David "Pick" Withers (born 4 April 1948) is an English

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

drummer. He was the original drummer of rock band

Dire Straits Dire Straits were a British rock band formed in London in 1977 by Mark Knopfler (lead vocals and lead guitar), David Knopfler (rhythm guitar and backing vocals), John Illsley (bass guitar and backing vocals) and Pick Withers (drums and percuss ...

and played on their first four albums, which included hit singles such as "

Sultans of Swing "Sultans of Swing" is a song by British rock band Dire Straits, written by lead vocalist Mark Knopfler. The demo of the song was recorded at Pathway Studios, North London, in July 1977 and quickly acquired a following after it was put in rotati ...

", "

Romeo and Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetim ...

" and "

Private Investigations "Private Investigations" is a song by the British rock band Dire Straits from their album ''Love over Gold''. It reached number 2 in the United Kingdom (despite its length), and is one of their biggest chart successes in the UK. The track has ...

". Withers was inducted into the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and othe ...

as a member of Dire Straits in 2018.

Biography

Taught by childhood friend Richard Storer, Withers first played a drum in the

Boys' Brigade The Boys' Brigade (BB) is an international interdenominational Christian youth organisation, conceived by the Scottish businessman Sir William Alexander Smith to combine drill and fun activities with Christian values. Following its inception ...

in his home city of Leicester. He became a professional musician at the age of 17, in an Italian band called

The Primitives The Primitives are an English indie pop band from Coventry, best known for their 1988 international hit single "Crash". Formed in 1984, disbanded in 1992 and reformed in 2009, the band's two constant members throughout their recording career ...

. This was followed by a band called

Spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season), a season of the year * Spring (device), a mechanical device that stores energy * Spring (hydrology), a natural source of water * Spring (mathematics), a geometric surface in the shape of a ...

who had a record contract but little success; they released one album on the

RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...

label. In the mid-1970s Withers was a house drummer at

Rockfield Studios Rockfield Studios is a residential recording studio located in the Wye Valley just outside the village of Rockfield, Monmouthshire, Wales. It was originally founded in 1963 by brothers Kingsley and Charles Ward. Facilities Rockfield is a two- ...

near

Monmouth Monmouth ( , ; cy, Trefynwy meaning "town on the Monnow") is a town and community in Wales. It is situated where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, from the Wales–England border. Monmouth is northeast of Cardiff, and west of London. I ...

, Wales. He played on records by

Dave Edmunds David William Edmunds (born 15 April 1944) is a Welsh singer-songwriter, guitarist and record producer. Although he is mainly associated with pub rock and new wave, having many hits in the 1970s and early 1980s, his natural leaning has alwa ...

, Hobo, the

John Dummer Band The John Dummer Band also known as John Dummer's Blues Band, John Dummer's Famous Music Band, John Dummer's Oobleedooblee Band and The John Dummer Band Featuring Nick Pickett was a British blues band, of the 1960s and 1970s, noted for its extensi ...

and the Gary Fletcher Band, amongst others. His nickname has been subject to some variations in spelling. During his time with Spring, he was billed as ''Pique Withers''. He is billed as ''Pic Withers'' on his appearance on the second

Brewers Droop Brewers Droop was a Southern English pub rock band of the early 1970s. Though they did not chart, they are notable as an early exponent of the pub rock style, as well as for their connections with Dire Straits, as both Mark Knopfler and Pick W ...

album. Withers has also studied at

Drumtech The British and Irish Modern Music Institute, now styled as the BIMM Institute, is a group of eight independent colleges which specialise in the provision of creative education in Brighton, Bristol, London, Dublin, Manchester, Berlin, Birmingh ...

drum school in London.

Dire Straits

Withers met

Mark Knopfler Mark Freuder Knopfler (born 12 August 1949) is a British singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. Born in Scotland and raised in England, he was the lead guitarist, singer and songwriter of the rock band Dire Straits. He pursued a s ...

circa 1976 in North London. Knopfler called around to the house Withers was living in to borrow

Simon Cowe Simon Cowe (1 April 1948 – 30 September 2015) was an English guitarist and multi-instrumentalist most noted as a member of the folk-rock group Lindisfarne from their original formation in 1970 until 1973, and then again from 1978 to his depart ...

