Brian Davison (25 May 1942 – 15 April 2008), was a British musician. He is best known for playing drums with The Mark Leeman Five,

The Nice The Nice were an English progressive rock band active in the late 1960s. They blended rock, jazz and classical music and were keyboardist Keith Emerson's first commercially successful band. The group was formed in 1967 by Emerson, Lee Jack ...

, Brian Davison's Every Which Way and

Refugee A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution.

Biography

Towards the end of the 1950s, he played in various

skiffle Skiffle is a genre of folk music with influences from American folk music, blues, country, bluegrass, and jazz, generally performed with a mixture of manufactured and homemade or improvised instruments. Originating as a form in the United States ...

groups in small clubs in the north-west of

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. He quietly established a reputation as a drummer until the early 1960s when he joined The Mark Leeman Five in 1963, with Mark Leeman on vocals, Alan Roskams on guitar, Dave Hyde on bass and Terry Goldberg on piano. They recorded a series of singles during their career as well as an album published in 1963, ''Rhythm and Blues Plus!'', which contains among others, a song by

Willie Dixon William James Dixon (July 1, 1915January 29, 1992) was an American blues musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger and record producer. He was proficient in playing both the upright bass and the guitar, and sang with a distinctive voice, but he ...

''You can't judge a book by its cover'' and one from Mud Morganfeld ''Got my mojo working'', as well as other pieces from

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

. In 1965, after singer Mark Leeman died in a car accident, the band members recruited another singer Roger Peacock and the band continued until 1966 before disbanding. At this time he created with Brian Wilson - not to be confused with the bassist of the Beach Boys -, guitar and vocals and a bassist, the trio The Habits, which will release a single ''Elbow Baby'' produced by

Spencer Davis Spencer Davis (born Spencer David Nelson Davies; 17 July 193919 October 2020) was a Welsh singer and musician. He founded The Spencer Davis Group, a band that had several hits in the 1960s including "Keep On Running", "Gimme Some Lovin'", and ...

. This group came to France and played in Marseille (in a small ephemeral club ''L'Elbow'') and in Cogolin at ''La Jasse''. Brian Davison then formed the psychedelic band Shinn with Donald ''Donn'' Shinn on keyboards, Paul Newton on bass (future member of Uriah Heep) and singer Eddie Lamb . They do a few gigs but don't produce any records. Then in 1967, Brian replaced drummer Ian Hague in a new band,

, with ex-Gary Farr & The T-Bones

Keith Emerson Keith Noel Emerson (2 November 1944 – 11 March 2016) was an English keyboardist, songwriter, and record producer. He played keyboards in a number of bands before finding his first commercial success with the Nice in the late 1960s. He became ...

on organ and piano and Keith ''Lee'' Jackson on bass and vocals as well as guitarist and trumpeter

David O'List David O'List (born 13 December 1948) is an English rock guitarist, vocalist and trumpeter. He has played with The Attack, The Nice, Roxy Music (before being replaced by Phil Manzanera), and Jet (replaced by Ian Macleod). He also briefly deputi ...

, ex-member of The Attack. They released their first album in 1967 on the Immediate Records label, entitled ''The thoughts of Emerlist Davjack'' after an anagram of the musicians' names. The album contains a very personal interpretation of a piece by

Dave Brubeck David Warren Brubeck (; December 6, 1920 – December 5, 2012) was an American jazz pianist and composer. Often regarded as a foremost exponent of cool jazz, Brubeck's work is characterized by unusual time signatures and superimposing contrasti ...

, ''Rondo'' from ''Blue Rondo À La Turk''. After a second album, ''Ars Longa Vita Brevis'' in the vein of the first which sees the departure of guitarist David O'List to form the group

Roxy Music Roxy Music are an English rock music, rock band formed in 1970 by Bryan Ferry—who became the band's lead vocalist and principal songwriter—and bassist Graham Simpson (musician), Graham Simpson. The other longtime members are Phil Manzanera ...

with which he will remain very little, The Nice continued as a trio until it broke up in 1969 when Keith Emerson, seeking to broaden his horizons, disbanded the group and formed the trio

Emerson, Lake & Palmer Emerson, Lake & Palmer (informally known as ELP) were an English progressive rock supergroup formed in London in 1970. The band consisted of Keith Emerson (keyboards), Greg Lake (vocals, bass, guitar, producer) and Carl Palmer (drums, percus ...

