Clemente Anselmo Arturo Cattini (born 28 August 1937) is
an English rock and roll drummer, who was a member of the Tornados before
becoming well known for his work as a session musician. He is one of the most
prolific drummers in UK recording history, appearing on hundreds of recordings
by artists as diverse as Cliff Richard and Lou Reed, and has featured on 44
different UK number one singles.
He was born Clemente Anselmo Cattini in Stoke, Newington,
London, in 1937(some sources say 1939), and because of the onset of the Second
World War he was one of hundreds of thousands of children evacuated from the
city. As a boy he listened to a good deal of big-band music, and was a particularly
big fan of the Latin-flavoured music of bandleader Edmundo Ros, whose
recordings led the young Clem to think in terms of rhythm. He played hockey as
a teenager, but the injuries he suffered made him think of music as a career
instead. He was swept up in the rock & roll boom in his late teens, drawn
in by Bill Haley's "Rock Around the Clock" and the records that
followed after it from America.
He was a frequent habitué of the legendary 2i's Coffee
Bar, backing performers such as Terry Dene, before joining the touring band
known as the Beat Boys, backing singers managed by Larry Parnes, including
Marty Wilde and Billy Fury. He then joined Johnny Kidd & the Pirates,
playing on their hit "Shakin' All Over", and became Joe Meek's
in-house drummer, backing artists such as John Leyton and Don Charles, before
helping found the Tornados in 1961, and playing on their international No. 1
hit "Telstar".
After leaving the Tornados in early '65 Clem issued a
solo single under the name of "Clem Cattini Ork". He then went on to
become one of Britain's most prolific session musicians, drumming on recordings
by the Kinks, Herman's Hermits, Dusty Springfield, the Merseys, Bee Gees, Lulu,
Marianne Faithfull, Tom Jones, P. J.
Proby, the Hollies, Paul and Barry Ryan, Gene Pitney, Donovan, Love Affair, Jeff Beck, Engelbert Humperdinck, Nirvana, the Ivy League, Edison Lighthouse, the Yardbirds, the Family Dogg, Marc Bolan, Clodagh Rodgers, Keith West, the Flower Pot Men, Georgie Fame, Roy Harper, Ralph McTell, Harmony Grass, Joe Cocker, Graham Gouldman and Brian Auger plus the Walker Brothers to name but a few.
Proby, the Hollies, Paul and Barry Ryan, Gene Pitney, Donovan, Love Affair, Jeff Beck, Engelbert Humperdinck, Nirvana, the Ivy League, Edison Lighthouse, the Yardbirds, the Family Dogg, Marc Bolan, Clodagh Rodgers, Keith West, the Flower Pot Men, Georgie Fame, Roy Harper, Ralph McTell, Harmony Grass, Joe Cocker, Graham Gouldman and Brian Auger plus the Walker Brothers to name but a few.
In the 1970s, he played on recordings by Marvin, Welch
& Farrar, Lou Reed, Cliff Richard, Justin Hayward, Phil Everly, Julie
Covington, Claire Hamill, Alvin Stardust, the Bay City Rollers, Kenny, the
Wombles, Carl Douglas, Christie, Tim Rose, Demis Roussos, the Goodies, John
Betjeman, Malcolm and Alwyn, John Schroeder, Paul McCartney, Hank Marvin, Mike
Batt, Chris Spedding, Bob Downes, Dave Kelly, Christopher Neil, Evelyn
Thomas, Barbara Pennington, Slapp Happy, Mike Berry and Grace Kennedy, and prog rock bands including Beggars Opera, Amazing Blondel and Edwards Hand.
Thomas, Barbara Pennington, Slapp Happy, Mike Berry and Grace Kennedy, and prog rock bands including Beggars Opera, Amazing Blondel and Edwards Hand.
Cattini has played on at least 44 UK number 1 singles,
including "Telstar", Ken Dodd's "Tears", Rolf Harris's
"Two Little Boys", Clive Dunn's "Grandad", "Ernie (The
Fastest Milkman in the West)" by Benny Hill, "Whispering Grass"
by Windsor Davies and Don Estelle, Peters and Lee's "Welcome Home",
Typically Tropical's "Barbados", J. J. Barrie's "No
Charge", Renée and Renato's "Save Your Love", and "(Is This
The Way To) Amarillo" by Tony Christie featuring Peter Kay.
He also played in the orchestra for BBC TV's Top of the Pops, and toured with Cliff Richard, Roy Orbison, Lynda Carter, the Kids from "Fame" and many others. He was also considered for Led Zeppelin – he was initially on Jimmy Page's shortlist of drummers when forming the band before they settled on John Bonham. He
had earlier played alongside John Paul Jones on Donovan's hit single "Hurdy Gurdy Man".
In the 1980s, he reactivated the Tornados' name for tours
and, in 1989, played in the West End run of The Rocky Horror Show. In the
1990s, Cattini also reactivated the Tornados name, which counted for enough
even 30 years after the fact to keep him busy on-stage when he wasn't working
in the studio. In the 21st century, he has come to be regarded as one of the
most beloved figures from early British rock & roll.
In October 2000 Cattini was awarded a gold badge by BASCA
for
his services to the music industry. He more recently recorded the drums for the track "No Tears to Cry" from Paul Weller's 2010 album Wake Up the Nation. He was portrayed by James Corden in the 2009 film Telstar, and appeared himself playing John Leyton's chauffeur.
his services to the music industry. He more recently recorded the drums for the track "No Tears to Cry" from Paul Weller's 2010 album Wake Up the Nation. He was portrayed by James Corden in the 2009 film Telstar, and appeared himself playing John Leyton's chauffeur.
In 2016, he recorded a new version of the 1960s hit
"Telstar", with the North London ska band the Skammer. (Compiled and edited from Wikipedia &
AllMusic)
1 comment:
I have had a few queries concerning Open Drive mp3 players not working. It seems my bandwidth is all used up. Bandwidth is the amount of data you can download in one day. Mine as a free user is IGB.
So being so popular I can’t even hear my own mp3’s (If I pay5 Dollars a month I’m allowed 25 GB per day, but probably like you I cannot pay for everything…hence the mp3 players not working. I can use Zippyshare but have had re-directional problems with the links…..any advice will be considered)
Usually my mp3’s are included in the comments album link. If you are desperate to hear the record in question I will mail you the mp3. Unfortunately I only have a limited time per day for Internet tasks.
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