Cherisse Osei (born 23 December 1986) is an English drummer. Best known for her work with the band
Simple Minds, Osei has also played with a number of acts, including
Mantas
Mantas is a Lithuanian given name. Mantas is also a surname found in several European countries including Portugal, Spain, Greece, Germany, and others. The exact connection between the different regions of occurrence is presently unknown, although ...
,
The Faders,
Paloma Faith,
Bryan Ferry
Bryan Ferry CBE (born 26 September 1945) is an English singer and songwriter. His voice has been described as an "elegant, seductive croon". He also established a distinctive image and sartorial style: according to ''The Independent'', Ferry and ...
,
Kelly Jones
Kelly Jones (born 3 June 1974) is a Welsh singer-songwriter and a founding member, lead singer, and guitarist of the rock band Stereophonics.
Early life and debut
Kelly Jones was born youngest of three boys for Beryl and Arwyn Jones in the sm ...
, and
Mika
Mika is a given name, a nickname and a surname. Notable people and fictional characters with the name include:
People known just as Mika
* Mika (singer) (born 1983), Lebanese-born British singer-songwriter Michael Penniman, Jr.
* Mika (footba ...
. In 2018, Osei won first place in the ‘Live Session Drummer’ category for
Rhythm
Rhythm (from Greek , ''rhythmos'', "any regular recurring motion, symmetry") generally means a " movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions". This general meaning of regular rec ...
magazine's Music Radar polls. As a member of
The Faders, Osei appeared on the series
Veronica Mars
''Veronica Mars'' is an American teen film noir, noir Mystery fiction, mystery Drama (film and television), drama television series created by screenwriter Rob Thomas (writer), Rob Thomas. The series is set in the fictional town of Neptune, Ca ...
. She cites
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, ...
,
Sheila E.
Sheila Cecilia Escovedo (born December 12, 1957) better known under the stage name Sheila E., is an American percussionist and singer. She began her career in the mid-1970s as a percussionist and singer for The George Duke Band. After leaving ...
,
Steve Gadd,
Levon Helm,
Tony Williams, and
James Gadson as influences.
Early life
Osei grew up interested in becoming an actress or dancer but her parents' interest in music exposed her to "funk, jazz, hip hop and soul" and cultivated an interest in music.
At the age of five she received a "pink
Mickey Mouse drum kit" from her uncle: although it was her first exposure to drumming, it would only resonate later, at the age of 11, when a drum club was organized in her school and she felt compelled to permanently take the instrument up.
By the age of 12, Osei had started playing in bands.
When Osei was 15, she worked at a local music store in
Wembley, which she credits with giving her exposure to drummers she "looked up to."
Musical career
Osei was the drummer for
The Faders from 2004 through 2006. The band was signed to
Polydor and released the singles "
No Sleep Tonight" and "Jump," each reaching numbers 13 and 21 in the
UK Singles Chart, respectively.
The Faders appeared on
Veronica Mars
''Veronica Mars'' is an American teen film noir, noir Mystery fiction, mystery Drama (film and television), drama television series created by screenwriter Rob Thomas (writer), Rob Thomas. The series is set in the fictional town of Neptune, Ca ...
and their music was featured on the show's soundtrack.
In 2004, she recorded the drums for
Mantas
Mantas is a Lithuanian given name. Mantas is also a surname found in several European countries including Portugal, Spain, Greece, Germany, and others. The exact connection between the different regions of occurrence is presently unknown, although ...
album Zero Tolerance.
From 2006 through 2012 Osei played drums on
Mika
Mika is a given name, a nickname and a surname. Notable people and fictional characters with the name include:
People known just as Mika
* Mika (singer) (born 1983), Lebanese-born British singer-songwriter Michael Penniman, Jr.
* Mika (footba ...
's studio work and tours.
Her work with Mika led to appearances on
Good Morning America,
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,
Jimmy Kimmel Live
''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' is an American late-night talk show, created and hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, broadcast on ABC. The nightly hour-long show debuted on January 26, 2003, at Hollywood Masonic Temple in Hollywood, California, as part of ABC's ...
,
South by South West
South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, ...
,
Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival
The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival (commonly called the Coachella Festival or simply Coachella) is an annual music and arts festival held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Coachella Valley in the Colorado Desert. ...
,
Fuji Rock Festival,
Glastonbury Festival
Glastonbury Festival (formally Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts and known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts that takes place in Pilton, Somerset, England. In addition to contempo ...
, and
V Festival. During this period, she played drums in the
2008 Beijing Paralympics
The 2008 Summer Paralympic Games (), the 13th Summer Paralympic Games, took place in Beijing, China from September 6 to 17, 2008. As with the 2008 Summer Olympics, equestrian events were held in Hong Kong and sailing events in Qingdao. It was f ...
closing ceremony, performing a commissioned piece by composer
Philip Sheppard in the
Beijing National Stadium
The National Stadium (), also known as the Bird's Nest (), is an 80,000-capacity stadium in Beijing. The stadium was jointly designed by architects Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron from Basel-based architecture team Herzog & de Meuron, pr ...
, an event that reached 1.5 billion TV viewers.
In 2012, Osei began working with
Bryan Ferry
Bryan Ferry CBE (born 26 September 1945) is an English singer and songwriter. His voice has been described as an "elegant, seductive croon". He also established a distinctive image and sartorial style: according to ''The Independent'', Ferry and ...
and
Paloma Faith.
She was featured with these artists on
Late Night with David Letterman
''Late Night with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on NBC, the first iteration of the ''Late Night'' franchise. It premiered on February 1, 1982, and was produced by Letterman's production compan ...
and
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
In 2016, Osei joined the band
Simple Minds for their "acoustic phase" and recorded the album
Acoustic with the band. In early 2017 Simple Minds embarked on a full production tour in Australia and New Zealand, drummer
Mel Gaynor
Mel George Gaynor (born 29 May 1959) is a British drummer, best known as the longtime drummer for the rock band Simple Minds.
Biography
Gaynor was born to a Jamaican father and an Afro-Brazilian mother. He began drumming at age 11 and had ...
's last tour with the band before Osei rejoined and replaced him for a stripped down, acoustic tour the remainder of the year. Osei appeared on three tracks of the 2018 album
Walk Between Worlds (the album was recorded before, during, and after the acoustic tours and the
Acoustic album release) and joined the band as their full-time drummer for the promotional tour.
The tour, which launched in
Glasgow,
Scotland and included the first North American shows for the band in five years, was met with praise:
The Guardian credited the band with sounding "less blokey," "modern and impressively energised." As of 2019, Simple Minds has been recording material for a new album with Osei, aiming for a 2021 release.
In 2019, Osei joined
Kelly Jones
Kelly Jones (born 3 June 1974) is a Welsh singer-songwriter and a founding member, lead singer, and guitarist of the rock band Stereophonics.
Early life and debut
Kelly Jones was born youngest of three boys for Beryl and Arwyn Jones in the sm ...
on his third solo tour. Her first performances with Jones took place on June 1 at
Usher Hall, in
Edinburgh,
Scotland.
References
External links
Official Cherisse Osei websiteOfficial Simple Minds website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Osei, Cherisse
Musicians from London
Living people
Simple Minds members
1986 births
English rock drummers
British women drummers