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 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 ...

scene, after he became a professional musician in 1960. In addition to being a member, albeit sometimes briefly, of some of the seminal bands of the 1960s, Waller played as a

session musician Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...

with a host of UK and US artists and was famously known for never having a full drum kit whenever he turned up for recording sessions.

Biography

Waller was born in

Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. ...

, London. Waller's first professional band,

The Flee-Rekkers The Flee-Rekkers – also known as The Fabulous Flee-Rakkers – were a British instrumental rock and roll band in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The group name varied on early singles; they were billed as "The Fabulous Flee-Rakkers" or "The F ...

, had a No. 23

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from ''Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization in ...

in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

in 1960, with their recording of "Green Jeans" produced by

Joe Meek Robert George "Joe" Meek (5 April 1929 – 3 February 1967) was an English record producer, sound engineer and songwriter who pioneered space age and experimental pop music. He also assisted in the development of recording practices like over ...

. He soon left to join a well-known band of the day, Joe Brown and the Bruvvers. In July 1963, he joined the Cyril Davies R&B All Stars, a band with a volatile line-up, replacing the band's original drummer

Carlo Little Carl O'Neil Little (17 December 1938 – 6 August 2005), better known by his stage name Carlo Little, was a rock and roll drummer, based in the London nightclub scene in the 1960s. He played in an early version of the Rolling Stones. Little ...

. At that time the line-up was: *

Cyril Davies Cyril Davies (23 January 1932 – 7 January 1964) was an English blues musician, and one of the first blues harmonica players in England. Biography Born at St Mildred's, 15 Hawthorn Drive, Willowbank, Denham, Buckinghamshire, he was the son ...

(vocals, harmonica) *

Long John Baldry John William "Long John" Baldry (12 January 1941 – 21 July 2005) was an English musician and actor. In the 1960s, he was one of the first British vocalists to sing the blues in clubs and shared the stage with many British musicians including t ...

(vocals) * Geoff Bradford (guitar) * Cliff Barton (bass) * Keith Scott (piano) * Micky Waller (drums) Davies died on 7 January 1964,The 1960s
The Dead Rock Stars Club. Retrieved on 28 December 2012. and Waller left as the band was changed by Long John Baldry to become the Hoochie Coochie Men. Waller went on to play with

Marty Wilde Marty Wilde, (born Reginald Leonard Smith; 15 April 1939) is an English singer and songwriter. He was among the first generation of British pop stars to emulate American rock and roll, scoring several 1950s hit singles including "Endless Sle ...

as one of the Wildecats. While with Wilde, Waller played on two

tours Tours ( , ) is one of the largest cities in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 ...

with

Little Richard Richard Wayne Penniman (December 5, 1932 – May 9, 2020), known professionally as Little Richard, was an American musician, singer, and songwriter. He was an influential figure in popular music and culture for seven decades. Described as the " ...

around the UK. Like many musicians of the day, Waller moved frequently from band to band, or as was often the case, the band he was in metamorphosed into another. After a short stint with

Georgie Fame Georgie Fame (born Clive Powell; 26 June 1943) is an English R&B and jazz musician. Fame, who had a string of 1960s hits, is still performing, often working with contemporaries such as Alan Price, Van Morrison and Bill Wyman. Fame is the on ...

and the Blue Flames, a band he was to rejoin several times, he joined

Brian Auger Brian Albert Gordon Auger (born 18 July 1939) is an English jazz rock and rock music keyboardist who specialises in the Hammond organ. Auger has worked with Rod Stewart, Tony Williams, Jimi Hendrix, John McLaughlin, Sonny Boy Williamson, an ...

to become part of

The Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the Fa ...

, and was soon followed by Long John Baldry. In April 1965, the group was expanded by

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 ...

and

Julie Driscoll Julie Driscoll Tippetts (born 8 June 1947) is an English singer and actress. Career Driscoll is known for her 1960s versions of Bob Dylan and Rick Danko's "This Wheel's on Fire", and Donovan's " Season of the Witch", both with Brian Auger an ...

and evolved into a new band,

The Steampacket Steampacket (sometimes shown as Steam Packet) was a British blues band formed in 1965 by Long John Baldry with Rod Stewart, Julie Driscoll, and organist Brian Auger. History A musical revue rather than a single group, Steampacket was formed i ...

