Here’s the Q&A session that I conducted with Bryan Fitzpatrick via email.  On behalf of NNB fans everywhere, I’d like to thank Bryan for indulging us.

 

 

Phil:  Is it true that your first 'drum kit' was made of cushions at home and that you learned your trade by thumping away to 'Frampton Comes Alive'?

 

Bryan:  I used to hit the cushions, its true, and I certainly bashed along to Frampton, but you could hardly escape that album at that time.

 

 

Phil:  ‘Comes Alive’ made Peter Frampton a huge international star.  Do you remember the Old Grey Whistle Test special - Peter Frampton live at Hemel Pavilion, filmed and broadcast not long after the album hit the top of the charts?

 

Bryan:  Yes, I was at that gig.  Some friends and I camped out that night outside the Pavilion until someone opened it and sold us the tickets at about midnight.  I thought the gig rather disappointing; the sound was rather weedy.  I was used to bands like Wishbone Ash who blew your brains out volumewise.

 

 

Phil:  You always struck me as being the 'baby' of the Never Never Band. Were you much younger than the others, or was it just clean living that gave you that youthful appearance?

 

Bryan: Yes, I was younger than the others.  I was about 17 or 18 when I started playing with them.

 

 

Phil:  Can you tell us how you met the others and joined the NNB?

 

Bryan:  Some mates of mine, Matthew Cowe and Mark Sapsford, went to see Dane and Neil for some lessons, not that they were teachers in any way, but it was good experience.  Mark was my best mate.  Finally, I went to see Cedric a few times and the next thing I knew Cedric had left and they asked me.  I felt out of my depth, but they were too lazy to look for someone else so I stayed and loved it of course.

 

Phil:  When and where was the first gig?

 

Bryan:  The first gig was Berkhamsted Town Hall under the name Druid.  By the next gig we were Never Never.  I can’t remember the second gig, but we played at the Verulam Arms pub in Watford a few times.

 

 

Phil:  You always seemed very tight.  How often did you practice as a band?  And where?

 

Bryan:  We practiced once a week in the back of a pub.  Can’t remember where - Neil would know - it was on the way to Tring, I think.

 

 

Phil:  Any idea how many gigs the band played?

 

Bryan:  We played tons of gigs - god knows how many.  Some hideous places like the one in Canning Town next to a slaughterhouse.

 

 

Phil:  When Neil left, was the intention to carry on permanently with Peter Birkin, or was it just a stop-gap to fulfil contractual obligations?

 

Bryan:  We never had any contracts really.  We carried on after with Pete, but I was always going to leave and play with Neil.  That’s just how it was. Dane was great of course, but it wasn’t the same for me and anyway Neil was my mate and I was quite young.  Playing with Neil wasn’t a musical decision, it was an emotional one.  By the way, I loved Pete too -  we had good times together.

 

 

Phil:  I saw Splash once and I really can't remember you on drums.  It was a big surprise when I saw that you played on the Splash singles.  Did Splash ever have another drummer or was I just not paying attention all those years ago in the Spotted Bull?

 

Bryan:  No, I was the only drummer in Splash.

 

 

Phil:  Curry or pizza?

 

Bryan:  Curry.

 

 

Phil:  What's on your iPod?  (or juke box if you're an old vinyl man!)

 

Bryan:  Musically, I listen to all sorts.  Really old New Orleans stuff, cuban music, Lyle Lovett, Steely Dan, Sinatra, Rufus, James Taylor.

 

 

Phil:  When listening to music, do you find that you concentrate on the drummer to pick up tricks and techniques?

 

Bryan:  I listen to the drummer of course but I think its the voice that communicates to me primarily.

 

 

Phil:  Do you play any other instruments?

 

Bryan:  I play a bit of piano.

 

 

Phil:  What’s your singing voice like?

 

Bryan:  You don’t want to hear my singing voice - its a bit like a fire in a pet shop.

 

 

Phil:  Beatles or Stones?

 

Bryan:  Beatles, without hesitation.

 

 

Phil:  Splash must have finished in the early to mid eighties.  You joined up with Marty Wilde around 1995.  What happened in between?

 

Bryan:  After Splash ended,  I moved to London and lived in a house with Dennis Picknet one of the guitarists in Splash.  I played with Junior Walker for a few years -  proud moment for me.  I also played with a Carpenters tribute which was a good band.  I met a lot of good players through that band, one of which was Neville Marten, who plays with Marty, so that’s the connection there.  Also, Roger Newel plays for Marty who used to play with Rick Wakeman.

 

 

Phil:  What do you do when Marty's not on the road?  Are you a full-time professional musician?

 

Bryan:  I teach drums in Bristol, also before I moved I played in a band called Ronnie and the Rex which was a good R&B band, fronted by funny guy Ronnie Golden, who often appears with Barry Cryer.

 

 

Phil:  How did you end up in Bristol?

 

Bryan:  Had had enough of London!

 

 

Phil:  Real ale or lager?

 

Bryan:  Both.

 

 

Phil:  To finish, let’s go back to the old days.  Was it a shock when Neil left the band or did you see it coming?

 

Bryan:  I saw it coming but still a shock.

 

 

Phil:  How long after Neil left did the band carry on?

 

Bryan:  About a year.

 

 

Phil:  What prompted the end of the band?

 

Bryan:  Personality differences.

 

 

Phil:  Neil, of course, is still active, playing in and around West Herts. Dane, I think lives in Borehamwood.  Any idea of Paul’s whereabouts?  I heard he went into IT and may now be in Canada.

 

Bryan:  Yes, Dane lives in Borehamwood, but as for Paul, I don’t know.  His family was from Leamington Spa and he got into computers.

 

 

And that’s about it.  Thanks once again to Bryan for taking the time to do this.