Dennis Leslie Elliott (born 18 August 1950, in

Peckham Peckham () is a district in southeast London, within the London Borough of Southwark. It is south-east of Charing Cross. At the United Kingdom Census 2001, 2001 Census the Peckham ward had a population of 14,720. History "Peckham" is a Saxon p ...

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 ...

) is a British musician and artist, who was the original drummer for the rock band, Foreigner. He played with the band from 1976 until leaving between 1991 and 1993. He went on to become a sculptor.

Life and career

Dennis Leslie Elliott played the drums with his family band at age five in shows around

. As a teenager, he joined The Tea Set with his older brother Raymond, who sang and played trumpet. After The Tea Set, he became a member of The Shevelles at age sixteen. At eighteen, he played in the band Ferris Wheel and on their album of the same name. When he was nineteen, Dennis joined the jazz/rock band If and recorded four LPs with the ensemble. They continually toured Europe and the US, where he met and later married Iona Elliott on March 2, 1972. Later that year, Dennis joined The Roy Young Band, touring the UK and Europe and recording four singles with that band over the following year. Dennis Elliott and his wood sculptures 1997

Dennis Elliott and his wood sculptures 1997

In 1974, Elliott toured and played on former Mott the Hoople lead singer Ian Hunter's first solo recording, '' Ian Hunter''. After emigrating to the US in April 1975, he became a US Resident Alien. He was the original drummer for Foreigner when the band started in 1976. He officially left in January 1993. After leaving the

music industry The music industry consists of the individuals and organizations that earn money by writing songs and musical compositions, creating and selling recorded music and sheet music, presenting concerts, as well as the organizations that aid, train, ...

, Elliott turned to

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

, working mainly in the

medium Medium may refer to: Science and technology Aviation *Medium bomber, a class of war plane * Tecma Medium, a French hang glider design Communication * Media (communication), tools used to store and deliver information or data * Medium of ...

of wood. Self-taught, many of his works have been vessels made of burlwood, sculpted wall mirrors, wall sculptures, and orbital sculptures."Biography for Dennis Elliott"
Askart.com On June 2, 1990, Elliott and his wife, Iona, were rescued by the

US Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, multi ...

after jumping from their yacht ''Charisma III'', which had caught fire. Elliott became a US

citizen Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection". Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...

in 1993. On January 9, 2013, he joined Foreigner on stage at the Hard Rock Live in

Hollywood, Florida Hollywood is a city in southern Broward County, Florida, United States, located between Fort Lauderdale and Miami. As of July 1, 2019, Hollywood had a population of 154,817. Founded in 1925, the city grew rapidly in the 1950s and 1960s, and is now ...

to perform " Hot Blooded". On January 12, 2015 in Sarasota, Florida, Foreigner were joined on stage by original drummer Elliott and former bassist Rick Wills to play "Hot Blooded". Elliott joined his old mates for two songs at Foreigner's show on August 2, 2017 at MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheater in Tampa, Florida. A pair of '40th Anniversary Reunion Shows’ took place on October 6–7, 2017, at the Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, where the current Foreigner group played one set and the original members consisting of the Head Games-era lineup: Mick Jones, Lou Gramm, Dennis Elliott, Al Greenwood, Ian McDonald and Rick Wills, played the second set and were rejoined at the end with all members. The concerts were filmed for future release. On August 4, 2018, Elliott again joined a ‘Reunion Show’ at the Buffalo Chip in Sturgis, South Dakota, where the current Foreigner group played one set and the original members played the second and all joined together for the finale.

Discography

The Shevells

*1968: ''

Big City Lights /The Coffee Song Big or BIG may refer to: * Big, of great size or degree Film and television * ''Big'' (film), a 1988 fantasy-comedy film starring Tom Hanks * ''Big!'', a Discovery Channel television show * ''Richard Hammond's Big'', a television show presente ...