: *

(vocals) *

Vic Briggs Victor Harvey Briggs III (14 February 1945 – 30 June 2021) was a British blues and rock musician, best known as the lead guitarist with Eric Burdon and The Animals during the 1966–1968 period. Briggs, a convert to Sikhism, later played ...

(guitar) *

(keyboards) * Rick Brown (bass) * Micky Waller (drums) In April 1966, Rod Stewart left, and the other members remained as the nucleus of a new band, Brian Auger, Julie Driscoll & The Trinity: * Julie Driscoll (vocals) * Vic Briggs (guitar) * Rick Brown (bass) * Brian Auger (keyboards) * Micky Waller (drums) Waller subsequently joined

John Mayall's Bluesbreakers John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers are an English blues rock band led by singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist John Mayall. While never producing a hit of their own, the band has been influential as an incubator for British rock and blues ...

for a few gigs in April 1967, while Mayall looked for a permanent drummer, and was soon replaced by

Keef Hartley Keith "Keef" Hartley (8 April 1944 – 26 November 2011)
was an English drummer and bandleader. He fronted his own band ...

. *

John Mayall John Mayall, OBE (born 29 November 1933) is an English blues singer, musician and songwriter, whose musical career spans over sixty years. In the 1960s, he was the founder of John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, a band that has counted among it ...

(vocals, guitar, keyboards) * Peter Green (guitar, vocals) *

John McVie John Graham McVie (born 26 November 1945) is a British bass guitarist. He is best known as a member of the rock bands John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers from 1964 to 1967 and Fleetwood Mac since 1967. His surname, combined with that of Mick Fleet ...

(bass) * Micky Waller (drums) In August 1967, Waller joined 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. First ...

, with former bandmate Rod Stewart: * Rod Stewart (vocals) *

Jeff Beck Geoffrey Arnold Beck (born 24 June 1944) is an English rock guitarist. He rose to prominence with the Yardbirds and after fronted the Jeff Beck Group and Beck, Bogert & Appice. In 1975, he switched to a mainly instrumental style, with a focus ...

(guitar) *

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 ...

(bass) * Micky Waller (drums) The group produced two albums. ''

Truth Truth is the property of being in accord with fact or reality.Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionarytruth 2005 In everyday language, truth is typically ascribed to things that aim to represent reality or otherwise correspond to it, such as beliefs ...

'' in 1968 saw the four piece play a mixture of blues with guitar

riff A riff is a repeated chord progression or refrain in music (also known as an ostinato figure in classical music); it is a pattern, or melody, often played by the rhythm section instruments or solo instrument, that forms the basis or accompani ...

s. The

instrumental An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to instru ...

, "Beck's Bolero", with

Jimmy Page James Patrick Page (born 9 January 1944) is an English musician who achieved international success as the guitarist and founder of the rock band Led Zeppelin. Page is prolific in creating guitar riffs. His style involves various alternative ...

on rhythm guitar,

The Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...

Keith Moon Keith John Moon (23 August 19467 September 1978) was an English drummer for the rock band the Who. He was noted for his unique style of playing and his eccentric, often self-destructive behaviour and addiction to drugs and alcohol. Moon grew ...

on drums, and bassist

John Paul Jones John Paul Jones (born John Paul; July 6, 1747 July 18, 1792) was a Scottish-American naval captain who was the United States' first well-known naval commander in the American Revolutionary War. He made many friends among U.S political elites ( ...

; combined with Waller's playing on the remake of

The Yardbirds The Yardbirds are an English rock band, formed in London in 1963. The band's core lineup featured vocalist and harmonica player Keith Relf, drummer Jim McCarty, rhythm guitarist and later bassist Chris Dreja and bassist/producer Paul Samwell ...

' hit "

Shapes of Things "Shapes of Things" is a song by the English rock group the Yardbirds. With its Eastern-sounding, feedback-laden guitar solo and anti-war/pro-environmental lyrics, several music writers have identified it as the first popular psychedelic rock ...

"; set the template for a heavier blues style. The following year, a second album from the band was ''

Beck-Ola ''Beck-Ola'' is the second studio album by English guitarist Jeff Beck, and the first credited to the Jeff Beck Group, released in 1969 in the United Kingdom on Columbia Records and in the United States on Epic Records. It peaked at No. 15 ...

