Stephen Jeffrey Holley (born 24 August 1954) is an English rock drummer. He was a member of

Wings A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is exp ...

from August 1978 to April 1981. In 1984 he played drums and percussion in Julian Lennon's debut album '' Valotte''. He has also toured with Ian Hunter, on drums and backing vocals, including a reunion tour with Mott the Hoople in 2018 and 2019

Early life

Holley was born in London. His father, Jeffrey, led a

swing music Swing music is a style of jazz that developed in the United States during the late 1920s and early 1930s. It became nationally popular from the mid-1930s. The name derived from its emphasis on the off-beat, or nominally weaker beat. Swing bands ...

band and his mother, Irene, was the singer. Holley first studied the piano, but took up the drums at the age of twelve.

Career

In the course of his career, dating back to 1970 and an album with the band Horse, and including numerous appearances as a

session musician Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...

, he performed and recorded with

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. On ...

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

, Kiki Dee, G.T. Moore & The Reggae Guitars,

Joe Cocker John Robert "Joe" Cocker (20 May 1944 – 22 December 2014) was an English singer known for his gritty, bluesy voice and dynamic stage performances that featured expressive body movements. Most of his best known singles were recordings of son ...

, Ian Hunter, Tommy Shaw, Julian Lennon,

Dar Williams Dorothy Snowden "Dar" Williams (born April 19, 1967) is an American pop folk singer-songwriter from Mount Kisco, New York. Hendrik Hertzberg of ''The New Yorker'' has described Williams as "one of America's very best singer-songwriters." She ...

, Richard Barone, Ben E. King, and Chuck Berry. In 1978, soon after performing on Elton John's hit single "Ego", a chance meeting in a pub in his hometown of Staines with Denny Laine resulted in him being invited to join Wings. Holley later was a member of

Jules Shear Jules Mark Shear (born March 7, 1952) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He wrote the Cyndi Lauper hit single " All Through the Night" and The Bangles' hit "If She Knew What She Wants", and charted a hit as a performer with "Stead ...

's band, Reckless Sleepers. Holley has been touring with Ian Hunter for several years as a member of Ian Hunter's Rant Band. He plays Pearl drums and Sabian cymbals.

Discography

* ''The Reluctant Dog (2003)''

Collaborations

* '' A Single Man'' -

(1978) * '' Jump Up'' -

(1982) * '' Valotte'' - Julian Lennon (1984) * '' No Sound But a Heart'' -

Sheena Easton Sheena Shirley Easton (; born 27 April 1959) is a Scottish singer and actress. Easton came into the public eye in an episode of the first British musical reality television programme '' The Big Time: Pop Singer'', which recorded her attempts to ...

(1987) * '' Night Calls'' -

(1991)

References

External links

* 1954 births Living people English rock drummers Musicians from London Paul McCartney and Wings members British male drummers Elton John Band members {{UK-drummer-stub