(single)''

The Ferris Wheel

*1970: ''Ferris Wheel'' (album) *1970: ''Can't Stop Now / I Know You Well'' (UK single) *1970: ''Ugly Duckling / I Know You Well'' (US single)

IF

*1970: '' If'' *1970: ''

If 2 ''If 2'' is the second release by the England, English Jazz rock band If (band), If. It was released in 1970 on the Island Records label in the UK and Capitol Records in the US. The album features the early use of Innovex Reed Sound Modulators ...

'' *1971: ''

If 3 ''If 3'' is the third release by the English jazz rock band If. It was released in August 1971 by United Artists Records (U.K.) and Capitol Records (U.S.) and reached #171 on the ''Billboard'' Pop Albums Chart.Chart information courtesy of Bill ...

'' *1972: '' If 4'' *1972: ''

Waterfall A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in several wa ...

'' *1995: '' Forgotten Roads: The Best of If'' *1997: ''

Europe '72 ''Europe '72'' is a live triple album by the Grateful Dead, released in November 1972. It covers the band's tour of Western Europe in April and May that year, and showcases live favourites, extended improvisations and several new songs including ...

'' *2010: '' Fibonacci's Number - More Live If'' *2012: '' If 2 + Live in Liverpool''

The Roy Young Band

*1973: ''

Back Up Train ''Back Up Train'' is Al Green's debut album, released by Hot Line Records, a label formed by Palmer James and Curtis Rodgers, high school friends of Al Green's. This album was released prior to signing with Hi Records Hi Records is an American ...

(single)'' *1973: ''Devil's Daughter (single)'' *1973: ''Dig A Hole (single)'' *1973: ''

If You Could Only See Me Now "If You Could Only See Me Now" is a song written by Susan Longacre and Rick Giles, and recorded by American country music artist T. Graham Brown. It was released in April 1990 as the first single from the album ''Bumper to Bumper''. The song reac ...

(single)'' *2009: ''The Best Of 50 years (album)''

Tony Ashton and Jon Lord

*1974: ''

First of the Big Bands ''First of the Big Bands'' is a studio album by Tony Ashton of Ashton, Gardner and Dyke and Jon Lord of Deep Purple, released in April 1974 by Purple Records in the UK and Europe and Warner Bros. Records in the US. The project was Ashton's and L ...

Ian Hunter

*1975: '' Ian Hunter'' *1977: '' Overnight Angels''

Foreigner

*1977: '' Foreigner'' (#4 US) *1978: '' Double Vision'' (#3 US, #32 UK) *1979: '' Head Games'' (#5 US) *1981: '' 4'' (#1 US, #5 UK) *1982: '' Records'' (#10 US, #58 UK) *1984: '' Agent Provocateur'' (#4 US, #1 UK) *1987: ''

Inside Information Insider trading is the trading of a public company's stock or other securities (such as bonds or stock options) based on material, nonpublic information about the company. In various countries, some kinds of trading based on insider information ...

'' (#15 US, #64 UK) *1991: ''

Unusual Heat ''Unusual Heat'' is the seventh studio album by British-American rock band Foreigner, released on June 14, 1991 by Atlantic Records. Recorded at several different studios across the state of New York and England, and produced by Terry Thomas a ...

'' *1992: '' The Very Best ... and Beyond'' (#123 US, #19 UK) *1993: ''

Classic Hits Live/Best Of Live ''Best of Live'', alternatively known as ''Classic Hits Live'', is Foreigner's first live album. It was released in 1993, and contains live versions of many of their well-known songs all of which were taken from various concerts between 1977 and ...

