Cozy Powell (born Colin Trevor Flooks; 29 December 1947 – 5 April 1998) was an English rock drummer who made his name with major rock bands and artists such as
The Jeff Beck Group
The Jeff Beck Group was a British rock band formed in London in January 1967 by former Yardbirds guitarist Jeff Beck. Their innovative approach to heavy-sounding blues, rhythm and blues and rock was a major influence on popular music.
Firs ...
,
Rainbow
A rainbow is a meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky. It takes the form of a multicoloured circular arc. Rainbows c ...
,
Michael Schenker Group
The Michael Schenker Group (often abbreviated as MSG) are a guitar-oriented hard rock band, formed in London in 1979 by former Scorpions and UFO guitarist Michael Schenker. In 1986, Schenker and vocalist Robin McAuley formed the McAuley Sche ...
,
Gary Moore,
Robert Plant,
Brian May
Brian Harold May (born 19 July 1947) is an English guitarist, singer, songwriter, and astrophysicist, who achieved worldwide fame as the lead guitarist of the rock band Queen. May was a co-founder of Queen with lead singer Freddie Mercury and ...
,
Whitesnake
Whitesnake are an English hard rock band formed in London in 1978. The group was originally put together as the backing band for singer David Coverdale, who had recently left Deep Purple. Though the band quickly developed into their own en ...
,
Emerson, Lake & Powell
Emerson, Lake & Powell, sometimes abbreviated as ELP, were an English progressive rock band, considered by many as a variant lineup of Emerson, Lake & Palmer, that released one official studio album in 1986. The album's debut single was "Touc ...
, and
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath were an English rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy met ...
.
Powell appeared on at least 66 albums, with contributions on many other recordings. Many rock drummers have cited him as a major influence.
Early life
Colin Flooks (Cozy Powell) was born in
Cirencester
Cirencester (, ; see below for more variations) is a market town in Gloucestershire, England, west of London. Cirencester lies on the River Churn, a tributary of the River Thames, and is the largest town in the Cotswolds. It is the home of ...
, Gloucestershire, and was adopted. He never knowingly met his birth parents. He started playing drums aged 12 in the school orchestra, thereafter playing along in his spare time to popular singles of the day. The first band Powell was in, called the Corals, played each week at the youth club in Cirencester. During this time the band broke the world record for non-stop playing. Aged 15, Cozy had already worked out an impressive drum solo. The stage name Cozy was borrowed from the jazz drummer
Cozy Cole
William Randolph "Cozy" Cole (October 17, 1909 – January 9, 1981) was an American jazz drummer who worked with Cab Calloway and Louis Armstrong among others and led his own groups.
Life and career
William Randolph Cole was born in East Or ...
. The Corals also played at a youth club in Latton, a small village from Cirencester.
Career
The semi-professional circuit was next, with semi-pro outfit The Sorcerers, a vocal-harmony pop band. The late nights and usual on-the-road exploits began to affect his education, and Powell left to take an office job to finance the purchase of his first set of
Premier drums. The Sorcerers performed in the German club scene of the 1960s.
By 1968 the band had returned to England, basing themselves around
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...
. Powell struck up friendships with fellow musicians like
Robert Plant and
John Bonham
John Henry Bonham (31 May 1948 – 25 September 1980) was an English musician, best known as the drummer for the rock band Led Zeppelin. Esteemed for his speed, power, fast single-footed kick drumming, distinctive sound, and feel for groove ...
, future
Slade
Slade are an English rock band formed in Wolverhampton in 1966. They rose to prominence during the glam rock era in the early 1970s, achieving 17 consecutive top 20 hits and six number ones on the UK Singles Chart. The ''British Hit Singles ...
vocalist
Noddy Holder
Neville John "Noddy" Holder (born 15 June 1946) is an English musician. He was the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the English band Slade, one of the UK's most successful acts of the 1970s. Known for his unique and powerful voice, Holder co ...