Brian Davison's Every Which Way

Brian Davison then founded another group, Brian Davison's Every Which Way and released an eponymous album on the Charisma label in 1970, with Graham Bell on vocals, acoustic guitar and electric piano, John Hedley on electric guitar, Alan Cartwright on bass, Geoffrey Peach on flute, horns and backing vocals and of course Brian himself on drums. In a rhythm and blues and

free jazz Free jazz is an experimental approach to jazz improvisation that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s when musicians attempted to change or break down jazz conventions, such as regular tempos, tones, and chord changes. Musicians during ...

vein, the album contains the long

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

''Bed Ain't What It Used To Be'', but goes completely unnoticed and, due to low sales, the group split up. Davison is then forced to play with small unknown formations. He plays for Wolfgang Dauner, then does a few sessions as a studio musician. He thus played with Keith Emerson and Lee Jackson of Nice for the last time on an album of Roy Harper, ''Flat, Baroque & Berserk'' in 1970, the piece ''Hell's Angels''. He did it again in 1973, again with Roy Harper for the album ''Lifemask'', on which he played on the long suite ''The Lord's prayer''. Lee Jackson, for his part, formed his own group Jackson Heights after the separation of Nice, and after their fourth album ''Bump n' grind'', approached the Swiss keyboardist

Patrick Moraz Patrick Philippe Moraz (born 24 June 1948) is a Swiss musician, film composer and songwriter, best known for his tenures as keyboardist in the rock bands Yes and The Moody Blues. Born into a musical family, Moraz learned music at a young age a ...

so that he joins them but the latter refuses and proposes instead to form another group with him, Refugee. It was then that Brian Davison reunited with his former companion from Nice and an eponymous album was produced in 1974. They did a few concerts then Moraz auditioned for the group

Yes Yes or YES may refer to: * An affirmative particle in the English language; see yes and no Education * YES Prep Public Schools, Houston, Texas, US * YES (Your Extraordinary Saturday), a learning program from the Minnesota Institute for Talente ...

and left the trio; British keyboardist Graham Bond was considered a possible replacement but after an audition the combination proved impractical. While Jackson then retired from music to focus on a career as a designer, Davison persevered in playing with the band

Gong A gongFrom Indonesian and ms, gong; jv, ꦒꦺꦴꦁ ; zh, c=鑼, p=luó; ja, , dora; km, គង ; th, ฆ้อง ; vi, cồng chiêng; as, কাঁহ is a percussion instrument originating in East Asia and Southeast Asia. Gongs ...

on tour for a while before scraping by again with small local bands.

Vivacitas

In 2002, Keith Emerson reformed The Nice with Lee Jackson, Brian Davison and guitarist

Dave Kilminster David Kilminster (born 25 January 1962) is a British guitarist, vocalist, songwriter, producer and music teacher, who has toured as a sideman to several prestigious musicians, including progressive rock artists Steven Wilson and Roger Waters. ...

, augmented for a few songs by Phil Williams on bass and Pete Riley on drums. A tour of England followed and an album ''Vivacitas'' published in 2003, with songs from Nice including the double ''America/Rondo'' as well as classics such as ''Karelia Suite'', ''She belongs to me'' and ''Hang on to a dream''. Also included are pieces by Emerson, Lake & Palmer such as ''Tarkus'', ''Honky Tonk Train Blues'' and ''Fanfare for a common man''. This triple album also contains an interview with Chris Welch by Keith Emerson recorded in 2001. Davison taught drumming at

Bideford College Bideford College is a mixed secondary school and sixth form located in Bideford in the English county of Devon. The principal is Claire Ankers. History It is the only state-funded secondary school in Bideford. In 2003, the college was awarded ...

. He died of a brain tumour on 15 April 2008 at home in Horns Cross

Bideford Bideford ( ) is a historic port town on the estuary of the River Torridge in north Devon, south-west England. It is the main town of the Torridge local government district. Toponymy In ancient records Bideford is recorded as ''Bedeford'', ''By ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

, aged 65.

