Drew McConnell (born 10 November 1978 in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

, Ireland) is the bass guitarist and backing vocalist with

Babyshambles Babyshambles were an English rock band established in London. The band was formed by Pete Doherty (lead vocals, rhythm guitar) during a hiatus from the Libertines. As of 2013 the band includes Mick Whitnall (lead guitar), Drew McConnell (bas ...

, the band formed and fronted by frontman of

the Libertines The Libertines are an English rock band, formed in London in 1997 by frontmen Carl Barât (vocals/guitar) and Pete Doherty (vocals/guitar). The band, centred on the songwriting partnership of Barât and Doherty, has also included John Hassall ...

, Pete Doherty, and for former Oasis frontman

Liam Gallagher William John Paul Gallagher (born 21 September 1972) is an English singer and songwriter. He achieved fame as the lead vocalist of the rock band Oasis from 1991 to 2009, and later fronted the rock band Beady Eye from 2009 to 2014, before starti ...

's band. He lived in

Tenerife Tenerife (; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands. It is home to 43% of the total population of the archipelago. With a land area of and a population of 978,100 inhabitants as of Janu ...

, Spain, for much of his childhood and he speaks Spanish fluently. Formerly in the band Elviss, McConnell participates in a number of side-projects, such as the Phoenix Drive and playing double bass and piano with Irish singer/songwriter

Fionn Regan Fionn Regan (born 1981) is an Irish folk musician and singer-songwriter. Born and raised in Bray, Regan came to prominence with the release of his debut studio album, '' The End of History'' in 2006. He had been releasing extended plays for six ...

as well as writing and recording solo material. McConnell organises a musical collective named Helsinki, with which he performs solo material as well as versions of songs by Babyshambles, such as a swing version of their single " Delivery". Among the members of this collective are Stephen Large of Squeeze and Albert Hammond Jr of

The Strokes The Strokes are an American rock band from New York City. Formed in 1998, the band is composed of lead singer and songwriter Julian Casablancas, guitarists Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond Jr., bassist Nikolai Fraiture, and drummer Fabrizio Mor ...

., the drummer Seb Rochford of Polar Bear and Acoustic Ladyland, drummer Jamie Morrison (of the Noisettes), guitarist Matt Parks, Jonnie Fielding (violin),

Larrikin Love Larrikin Love were an English four piece indie rock band from London. Consisting of singer-songwriter Edward Leeson, guitarist Micko Larkin, bassist Alfie Ambrose and drummer Coz Kerrigan, and also occasionally including violinist Rob Skippe ...

and Fionn Regan. McConnell completed a bass degree at the Institute of Contemporary Music Performance. He also appears in the video "Police on My Back" by UK grime artist

Lethal Bizzle Maxwell Owusu Ansah (born 14 September 1984), known by his stage name Lethal Bizzle, is a British rapper from Walthamstow, London, of Ghanaian origin. He emerged in 2002 as a grime MC as part of More Fire Crew, with their grime single "Oi!" ch ...

, playing bass. McConnell is heavily involved with the

Love Music Hate Racism Love Music Hate Racism (LMHR) is a music-oriented antiracism campaign based in Britain. The campaign aims to bring people together and promote unity through the power of music. LMHR was born in the tradition of the Rock Against Racism (RAR) move ...

movement, contributing a song with

and Helsinki to a CD given away free with a copy of the ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' in 2007, as well as playing at such events as the

carnival with Jon McClure of Reverend and the Makers. McConnell also fronted the musical collective

Mongrel A mongrel, mutt or mixed-breed dog is a dog that does not belong to one officially recognized breed and including those that are the result of intentional breeding. Although the term ''mixed-breed dog'' is sometimes preferred, many mongre ...

with Jon McClure and members of

Arctic Monkeys Arctic Monkeys are an English rock band formed in Sheffield in 2002. The group consists of Alex Turner (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards), Jamie Cook (guitar, keyboards), Nick O'Malley (bass guitar, backing vocals), and Matt Helders (drums, ...

. In 2011, McConnell was in a near-death accident where he was hit by a car the driver of which was accused of breaking a red light, and knocking McConnell off the bike and crushing his spine. He has since recovered, and said of the incident, "Humans are designed to deal with trauma of a physical and emotional kind. It's the stuff of life." On 5 May 2014 McConnell's Helsinki released its debut album ''Coast of Silence''. Its 12 tracks included "New Pair" and "The Very Last Boy Alive" which have also been recorded by Babyshambles. In 2015, he released another album called ''A Guide for the Perplexed'', including the track "Choices" featuring Pete Doherty. In 2017, McConnell is played bass guitar in

's tour band, in support of Gallagher's solo album, '' As You Were''.

References

External links

Babyshambles.net
The official Baby Shambles website.
thephoenixdrive.com
The official Phoenix Drive website.

2003 interview with Drew and Karl from Elviss.
Fionn Regan
The official Fionn Regan website. {{DEFAULTSORT:McConnell, Drew 1978 births Living people Irish bass guitarists Musicians from Dublin (city) 21st-century bass guitarists Mongrel (band) members Babyshambles members