's reel to reel tape recorder, and recorded some music with Withers that same day. Withers was briefly a member of folk-rock outfit

Magna Carta (Medieval Latin for "Great Charter of Freedoms"), commonly called (also ''Magna Charta''; "Great Charter"), is a royal charter of rights agreed to by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, on 15 June 1215. First drafted by the ...

in 1977, but once

gained a recording contract, he turned to drumming for that band full-time. His style with Dire Straits is distinctive for being restrained, favouring sparse

snare drum The snare (or side drum) is a percussion instrument that produces a sharp staccato sound when the head is struck with a drum stick, due to the use of a series of stiff wires held under tension against the lower skin. Snare drums are often used ...

and

hi-hat A hi-hat (hihat, high-hat, etc.) is a combination of two cymbals and a pedal, all mounted on a metal stand. It is a part of the standard drum kit used by drummers in many styles of music including rock, pop, jazz, and blues. Hi-hats consist o ...

combinations rather than heavy beats, speed and pyrotechnic flourishes. He played on the Dire Straits albums ''

'' (1978), ''

Communiqué A press release is an official statement delivered to members of the news media for the purpose of providing information, creating an official statement, or making an announcement directed for public release. Press releases are also considere ...

'' (1979), ''

Making Movies ''Making Movies'' is the third studio album by British rock band Dire Straits released on 17 October 1980 by Vertigo Records internationally, Warner Bros. Records in the United States and Mercury Records in Canada. The album includes the sing ...

'' (1980) and ''

Love Over Gold ''Love over Gold'' is the fourth studio album by British rock band Dire Straits, released on 24 September 1982 by Vertigo Records internationally and by Warner Bros. Records in the United States. The album featured two singles: "Private Investi ...

'' (1982). Withers left

in the summer of 1982, soon after completing the ''Love Over Gold'' sessions. In a 2021 interview in which he was asked why he left, Withers said that the band was becoming too loud, he was tired of the treadmill, and he wanted to try new things. His replacement in Dire Straits was Terry Williams, also a

sideman A sideman is a professional musician who is hired to perform live with a solo artist, or with a group in which they are not a regular band member. The term is usually used to describe musicians that play with jazz or rock artists, whether solo ...

. In 2021, Withers re-surfaced with a new

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

band called 'Slim Pickin's', later re-named 'Pick's Pocket'.

Discography

With Dire Straits

With others

* ''Spring'',

* ''How Long Is Forever'', Prelude * '' Slow Train Coming'',

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

* ''Giant From The Blue'', Gary Fletcher Band * ''

Sleepwalking Sleepwalking, also known as somnambulism or noctambulism, is a phenomenon of combined sleep and wakefulness. It is classified as a sleep disorder belonging to the parasomnia family. It occurs during slow wave stage of sleep, in a state of low ...

'',

Gerry Rafferty Gerald Rafferty (16 April 1947– 4 January 2011) was a Scottish singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He was a founding member of Stealers Wheel, whose biggest hit was " Stuck in the Middle with You" in 1973. His solo hits in th ...

* ''

A Rare Conundrum ''A Rare Conundrum'' is the 11th album by Scottish folk musician Bert Jansch, released in 1977 in the UK. The album was first released by Ex Libris in Denmark in late 1976 as ''Poormouth'' with an alternative cover and a slightly different tr ...

'',

Bert Jansch Herbert Jansch (3 November 1943 – 5 October 2011) was a Scottish folk musician and founding member of the band Pentangle. He was born in Glasgow and came to prominence in London in the 1960s as an acoustic guitarist and singer-songwriter ...

* ''

The Booze Brothers ''The Booze Brothers'', ''featuring Mark Knopfler & Dave Edmunds'', is the second album released by Brewers Droop, an English blues band. Although most of the tracks were recorded back in 1973 the album was only released in 1989 when it was disc ...

'',

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Withers, Pick 1948 births Living people English rock drummers English jazz drummers British male drummers Dire Straits members People from Leicester Musicians from Leicestershire John Dummer Band members