, bassist
Dave Pegg
Dave Pegg (born 2 November 1947) is an English multi-instrumentalist and record producer, primarily a bass guitarist. He is the longest-serving member of the British folk rock band Fairport Convention and has been bassist with a number of folk ...
and
Tony Iommi
Anthony Frank Iommi () (born 19 February 1948) is a British musician. He co-founded the pioneering heavy metal band Black Sabbath, and was the band's guitarist, leader and primary composer and sole continuous member for nearly five decades. I ...
. The Sorcerers now became Youngblood, and a series of singles were released in late 1968 and 1969. The group then linked up with
The Move
The Move were a British rock band of the late 1960s and the early 1970s. They scored nine top 20 UK singles in five years, but were among the most popular British bands not to find any real success in the United States. For most of their car ...
's bassist/singer
Ace Kefford
Christopher John "Ace" Kefford (born 10 December 1946) is an English bassist. He was the co-founder of The Move in October 1965 with Trevor Burton, after meeting David Bowie at Birmingham's Cedar Club, following a performance by Bowie's band ...
to form The Ace Kefford Stand. Five recorded tracks are available on the Ace Kefford album ''Ace The Face'', released by Sanctuary Records in 2003. Powell also began session work, and, with fellow Sorcerers Dave and Denny Ball, formed Big Bertha.
Isle of Wight 1970 and Jeff Beck
Powell also played with
swamp rocker Tony Joe White
Tony Joe White (July 23, 1943 – October 24, 2018), nicknamed the Swamp Fox, was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist, best known for his 1969 hit " Polk Salad Annie" and for " Rainy Night in Georgia", which he wrote but which was first ...
at the
Isle of Wight Festival 1970
The Isle of Wight Festival 1970 was a music festival held between 26 and 31 August 1970 at Afton Down, an area on the western side of the Isle of Wight in England. It was the last of three consecutive music festivals to take place on the islan ...
. Powell landed the then highly prestigious drumming job with
Jeff Beck's
group
A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together.
Groups of people
* Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity
* Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic ide ...
in April 1970. Their first project was to record an album of Motown covers in the USA. This was never finished and remains unreleased. During the sessions, photographs show Cozy Powell and Jeff Beck present at the recording of
Stevie Wonder's "
Superstition", on which Jeff Beck appears. Cozy has stated in interviews he plays on the record, but this remains to be confirmed. After the recording of two albums, ''
Rough and Ready'' (October 1971) and ''
Jeff Beck Group
The Jeff Beck Group was a British rock band formed in London in January 1967 by former Yardbirds guitarist Jeff Beck. Their innovative approach to heavy-sounding blues, rhythm and blues and rock was a major influence on popular music.
Firs ...
'' (July 1972), the band fell apart.
1972–1974
In 1972 Powell drummed for two tracks ("Hey Sandy" and "Martha") on
Harvey Andrews
Harvey John Andrews (born 7 May 1943 in Stechford, Birmingham) is an English singer-songwriter and poet. Andrews has produced 16 albums singing his own songs, many of which have also been recorded by other artists.
Career
From 1964, Andrews su ...
' album ''Writer of Songs''. By late 1972 he had joined up with the Ball brothers and singer Frank Aiello to form
Bedlam, whose eponymous album was recorded for
Chrysalis and released in August 1973.
With Powell's session work at RAK and subsequent solo success (including "
Dance with the Devil", which reached No. 3 in the UK singles chart during January 1974),
Bedlam fell apart. "Dance With The Devil" was his only solo hit in the United States, peaking at No. 49. The track featured
Suzi Quatro
Susan Kay Quatro (born June 3, 1950) is an American singer, bass guitarist, songwriter, and actress. In the 1970s, she scored a string of hit singles that found greater success in Europe and Australia than in her homeland, reaching No. 1 in th ...
on bass. Powell's second hit during 1974 was with "The Man in Black", which reached No. 18.
Arrows front man
Alan Merrill
Alan Merrill (born Allan Preston Sachs; February 19, 1951 – March 29, 2020) was an American vocalist, guitarist and songwriter. In the early 1970s, he was one of the few resident foreigners to achieve pop star status in Japan. He was the write ...
