Richard John Ploog (born 29 October 1962) is an Australian

drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drums. Most contemporary western bands that play rock, pop, jazz, or R&B music include a drummer for purposes including timekeeping and embellishing the musical timbre. The drummer' ...

, songwriter, producer and singer who was a member of rock band

The Church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

between 1981 and 1990. Ploog also drummed for

Beasts of Bourbon Beasts of Bourbon were an Australian blues rock band formed in August 1983, with James Baker on drums (ex- Hoodoo Gurus, The Scientists), Spencer P. Jones on guitar ( The Johnnys), Tex Perkins on vocals (Dum Dums), Kim Salmon on guitar and ...

in 1983,

Damien Lovelock Damien Richard Lovelock (21 May 1954 – 3 August 2019), known familiarly as Damo, was an Australian musician, sports broadcaster and writer. He fronted the hard rock band The Celibate Rifles from 1980 as their lead singer-songwriter and later ...

in 1988 and with fellow The Church member

Peter Koppes Peter Koppes (born 21 November 1955) is an Australian guitarist, best known as a founding and almost-continuous member of the independent rock band The Church. He is a multi-instrumentalist, also playing mandolin, drums, piano, and harmonica. ...

in 1991 for an album and tour. He is the father of Irie Ploog.

Biography

Richard John Ploog was born on 29 October 1962 and is from

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater A ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

. As a

, he joined various bands including, The Name Droppers, The Brats and Exhibit A. In early 1981, at the age of 18, he replaced

's founding drummer, Nick Ward. In April the band released their debut album, ''

Of Skins and Heart ''Of Skins and Heart'' is the debut album by the Australian psychedelic rock band The Church, Note: Archived n-linecopy has limited functionality. released in April 1981 by EMI Parlophone. It peaked at No. 22 in the Australian Kent Mus ...

'' and the associated single, "The Unguarded Moment", which had been recorded late the previous year with Ward. Ploog's first recording with The Church was the five-track double single, "Too Fast for You" released in July. When ''Of Skins and Heart'' was released internationally (

Carrere Carrere or Carrère may refer to: As a name * Georges Carrère (1897–1986), French classical violinist * Edward Carrere (1906–1984), Mexican art director * Emmanuel Carrère (1957–), French author, screenwriter, and director * Fernando Car ...

for Europe,

Capitol A capitol, named after the Capitoline Hill in Rome, is usually a legislative building where a legislature meets and makes laws for its respective political entity. Specific capitols include: * United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. * Numerou ...

for North America) it was re-titled as ''The Church'' with "Tear It All Away" replacing original track "Fighter Pilot...Korean War". On early record covers of ''The Church'', Ploog was incorrectly credited with all the drumming—Ward is not listed. Aside from drumming, Ploog also contributed song writing to The Church's releases. He also became involved in various side projects. Firstly, with

as a drummer in 1983 and then performing with its members, Tex Perkins on vocals and

Kim Salmon Kim Leith Salmon (born 24 January 1957) is an Australian rock musician and songwriter from Perth. He has worked in various groups including The Scientists, Beasts of Bourbon, Kim Salmon and the Surrealists, Kim Salmon and the Business, and Darli ...

on guitar and harmonica, as Salamander Jim in February 1984. He worked on The Celibate Rifles' vocalist

's debut solo album, ''Wig Wig Wig Wig World'' in 1988. Ploog left The Church after recording their seventh album, '' Gold Afternoon Fix'' which was released in February 1990. According to Steve Kilbey, he left the band "because of musical personal differences.

He was replaced by

Jay Dee Daugherty Jay Dee Daugherty (born March 22, 1952) is an American drummer and songwriter most known for his work with Patti Smith. As a member of the Patti Smith Group, he has been nominated twice to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Biography Moving to ...

(ex-

Patti Smith Group Patricia Lee Smith (born December 30, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, poet, painter and author who became an influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album ''Horses''. Called the "punk poet ...

). Ploog joined The Church member

' group The Well to tour and record ''From the Well'' (1990) and ''Iridescence'' (1991). Ploog has also drummed for The Wigmen, The Deadly Hume, Funkicide, and The Sleep-ins. Ploog returned to live drumming in 2013 with a series of gigs accompanying Steve Kilbey and Mark Gable. He is also a member of

Groom Epoch A bridegroom (often shortened to groom) is a man who is about to be married or who is newlywed. When marrying, the bridegroom's future spouse (if female) is usually referred to as the bride. A bridegroom is typically attended by a best man ...

. The band have released three albums, '' Scalar Trails'' (2014), '' Solar Warden'' (2018) and '' Initiation'' (2019).

References

;General * Note: Archived n-linecopy has limited functionality. ;Specific

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ploog, Richard Australian drummers Male drummers 1962 births Living people The Church (band) members