''. But by this point Waller had already departed the band, to be replaced by Tony Newman. The mercurial Beck had decided he wanted a "heavier" drummer, and on 11 February 1969 manager Peter Grant fired Waller and Wood - although Wood was retained per Beck's wishes. In 1969, Waller flew to Venice Beach Los Angeles to form the band "Silver Metre" with guitarist

Leigh Stephens Leigh Stephens is an American guitarist and songwriter best known for being former lead guitarist of the San Francisco psychedelic rock group Blue Cheer. Blue Cheer Leigh Stephens has recorded two albums with the band, ''Vincebus Eruptum'' an ...

Blue Cheer Blue Cheer was an American rock band that initially performed and recorded in the late 1960s and early 1970s and was sporadically active until 2009. Based in San Francisco, Blue Cheer played in a psychedelic blues rock or acid rock style, and ...

fame, fellow Brit

Pete Sears Peter Roy Sears (born 27 May 1948) is an English rock musician. In a career spanning more than six decades, he has been a member of many bands and has moved through a variety of musical genres, from early R&B, psychedelic improvisational rock o ...

on bass and keyboards, and Jack Reynolds (singer). They recorded one album at

Trident Studios Trident Studios was a British recording facility, located at 17 St Anne's Court in London's Soho district between 1968 and 1981. It was constructed in 1967 by Norman Sheffield, drummer of the 1960s group the Hunters, and his brother Barry. ...

in London, England (one track, "Gang bang" containing an extended drum solo) which was released on the National General label, produced by their manager, FM rock radio pioneer

Tom Donahue Thomas or Tom Donahue may refer to: * Thomas R. Donahue (born 1928), American trade union leader * Thomas Michael Donahue (1921–2004), American physicist, astronomer, and space and planetary scientist * Tom Donahue (DJ) (1928–1975), pioneerin ...

. Also in '69, Waller sat in on ''

An Old Raincoat Won't Ever Let You Down ''An Old Raincoat Won't Ever Let You Down'' is the debut solo studio album by Rod Stewart. First released in the United States in November 1969 as ''The Rod Stewart Album'', the album peaked at No. 139 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 album chart. I ...

'', Rod Stewart's first solo album (it was known as ''The Rod Stewart Album'' in the US). The backing band on the album also included

Ian McLagan Ian Patrick McLagan (; 12 May 1945 – 3 December 2014) was an English keyboardist, best known as a member of the rock bands Small Faces and Faces. He also collaborated with the Rolling Stones and led his own band from the late 1970s. He was in ...

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 ...

, and guitarists

Martin Pugh Martin John Pugh is a British guitarist who came to prominence after joining blues-rock band Steamhammer in 1968, staying with that band through 5 years and 4 albums. The debut Steamhammer album, also known as '' Steamhammer'', was released ...

(of Steamhammer, and later

Armageddon According to the Book of Revelation in the New Testament of the Christian Bible, Armageddon (, from grc, Ἁρμαγεδών ''Harmagedōn'', Late Latin: , from Hebrew: ''Har Məgīddō'') is the prophesied location of a gathering of armies ...

and

7th Order 7th Order is an American rock and roll, rock & roll band whose debut extended play CD release, ''The Lake of Memory'', was issued on the Big Island Sounds label in 2007 (although 7th Order had been in existence for several years by that time). ...

) and

Martin Quittenton Martin Quittenton (22 April 1945 – 16 April 2015) was a British guitarist and composer. He played in the blues rock band Steamhammer, formed in 1968. Their debut album '' Steamhammer'' was released in 1969. Quittenton also worked with Rod Stew ...

(also from Steamhammer). Waller's relationship with Stewart and Wood served him well, as he would go on to join them on the next three Stewart solo albums, '' Gasoline Alley'', ''

Every Picture Tells a Story ''Every Picture Tells a Story'' is the third studio album by Rod Stewart. It was released on 28 May 1971. It incorporates hard rock, folk, and blues styles. It went to number one on both the UK and US charts and finished third in the Jazz & Pop ...

'' and '' Never A Dull Moment'' The coupling meant that Waller played percussion on Stewart's transatlantic

chart A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent tabu ...

topping

hit single A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single or simply a hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record' ...