Discography

Mark Leeman Five

Singles

* 1965 : ''Portland Town/Gotta get myself together'' : Columbia – DB 7452 * 1965 : ''Blow my blues away/On the horizon'' : Columbia – DB 7648 * 1966 : ''Forbidden Fruit/Going To Bluesville'' : Columbia - DB 7812 * 1966 : ''Follow me/Gather Up The Pieces'' : Columbia – DB 7955 Promo Single

Album

* 1963 : ''Rhythm and Blues Plus!'' : serial number unknown

Compilations

* 1971 : ''Rock Generation Volume 8 - Soft Machine At The Beginning - Mark Leeman Five And Davy Graham'' : Byg Records - 529.708 * 1991 : ''The Mark Leeman Five – Memorial Album'' : See For Miles Records Ltd. SEE CD 317 - Available on CD

The Nice

Studio Albums

* 1968: '' The Thoughts of Emerlist Davjack'' (Immediate) * 1968: ''

Ars Longa Vita Brevis ''Ars longa, vita brevis'' is a Latin translation of an aphorism coming originally from Greek, roughly meaning, "skilfulness takes time and life is short". The aphorism quotes the first two lines of the ''Aphorismi'' by the ancient Greek phys ...

'' (Immediate) * 1969: ''

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...

'' (Immediate)

Live Albums

* 1970: ''

Five Bridges The "Five Bridges Suite" is a modern piece of music, written in the 1960s, combining classical music and jazz. Written about the UK city of Newcastle upon Tyne, it was released as an album by the Nice as ''Five Bridges'', which achieved the nu ...

'' (Charisma) * 1971: ''

Elegy An elegy is a poem of serious reflection, and in English literature usually a lament for the dead. However, according to ''The Oxford Handbook of the Elegy'', "for all of its pervasiveness ... the 'elegy' remains remarkably ill defined: sometime ...

'' (Charisma) * 1996: ''America – The BBC Sessions'' (Receiver) * 2001: ''The Swedish Radio Sessions'' (Sanctuary) * 2002: ''BBC Sessions'' (Sanctuary) * 2003: ''Vivacitas'' (Sanctuary) * 2009: ''Live at the Fillmore East December 1969'' (Virgin)

Singles

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

: ''The Thoughts of Emerlist Davjack / Azrael (Angel of Death)'' (Immediate) *

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Januar ...

: ''America / Diamond Hard Blue Apples of the Moon'' (Immediate, 1968) * 1968 : ''Brandenburger / Happy Freuds'' (Immediate) *

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

: ''Diary of an Empty Day / Hang On to a Dream'' (Immediate) * 1969 : ''Country Pie / Brandenburg Concerto #6 / One of Those People'' (Charisma)

Collaborations

: '' Don't Burst My Bubble/Come Home Baby'' (Side One

P. P. Arnold Patricia Ann Cole (born October 3, 1946), known professionally as P. P. Arnold, is an American soul singer. Arnold began her career as an Ikette with the Ike & Tina Turner Revue in 1965. The following year she relocated to London to pursue a solo ...

with

Small Faces Small Faces were an English rock band from London, founded in 1965. The group originally consisted of Steve Marriott, Ronnie Lane, Kenney Jones and Jimmy Winston, with Ian McLagan replacing Winston as the band's keyboardist in 1966. The band w ...

- Side Two

Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British rock and pop singer and songwriter. Born and raised in London, he is of Scottish and English ancestry. With his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the best-selling ...

with P. P. Arnold) (Keith Emerson is on Hammond organ on side two with Rod Stewart on vocals,

Ron Wood Ron is a shortening of the name Ronald. Ron or RON may also refer to: Arts and media * Big Ron (''EastEnders''), a TV character * Ron (''King of Fighters''), a video game character *Ron Douglas, the protagonist in ''Lucky Stiff'' played by Joe A ...

on guitar,

Keith Richards Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943), often referred to during the 1960s and 1970s as "Keith Richard", is an English musician and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the co-founder, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-princi ...

on bass,

Nicky Hopkins Nicholas Christian "Nicky" Hopkins (24 February 1944 – 6 September 1994) was an English pianist and organist. Hopkins performed on many popular and enduring British and American rock music recordings from the 1960s to the 1990s, most notably ...

on electric piano

Mickey Waller Michael Waller (6 September 1941 – 29 April 2008) was an English drummer, who played with many of the biggest names on the UK rock and blues scene, after he became a professional musician in 1960. In addition to being a member, albeit sometim ...

on drums - Immediate Records) *

: ''An Old Raincoat Won't Ever Let You Down'' by

(Keith plays organ on ''I Wouldn't Ever Change a Thing'') *

: ''Music From Free Creek'' - Various artists. (1969) (Keith plays on 3 songs) *

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

: ''The Theory of Everything'' de

Ayreon Ayreon is a musical project by Dutch songwriter, singer, musician and record producer Arjen Anthony Lucassen. Ayreon's music is described as progressive rock, progressive metal and power metal sometimes combined with genres such as folk, electro ...

