Terry Arnett Posted June 14, 2004 Share Posted June 14, 2004 Hi - Just thought I'd post up a thread about one of my all time favorite drummers - Mr Terry Chambers! Anyone would has not heard of him should at least check him out. His drum sound (with assistance from Hugh Padgham [Genesis/Phil C/Police/Sting]) is a wonderful - very 80's - drum sound! Recommended tracks... Making Plans For Nigel... from Drums & Wires, Towers Of London, Living Through Another Cuba, Respectable Street, Sgt Rock... from Black Sea Ball & Chain, Senses Working Overtime, Down In The Cockpit, English Roundabout... from English Settlement He has influenced my playing since I started in 1983. I just wonder how many other people have heard of him, and how much you rate him. Regards... Terry www.ghresource.co.uk www.y-c-b.co.uk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fieryjack Posted June 15, 2004 Share Posted June 15, 2004 I honestly didn't know his name. I love Drums and Wires and English Settlement. I think the drumming on early XTC stuff is brilliant....how about Generals and Majors? Making Plans for Nigel is classic. This kind of drumming was refreshing in the face of more typical, commercial rock beats of the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D. Gauss Posted June 16, 2004 Share Posted June 16, 2004 back in the day, during xtc's last real tour (english settlement), i somehow found myself in the dressing room with the band after the show in south jersey. i ended up next to the catering table drinking beers with a somewhat buzzed terry chambers who became superanimated when i opened a bag of doritos. he kept exclaiming, "chips!, chips!" he was like animal from the muppets and the rest of the guys were librarians. they never should have kicked him out. they kinda sucked after that. -d. gauss Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fieryjack Posted June 28, 2004 Share Posted June 28, 2004 They played at Six Flag's Great Adventure in South Jersey right around that time....did you see them then? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magpel Posted June 29, 2004 Share Posted June 29, 2004 Originally posted by d gauss: he was like animal from the muppets and the rest of the guys were librarians. they never should have kicked him out. they kinda sucked after that. -d. gaussGreat story, but Big Express sucks? Skylarking sucks? I read an interview with Chambers. I don't remember where, but I'm sure you can find the link somewhere out there on the many XTC fan sites. He lives in Australia and works construction. Check out the Sweet Clementines CD at bandcamp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D. Gauss Posted July 4, 2004 Share Posted July 4, 2004 < well, to be honest, yeah. i never liked much after english settlement. sure, the odd song here or there ("dear god" comes to mind), but that's about it. -d. gauss Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmd Posted July 5, 2004 Share Posted July 5, 2004 ---Terry Chambers was awesome! As I heard it, he was real different personality-wise from the other three. When they decided to stop touring he thought it was a big mistake.(Which it was, you HAVE to tour to successfully promote your music and keep in touch with your fans.) That decision and the personal differences made him eventually leave the band. I do like all XTC albums up to and including Skylarking, but miss his creative drumming on the ones after he left. (Check out the cool rolls on the breaks in "Senses Working Overtime" for example...) Does anyone know if he still plays? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magpel Posted July 5, 2004 Share Posted July 5, 2004 I don't think he still plays. He married and moved to Australia to become...a bloke. From what I recall, he and Partridge had problems, musical and extra-musical. I loved his drumming on the early records. Well, I'm going to part ways with D. Gauss and say that White Music and Go2 suck more than Mummer and Oranges and Lemons, but I guess it was a healthier, naive kind of suck. I'm certainly in agreement that the "early Gregory Albums"-- Drums and Wires, Black Sea, and English settlement--represent the peak period for XTC, before Andy, Colin and Dave retured to Swindon to become neurotic Brian Wilson wannabes. Black Sea in particular describes a band that could rock in a completely new and idiosyncratic way. I remember hearing something like the groove to Sgt. Rock when I was 20 and just thinking, man, that is it! Punky pop that also satisfied the prog