, also a RAK records artist, played electric bass on '"The Man in Black'" and the b-side '"After Dark". Jeff Beck's studio producer was
Mickie Most and Powell soon found himself drafted into sessions for artists signed to Most's RAK label, including
Julie Felix
Julie Ann Felix (June 14, 1938 – March 22, 2020) was an American-British folk singer and recording artist who achieved success, particularly on British television, in the late 1960s and early 1970s. She later performed and released albums on h ...
,
Hot Chocolate
Hot chocolate, also known as hot cocoa or drinking chocolate, is a heated drink consisting of shaved chocolate, melted chocolate or cocoa powder, heated milk or water, and usually a sweetener like whipped cream or marshmallows. Hot chocolate ...
,
Donovan and
Suzi Quatro
Susan Kay Quatro (born June 3, 1950) is an American singer, bass guitarist, songwriter, and actress. In the 1970s, she scored a string of hit singles that found greater success in Europe and Australia than in her homeland, reaching No. 1 in th ...
. To cash in on his chart success, the drummer formed "Cozy Powell's Hammer" in April 1974. The line-up included
Bernie Marsden
Bernard John Marsden (born 7 May 1951) is an English rock and blues guitarist. He is primarily known for his work with Whitesnake, having written or co-written with David Coverdale many of the group's hit songs, such as " Fool for Your Lovin ...
(guitar),
Clive Chaman
Clive Chaman (born 5 September 1949) is a UK-based bass guitarist and session musician, born in Trinidad and Tobago.
After appearing on Ram John Holder's 1969 ''London Blues'' album, Chaman became a member of the second Jeff Beck Group in 197 ...
(bass),
Don Airey (keyboards) and Frank Aiello (Bedlam) on vocals. Clive Chaman was replaced on bass by
Neil Murray in the band in early 1975 for the RAK Rocks Britain Tour. "Na Na Na" was a UK No. 10 hit, and another single "Le Souk" was recorded but never released.
Sharing a love of the power-trio set up (Cream), Cozy Powell formed a band with guitarist Clem Clempson and bassist Greg Ridley (Humble Pie), but when this fell apart Cozy temporarily quit the music business to take up motorcycle racing. His desire to launch a three-piece in the vein of Cream remained; recordings with Tipton, Entwistle & Powell are testament to this as much as sessions with Cream's
Jack Bruce
John Symon Asher Bruce (14 May 1943 – 25 October 2014) was a Scottish bassist, singer-songwriter, musician and composer. He gained popularity as the primary lead vocalist and bassist of British rock band Cream. After the group disband ...
and on guitar
Uli Jon Roth
Uli Jon Roth (born Ulrich Roth; 18 December 1954) is a German guitarist who became famous for his work with the hard rock band Scorpions and is one of the earliest contributors to the neoclassical metal genre. He is also the founder of Sky Aca ...
, briefly after recording for
Cinderella
"Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...
: "to get him (Uli Roth) had been the idea of Larry Mazor (at the time manager of Cinderella), Jack met him, but at the time Uli was busy with a symphony. I don't think it would have worked, we had him in mind as well as some other people, like
Gary Moore, ideally
Jeff Beck really", followed by Clem Clempson,
Pat Travers
Patrick Henry Travers (born April 12, 1954) is a Canadian rock guitarist, keyboardist and singer who began his recording career in the mid-1970s.
Early life
Travers was born and raised in Toronto, Canada. Soon after picking up the guitar at ag ...
and
Pat Thrall
Patrick Thrall is an American rock guitarist. Thrall began his recording career in 1972. He played guitar, vocals, and percussion with the group Cookin' Mama, which had his brother, Preston Thrall, on percussion. They released the album ''New Day ...
with whom they recorded, shopped for a deal - unsuccessfully—until Powell would join Black Sabbath.