, "

Maggie May "Maggie May" is a song co-written by singer Rod Stewart and Martin Quittenton, and performed by Rod Stewart on his album ''Every Picture Tells a Story'', released in 1971. In 2004, ''Rolling Stone'' ranked the song number 130 on its list of T ...

". Waller also shared drum duties on Stewart's '' Smiler'' album - the opening song of which contained Waller's dog making noises. In 1971, Waller joined the

blues band for Baldry's first tour of the United States. The band included Ian Armitt on piano, and fellow Rod Stewart session men, Sam Mitchell on guitar, and

on bass. Waller continued to work regularly in both rock and blues bands, and joined the original line-up of the Deluxe Blues Band, with

Dick Heckstall-Smith Richard Malden Heckstall-Smith (26 September 1934 – 17 December 2004) was an English jazz and blues saxophonist. He played with some of the most influential English blues rock and jazz fusion bands of the 1960s and 1970s. He is known for pri ...

, and bassist

Bob Brunning Robert Brunning (29 June 1943 – 18 October 2011) was a British musician who was, as a small part of a long musical career, the original bass guitar player with the blues rock band Fleetwood Mac. Career Fleetwood Mac When Peter Green left t ...

. *

Danny Adler Danny Adler (born 1949) is an American blues-rock guitarist. Adler was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. After playing with leading Cincinnati musicians, such as Bootsy Collins, Slim Harpo, H-Bomb Ferguson and Albert Washington, in the ea ...

(vocal, guitar) *

(bass) * Bob Hall (piano) *

(sax) * Micky Waller (drums) In the early 1980s, Waller was a member of the Terry Smith Blues Band, with

Jo Ann Kelly Jo Ann Kelly (5 January 1944 – 21 October 1990) was an English blues singer and guitarist. She is respected for her strong blues vocal style and for playing country blues guitar. Early life Kelly was born in Streatham, South London, England ...

(vocals) and

Tony Ashton Edward Anthony Ashton (1 March 1946 – 28 May 2001) was an English rock pianist, keyboardist, singer, composer, producer and artist. Biography Born in Blackburn, Lancashire, Ashton spent his formative years in the seaside town of Blackpool whe ...

(organ). Over the intervening years Waller's playing experience included credits with

The Walker Brothers The Walker Brothers were an United States, American pop music, pop musical ensemble, group of the 1960s and 1970s which included Noel Scott Engel (eventually known professionally as Scott Walker (singer), Scott Walker), John Walker (musician), Jo ...

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Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is often regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s list of ...

Bo Diddley Ellas McDaniel (born Ellas Otha Bates; December 30, 1928 – June 2, 2008), known professionally as Bo Diddley, was an American guitarist who played a key role in the transition from the blues to rock and roll. He influenced many artists, incl ...

Dusty Springfield Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien (16 April 1939 – 2 March 1999), known professionally as Dusty Springfield, was an English singer. With her distinctive mezzo-soprano sound, she was a popular singer of blue-eyed soul, Pop music, p ...

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and

Billy Bragg Stephen William Bragg (born 20 December 1957) is an English singer-songwriter and left-wing activist. His music blends elements of folk music, punk rock and protest songs, with lyrics that mostly span political or romantic themes. His music is ...

. In the early 1980s, Waller also played in the Sam Mitchell Band. Brunning subsequently hung onto the Deluxe Blues band name, reusing it for a number of line-ups, whilst Waller went to play in Italy for a period. Upon his return to London, Waller briefly joined a revived Deluxe Blues Band that reunited him with Heckstall-Smith and Brunning, along with new members Dave Beaumont, Alan Vincent and Phil Taylor. He continued to play intermittently with a number of blues bands in the London area, including the eponymous Micky Waller Band. In his later years, he took a degree in law, and used his gained knowledge to win court claims for unpaid

royalties A royalty payment is a payment made by one party to another that owns a particular asset, for the right to ongoing use of that asset. Royalties are typically agreed upon as a percentage of gross or net revenues derived from the use of an asset o ...

. Waller died of liver failure in London on 29 April 2008, aged 66.

References

External links

Obituary in the Guardian
*
Soundcloud.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Waller, Micky 1941 births English blues musicians English rock drummers 2008 deaths People from Hammersmith Musicians from London English session musicians Deaths from kidney failure British rhythm and blues boom musicians The Jeff Beck Group members All-Stars (band) members Steampacket members Brian Auger and the Trinity members