head in me because it was so unusual and sophisticated in some ways. or Burning with Optimism's Flames, for pete's sake! Or so much of English Settlement. When I first heard Melt the Guns, I couldn't stop smiling for weeks. And Chambers was a huge part of all of that. They say that Pat Mastelletto, the drummer on Oranges and Lemons, was a huge fan of Chambers' playing and would call out old XTC requests all during those sessions in LA. Yep, Chambers was great. Listen to the track Playground, the first song on Wasp Star, their latest. The serial drum intro is an overt tribute to Terry played by Chuck Sabo, who ain't so bad himself. Check out the Sweet Clementines CD at bandcamp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fieryjack Posted July 6, 2004 Share Posted July 6, 2004 The writing was strong on Skylarking, but the drumming on that album wasn't even close to Chambers. His style fit their sound like a glove, and it didn't sound like a band to me after that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Arnett Posted July 7, 2004 Author Share Posted July 7, 2004 Terry Chambers has been - and still will be - the BEST XTC drummer! I completely admire Pete P, Mr Linn , P Prince, DM, PM for differing reasons... but it's Terry's drumming that got me into playing drums in the first place! To play a straight rhythm, at speed, without dropping a note - is extremely difficult. Not a lot of drummers (even good drummers) can do that. Other examples of this "straight" drumming could be found in Tony Thompson (Chic), Mickey Curry (whilst in Hall & Oates - check out Private Eyes, Family Man & Maneater!) and even Stewart Copeland. Terry has an amazing talent for making things sound easy, when they are truly not! Making Plans For Nigel is a prime example. And this track has GROOVE all over it! In fact, it was listed by Bill Bruford and Geoff Dugmore as one of the most influential drum patterns in a poll in Rhythm magazine back in 1985! Living Through Another Cuba is another one - check out the hi-hat work on there (on the 2 - and, then on the 4 - and) - very clever - and works so well in the echoed part. Sgt Rock was a bitch to work out - and I found that I was not playing it the same way Terry C did! I played the snare with the left hand only. Terry C played the backbeat with the left, but the second strike with the right, then phrased round the floor tom! And - he makes it look SO damned simple! You try it after playing the way I played - it's torn me apart countless times! Terry's knack for a good "pea souper" (as Colin so nicely puts it!) in things like Love At First Sight and Generals & Majors were just so tight and groovy. His patterns didn't drive the tracks - they propelled them with atomic fusion! Such was his power! His grunt and power in Travels in Nihilon, Respectable Street, Jason & The Argonauts, Ball & Chain - just sums up what a great drummer he was, and still is IMO! You know, I was listening to "XTC Live in London" (from around 1980), and that recording doesn't give Terry enough credit. I was there that night, and his drums could have raised The Palais to the ground! Can someone bring him back? But, I also have to comment on Dave Mattacks - especially on The Smartest Monkeys and Dissappointed. The hi-hat displacement on D and the drive of TSM is sheer class! And don't get me started on Omnibus!!!!!!!!!!!!! Pat Mastellotto has to be credited as well. He played brilliantly throughout O&L. He also played on The Rembrandts cover of Nigel - and did a damn fine job! Prairie Prince has a lot of grunt as well - and my fav of his has to be Extrovert. Again, groove, power - and that bass drum!!!!!!!!!!! I'm glad Chuck Sabo was also mentioned But Terry Chambers has the highest honours for me. Long live King Chambers (or Lord Wackerman)! I am trying to relive the magic that Terry did, with an XTC/Fuzzy Warbles project I'm working on at the moment. We are working towards performing at the XTC Convention in Swindon, England - on 30th Sept to 2nd Oct 2005. In essense, what we are doing is bringing to life some of the work that has NEVER been played live - especially from the Fuzzy Warbles releases. There are a couple of old numbers - Making Plans For Nigel is one of them - but it's only when you start to work out the drum patterns that you start to begin to realise how fantastic Terry was. I'm glad other people here feel the same. www.ghresource.co.uk www.y-c-b.co.uk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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