1975–1980: Rainbow
In 1975 Powell joined
Rainbow
A rainbow is a meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky. It takes the form of a multicoloured circular arc. Rainbows c ...
and over the next five years he and guitarist
Ritchie Blackmore
Richard Hugh Blackmore (born 14 April 1945) is an English guitarist and songwriter. He was a founding member of Deep Purple in 1968, playing jam-style hard rock music that mixed guitar riffs and organ sounds. He is prolific in creating guita ...
were the only constants in the band's line-up. Rainbow's 1979 album, ''
Down to Earth'', featured
Graham Bonnet
Graham Bonnet (born 23 December 1947) is an English rock singer. He has recorded and performed as a solo artist and as a member of several hard rock and heavy metal bands including Rainbow, Michael Schenker Group, Alcatrazz, and Impellitteri. ...
on vocals and included the singles "
Since You Been Gone
"Since You Been Gone" is a song written by former Argent guitarist Russ Ballard and first released on his 1976 album ''Winning''. It was covered by Rainbow in 1979 and released as a single from their album '' Down to Earth''.
Rainbow version
...
" and "
All Night Long", which reached number 6 and number 5 on the UK charts respectively. During this time, Blackmore evolved the sound of the band from a neo-classical hard rock-heavy metal to a more commercial
AOR sound. This proved to be the band's most successful album to date.
However, Powell was concerned with the overtly commercial direction of the band and decided to leave Rainbow, although not before they headlined the first
Monsters of Rock
Monsters of Rock was an annual hard rock and heavy metal music festival held in Castle Donington, England, from 1980 to 1996, taking place every year except 1989 and 1993. It later branched into other locations such as the Netherlands, Poland, ...
show at
Castle Donington
Castle Donington is a market town and civil parish in Leicestershire, England, on the edge of the National Forest and close to East Midlands Airport.
History
The name 'Donington' means 'farm/settlement connected with Dunna'. Another sugge ...
, England, on 16 August 1980. The festival was Powell's last show with the band.
1980–1983: Bonnet, Michael Schenker, Phenomena
After leaving Rainbow, Powell again worked with vocalist Graham Bonnet, their most notable single being "Night Games" from Bonnet's solo album ''
Line-Up'', which reached number 6 in the UK singles chart. For the rest of the 1980s, Powell assumed short-term journeyman roles with a number of major bands including The
Michael Schenker Group
The Michael Schenker Group (often abbreviated as MSG) are a guitar-oriented hard rock band, formed in London in 1979 by former Scorpions and UFO guitarist Michael Schenker. In 1986, Schenker and vocalist Robin McAuley formed the McAuley Sche ...
. In 1985 he started recording with
Phenomena for their self-titled first album, which was released the same year. He also worked briefly with another new supergroup named Forcefield along with Bonnet and later
Tony Martin on vocals, former
Ian Gillan
Ian Gillan (born 19 August 1945) is a British singer who is best known as the lead singer and lyricist for the rock band Deep Purple. He is known for his powerful and wide-ranging singing voice.
Initially influenced by Elvis Presley, Gillan ...
Band member Ray Fenwick and former
Focus
Focus, or its plural form foci may refer to:
Arts
* Focus or Focus Festival, former name of the Adelaide Fringe arts festival in South Australia Film
*''Focus'', a 1962 TV film starring James Whitmore
* ''Focus'' (2001 film), a 2001 film based ...
member
Jan Akkerman
Jan Akkerman (born 24 December 1946) is a Dutch guitarist. He first found international commercial success with the band Focus, which he co-founded with Thijs van Leer. After leaving Focus, he continued as a solo musician, adding jazz fusion in ...
on the guitars,
Neil Murray and later
Laurence Cottle
Laurence Cottle (born 16 December 1961) is a Welsh bass guitarist and composer.
Career
His solo recordings have been mostly in jazz and jazz fusion. He was a member of the fusion quartet The Fents and appeared on their second album, ''The Ot ...
on bass. Cottle would eventually join as a session player for the recording of Black Sabbath's Headless Cross and again was replaced by Murray following that tour.