(Keith on synthesizer on the song ''Progressive Waves''. - With

Steve Hackett Stephen Richard Hackett (born 12 February 1950) is an English musician, singer, songwriter and record producer who gained prominence as the lead guitarist of the progressive rock band Genesis from 1971 to 1977. Hackett contributed to six Genesis ...

John Wetton John Kenneth Wetton (12 June 1949 – 31 January 2017) was an English musician, singer, and songwriter. Known for his dexterous bass playing and booming baritone voice, Wetton first gained fame in the early 1970s. Wetton was the singer and p ...

Rick Wakeman Richard Christopher Wakeman (born 18 May 1949) is an English keyboardist best known as a former member of the progressive rock band Yes across five tenures between 1971 and 2004, and for his solo albums released in the 1970s. Born and raised ...

and

Jordan Rudess Jordan Rudess (born Jordan Charles Rudes; November 4, 1956) is an American musician, software developer and composer best known as a member of the progressive metal band Dream Theater and the progressive metal supergroup Liquid Tension Experime ...

who also play on the album)

Compilations

* ''Hang on to a dream'' - Esperar un sueno (Emidisc 1C 048-50 722 - 1970) * ''The Nice'' (Phillips 9299 718 - 1970) * ''The best of The Nice'' (Immediate 1C 048-90 674 - 1970) * ''Keith Emerson With The Nice'' (Mercury – 830 457-2 M-1 - 1971) Include albums Five Bridges Suite and Elegy * ''Keith Emerson With The Nice Vol 2'' (Fontana 9286 862 1971) * ''In memoriam'' (Immediate 2C 054 - 95954 - 1972) * ''Autumn '67 - Spring '68'' (Charisma, 1972, UK) Reedited under the title : ''Autumn to Spring'' (Charisma, 1973, USA) * ''The Immediate Story'' (Double CD - Sire SASH - 37102 - 1975) * ''Amoeni Redivivi'' (Immediate IML1003 - 1976) * ''Greatest Hits'' (Immediate IML 2003 - 1977) * ''Ars Longa Vita Brevis'' (3 LP Box - Charly Records 26 76 210 - 1977) * ''The Immediate Years'' (3 LP Box - Charly Records CDIMMBOX2 - Charly Schallplatten GmbH - 1995 Germany) * ''Nice Hits Nice Bits'' ''(BMG Fabricated, 1999)'' * ''The Immediate Collection'' (Recall Records - 1999 Double CD Album) * ''Here Comes The Nice'' ''The Immediate Anthology'' (3CD Castle Music - CMETD 055 - 2000) * ''Keith Emerson & The Nice'' ''Absolutely The Best'' (True North 1003941 - 2001) * ''BBC Sessions'' - Ian Hague on drums on ''Flower King Of Flies'', ''Sombrero Sam'' and ''Rondo'' recorded for the television show ''Top Gera''. * Artistes Variés - ''Immediate Pleasure -'' Including Rod Stewart and P.P. Arnold'', Come home baby'' and two songs from The Nice, ''The Thoughts of Emerlist Davjack and America (2002)''. * ''The best of The Nice, The Small Faces. Humble Pie, Eric Clapton & John Mayall'' (Immediate - 1C 148-92 661/662) Double Album * ''The Nice & The Humble Pie*- Famous Popgroups Of The '60s Vol. 4'' (Music For Pleasure – 1M 146-94319/20) - CD 1 The Nice - CD 2 Humble Pie) Double Album

Brian Davison's Every Which Way

* 1970 : ''Brian Davison's Every Which Way''

Refugee

* 1974 : ''Refugee'' * 2007 : ''Live in Concert Newcastle City Hall 1974'' * 2010 : ''Refugee & Refugee Live In Concert 1974'' Both albums were reedited on Floating World Records.

Collaborations

; Roy Harper : * 1970 : ''Flat, Baroque & Berserk'' - The Nice, (Keith Emerson, Lee Jackson and Brian Davison) play on the song ''Hell's Angels''. * 1973 : ''Lifemask'' - Brian Davison plays drums on the long suite suite ''The Lord's Prayer''.

References

External links

Brian “Blinky” Davison at Find a Grave
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davison, Brian 1942 births 2008 deaths English rock drummers British male drummers People from Leicester Musicians from Leicestershire Progressive rock drummers The Nice members Refugee (band) members 20th-century British male musicians