'' *1994: ''JukeBox Heroes: The Best Of'' *1998: ''The Best of Ballads– I Want to Know What Love Is'' *1999: ''The Platinum Collection'' *2000: ''Hot Blooded And Other Hits'' *2000: ''Jukebox Heroes: The Foreigner Anthology'' *2002: '' Complete Greatest Hits'' (#80 US) *2002: ''The Definitive'' (#33 UK) *2004: ''Hot Blooded And Other Hits'' *2005: ''The Essentials'' *2008: '' No End in Sight: The Very Best of Foreigner'' (#132 US) *2009: '' Can't Slow Down'' (#29 US) *2014: ''The Complete Atlantic Studio Albums 1977-1991''

Ian Lloyd

*1980: ''Third Wave Civilization''

Mick Jones

*1989: ''Just Wanna Hold (single)'' (#19 US Rock) *1989: '' Mick Jones'' (album)

Museum collections

* Arkansas Art Center, Decorative Arts Museum - Little Rock, Arkansas *Art Museum of South Texas, Corpus Christi, TX *The Charles A. Wustum Museum of Fine Arts - Racine, Wisconsin * Cincinnati Art Museum, Cincinnati, Ohio *The Contemporary Museum of Art - Honolulu, Hawaii * Craft & Folk Art Museum - Los Angeles, California *The Detroit Institute of Arts - Detroit, Michigan *

Fuller Craft Museum Fuller Craft Museum is an arts and crafts museum in the city of Brockton, Massachusetts, 25 miles south of Boston. It receives 20,000 visitors a year. It contains contemporary craft-based art of many different genres and origins. It is the only ...

- Brockton, Massachusetts *The Gregg Museum of Art & Design, NC State University - Raleigh, NC * Honolulu Museum of Art, Honolulu, HI *

Los Angeles County Museum of Art The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is an art museum located on Wilshire Boulevard in the Miracle Mile, Los Angeles, California, Miracle Mile vicinity of Los Angeles. LACMA is on Museum Row, adjacent to the La Brea Tar Pits (George C. Pa ...

- Los Angeles, California *The Mabel Brady Garven Collection, Yale University Art Gallery - New Haven, Connecticut *The

Mint Museum of Craft & Design The Mint Museum, also referred to as The Mint Museums, is a cultural institution comprising two museums, located in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Mint Museum Randolph and Mint Museum Uptown, together these two locations have hundreds of collection ...

- Charlotte, North Carolina *

Mobile Museum of Art The Mobile Museum of Art (MMofA) is an art museum located in Mobile, Alabama. It features extensive art collections from the United States, Europe, and non-western art. The museum hosts exhibitions, multi-disciplinary programs (including film, po ...

, (formerly, Fine Arts Museum of the South) - Mobile, Alabama *

Museum of Arts & Design The Museum of Arts and Design (MAD), based in Manhattan, New York City, collects, displays, and interprets objects that document contemporary and historic innovation in craft, art, and design. In its exhibitions and educational programs, the mus ...

, formerly The American Craft Museum - New York, New York * Museum of Fine Arts - Boston, Massachusetts *

Peabody Essex Museum The Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) in Salem, Massachusetts, US, is a successor to the East India Marine Society, established in 1799. It combines the collections of the former Peabody Museum of Salem (which acquired the Society's collection) and the ...

, Salem, Massachusetts *

Racine Art Museum The Racine Art Museum (RAM) and RAM's Charles A. Wustum Museum of Fine Arts are located in Racine, Wisconsin, U.S. The museum holds the largest and most significant contemporary craft collection in North America, with more than 9,500 objects fro ...

, Racine, Wisconsin * Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum - Washington, D.C. *The Slater Museum - Norwich, Connecticut * University of Michigan Museum of Art - Ann Arbor, Michigan

Special collections

*Columbia Pictures, Star Trek Voyager set - Wall Sculpture - Bleached Maple Burl

References

External links

Dennis Elliott's official websiteAskart.com – reference site for Elliott's sculptures
{{DEFAULTSORT:Elliott, Dennis 1950 births Living people English rock drummers Foreigner (band) members People from Peckham English sculptors Place of birth missing (living people) If (band) members Spooky Tooth members