1982–1985: Whitesnake
Powell was invited to join
Whitesnake
Whitesnake are an English hard rock band formed in London in 1978. The group was originally put together as the backing band for singer David Coverdale, who had recently left Deep Purple. Though the band quickly developed into their own en ...
in late of 1982 after his departure from
Michael Schenker Group
The Michael Schenker Group (often abbreviated as MSG) are a guitar-oriented hard rock band, formed in London in 1979 by former Scorpions and UFO guitarist Michael Schenker. In 1986, Schenker and vocalist Robin McAuley formed the McAuley Sche ...
to replace
Ian Paice
Ian Anderson Paice (born 29 June 1948) is an English musician, best known as the drummer and last remaining original member of the rock band Deep Purple.
He is often cited as one of the greatest drummers of all-time. He remains the only membe ...
for a presumed farewell tour with the band in Europe, but after the success of the ''
Saints & Sinners'' album in the British and Japanese charts, and a successful tour that culminated in a memorable performance at the Monsters of Rock Festival in August 1983, the band signed with the American label
Geffen Records
Geffen Records is an American record label established by David Geffen and owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M Records imprint.
Founded in 1980, Geffen Records has been a part of Interscope Geffen A&M since 1999 and h ...
. Due to contractual obligations, the band had to release one more album for their previous label
Liberty
Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom.
In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...
which would be 1984's ''
Slide It In
''Slide It In'' is the sixth studio album by British rock band Whitesnake, released in 1984. It was the first Whitesnake album to be released by Geffen Records in the US, but was remixed for the release. Because of this, two different editions ...
''. Now under guidance of A&R executive
John Kalodner
John David Kalodner is a retired American A&R (artists and repertoire) executive.
History
John David Kalodner was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and was a writer and photographer at ''Concert'' magazine. He went on to be a photographer for v ...
the album was remixed with the help of producer Keith Olsen for the American market with Cozy, guitarist
Mel Galley
Melville John Galley (8 March 1948 – 1 July 2008) was an English guitarist, singer and songwriter, best known for his work with Whitesnake, Trapeze, Finders Keepers and Phenomena.
Galley was born in Cannock, Staffordshire, England. While a ...
and keyboardist
Jon Lord
John Douglas Lord (9 June 194116 July 2012) was an English orchestral and rock composer, pianist, and Hammond organ player known for his pioneering work in fusing rock with classical or baroque forms, especially with the British rock band Deep ...
the only remaining members of the previous line up along with singer
David Coverdale. Powell's tenure with the band ended in the summer of 1985, as he was offered to join
Keith Emerson and
Greg Lake in a revamped version of ELP.
1988–1998: Black Sabbath and solo
Powell worked with
Gary Moore in 1988, followed by stints with
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath were an English rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy met ...
from 1988 to 1991, and again in 1994–1995. Between late 1992 and early 1993, Powell put together an occasional touring band using the old band name 'Cozy Powell's Hammer' featuring himself on drums,
Neil Murray on bass,
Mario Parga on guitar and
Tony Martin on vocals and occasional rhythm guitar/synth module. The band performed throughout Europe and appeared on German television. Powell made headlines in 1991 when he appeared on the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
'', where he set a world record for the most drums (400) played in under one minute, live on television.
'' albums. He played with May opening for
tour in 1993. The duo also served a spell with blues guitarist
in the mid-nineties. Powell briefly joined
for the album ''Facing the Animal'' in 1997. Powell's last recording session was for
, which was released shortly after Powell's death. The final solo album by Cozy Powell ''Especially for You'' was released in 1998 after his death, and featured American vocalist
and others.
near Bristol. He had been dating a married woman who was having problems with her husband.
Upset, she phoned him and asked him to come quickly to her house which was approximately away. As he was driving to her house, she phoned him again and asked "Where are you?" He informed her he was on his way and she then heard him say "Oh shit!" followed by a loud bang.
and died at the scene.
...