Richard Drummie (born 20 March 1959, in

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 an English guitarist, songwriter and producer. Drummie and Peter Cox are the founding members of musical group Go West.

Early career and Go West

Drummie began writing with longtime collaborator Peter Cox, with whom he eventually signed a publishing deal. In 1982, the two formed the band Go West, with Cox as lead singer and Drummie on guitar and backing vocals. For the next few years, Go West tried to land a

recording contract A recording contract (commonly called a record contract or record deal) is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist (or group), where the artist makes a record (or series of records) for the label to sell and promote. Artists ...

until, with the help of manager John Glover and producer Gary Stevenson, they finally recorded their first two singles: "

We Close Our Eyes "We Close Our Eyes" is a song by English pop duo Go West, composed by both members Peter Cox and Richard Drummie. Recognizable by its synthesizer hook, it was the lead single from their debut studio album '' Go West''. The single was promote ...

" and " Call Me". After Go West signed a deal with

Chrysalis Records Chrysalis Records () is a British record label that was founded in 1968. The name is both a reference to the pupal stage of a butterfly and a combination of its founders' names, Chris Wright and Terry Ellis. It started as the Ellis-Wright Ag ...

, "We Close Our Eyes" became a

top 5 ''Top Five'' is a 2014 American comedy film written and directed by Chris Rock. Produced by Scott Rudin and Eli Bush, the film stars Rock, Rosario Dawson, and Gabrielle Union, and follows New York City comedian and film star Andre Allen (Rock), ...

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 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 1985. Other Go West singles released that year included " Call Me" (1985) and " Don't Look Down". The following year, Go West was named 'Best Newcomer' at the 1986

BRIT Awards The BRIT Awards (often simply called the BRITs) are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia" (in the early days the awards were sponsored ...

. In 1990, Go West finally achieved success in the United States with their single "

King of Wishful Thinking "King of Wishful Thinking" (titled "The King of Wishful Thinking" on Chrysalis releases) is a song by British pop duo Go West, written by Peter Cox, Richard Drummie and Martin Page. It was featured in the film '' Pretty Woman'' and appeared ...

", which reached No. 8 on the U.S. chart and was featured on the soundtrack of the film ''

Pretty Woman ''Pretty Woman'' is a 1990 American romantic comedy film directed by Garry Marshall, from a screenplay by J. F. Lawton. The film stars Julia Roberts and Richard Gere, and features Héctor Elizondo, Ralph Bellamy (in his final performance), La ...

''. " Faithful", released in 1992, reached No. 14 in the States.

Personal life

Drummie, who grew up in

Skelmersdale Skelmersdale is a town in Lancashire, England, on the River Tawd, west of Wigan, northeast of Liverpool and southwest of Preston. In 2006, it had a population of 38,813. The town is known locally as Skem . While the first record of the tow ...

and

Ormskirk Ormskirk is a market town in the West Lancashire district of Lancashire, England, north of Liverpool, northwest of St Helens, southeast of Southport and southwest of Preston. Ormskirk is known for its gingerbread. Geography and administr ...

with his grandparents, has two children: a son and a daughter. In 1993, he and Cox moved to Los Angeles, but Drummie returned to the United Kingdom in 1996.

References

1959 births Living people English pop guitarists English male guitarists English songwriters English record producers Go West (band) members Musicians from London British male songwriters {{England-musician-stub