an alternative cover and a slightly different tr ...

'',

Bert Jansch Herbert Jansch (3 November 1943 – 5 October 2011) was a Scottish folk musician and founding member of the band Pentangle (band), Pentangle. He was born in Glasgow and came to prominence in London in the 1960s as an acoustic guitarist and ...

* '' The Booze Brothers'',

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Withers, Pick 1948 births Living people English rock drummers English jazz drummers English male drummers Dire Straits members Musicians from Leicester John Dummer Band members