Clive William Bunker (born 30 December 1946) is a British

drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drums. Most contemporary western bands that play rock, pop, jazz, or R&B music include a drummer for purposes including timekeeping and embellishing the musical timbre. The drummer's ...

. Bunker is best known as the original drummer of the rock band Jethro Tull, playing in the band from 1967 until 1971. Never a self-professed technical drummer, Bunker engaged with the essence of blues and rock and roll, influenced by

Ginger Baker Peter Edward "Ginger" Baker (19 August 1939 – 6 October 2019) was an English drummer. His work in the 1960s and 1970s earned him the reputation of "rock's first superstar drummer", for a style that melded jazz and African rhythms and pi ...

and

Mitch Mitchell John Graham "Mitch" Mitchell (9 July 194612 November 2008)In his book about the Experience, Mitchell states he celebrated his 21st birthday while on tour on 9 July 1967, which makes his birth year 1946.Mitchell's obituaries in ''Billboard' ''T ...

. He was also inspired by

Buddy Rich Bernard "Buddy" Rich (September 30, 1917 – April 2, 1987) was an American jazz drummer, songwriter, conductor, and bandleader. He is considered one of the most influential drummers of all time. Rich was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, ...

and

The Hollies The Hollies are a British pop rock band, formed in 1962. One of the leading British groups of the 1960s and into the mid-1970s, they are known for their distinctive three-part vocal harmony style. Allan Clarke and Graham Nash founded the band ...

Bobby Elliott Robert Hartley Elliott (born 8 December 1941) is an English rock drummer, best known for playing with The Hollies. He has been described as "one of the very finest drummers in all of pop/rock". Early life Elliott discovered jazz music when he w ...

Early career

Bunker was born in

Luton Luton () is a town and unitary authority with borough status, in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 census, the Luton built-up area subdivision had a population of 211,228 and its built-up area, including the adjacent towns of Dunstable an ...

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council ...

, and played in his first band The Warriors in the 1960s. With

Mick Abrahams Michael Timothy Abrahams (born 7 April 1943) is an English guitarist and band leader, best known for being the original guitarist for Jethro Tull from 1967 to 1968 and the frontman for Blodwyn Pig. Jethro Tull Abrahams was born in Luton, ...

he later formed the band known as McGregor's Engine. In this early career, playing in small venues, Bunker had an extraordinary non-matching drum kit, composed of bits and pieces of various manufacturers’ equipment.

Jethro Tull

Between 1967 and 1971 he drummed for Jethro Tull. But he left after the band released its most popular

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records c ...

to that date, '' Aqualung'', to get

married Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

and spend more time with his new wife. He was replaced by

Barriemore Barlow Barrie "Barriemore" Barlow (born 10 September 1949, Birmingham) is an English musician, best known as the drummer and percussionist for the rock band Jethro Tull, from May 1971 to June 1980. Christened Barrie, 'Barriemore' was an affectation ...

, a school friend of the group's singer/songwriter

Ian Anderson Ian Scott Anderson (born 10 August 1947) is a British musician, singer and songwriter best known for his work as the lead vocalist, flautist, acoustic guitarist and leader of the British rock band Jethro Tull. He is a multi-instrumentalist ...

. Bunker said about his decision to leave Jethro Tull while its success was growing: :"I had always told Ian, 'If I find the right lady, I'll be gone,' and I did just that. That was just at the start of their world touring in '72, and I wouldn't have been back in England for ages at a time. So I thought that I might as well end it then. Besides, Barrie was always in the background anyway, so I knew I wasn't going to put them in a difficult situation. You must understand that back then, we didn't have any time off; it was non-stop work, and I wanted to spend time with my wife."

Later career

After Jethro Tull, Bunker recorded and performed as a session musician with a variety of acts, including

Blodwyn Pig Blodwyn Pig was a British blues rock band, founded in 1968 by guitarist–vocalist–songwriter Mick Abrahams. Career Abrahams left Jethro Tull after their debut album, ''This Was'', was released, due to a falling-out with Tull vocalist Ian An ...

Robin Trower Robin Leonard Trower (born 9 March 1945) is an English rock guitarist who achieved success with Procol Harum throughout 1967–1971, and then again as the bandleader of his own power trio known as the Robin Trower Band. Biography Robin Trowe ...

, Jude, Steve Howe, Jeff Pain (aka Dicken, formerly of the UK band Mr Big), Manfred Mann's Earth Band,

Jack Bruce John Symon Asher Bruce (14 May 1943 – 25 October 2014) was a Scottish bassist, singer-songwriter, musician and composer. He gained popularity as the primary lead vocalist and ‍bassist ‍of British rock band Cream. After the group disband ...

Gordon Giltrap Gordon Giltrap, MBE (born 6 April 1948) is an English guitarist and composer. His music crosses several genres. He has been described as "one of the most revered guitarists of his generation", and has drawn praise from fellow musicians including ...

, Anna Ryder, Uli Jon Roth, Electric Sun,

Steve Hillage Stephen Simpson Hillage (born 2 August 1951) is an English musician, best known as a guitarist. He is associated with the Canterbury scene and has worked in experimental domains since the late 1960s. Besides his solo recordings he has been a m ...

, Vikki Clayton,

Solstice A solstice is an event that occurs when the Sun appears to reach its most northerly or southerly excursion relative to the celestial equator on the celestial sphere. Two solstices occur annually, around June 21 and December 21. In many count ...

, Glenn Hughes and Jerry Donahue. He was a session musician on Generation X's second LP '' Valley of the Dolls'' (1979).'Running with the Boss Sound', article by Derwood Andrews, 'Mojo' magazine, February 2008.

Aviator

In 1978 Bunker founded the band

Aviator An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

with Jack Lancaster, a former Blodwyn Pig bandmate, later releasing two LP's, ''Aviator'' (1979), and ''Turbulence'' (1980).

Solo works

Bunker's debut solo album, entitled ''Awakening'', was released in 1998.

Discography

Solo

* ''Awakening'' (1998) – With Ian Anderson and

Martin Barre Martin Lancelot Barre (; born 17 November 1946) is an English guitarist best known for his longtime role as lead guitarist of British rock band Jethro Tull, with whom he recorded and toured from 1968 until the band's initial dissolution in 201 ...

With Jethro Tull

* '' This Was'' (1968) *'' Stand Up'' (1969) *'' Benefit'' (1970) *'' Aqualung'' (1971) *'' Living in the Past'' (1972)

With Steve Howe

* ''The Steve Howe Album'' – Plays percussions on ''Cactus Boogie''

With Generation X

* ''Valley of the dolls'' – Guest musician

With Aviator

* ''

'' (1979) * ''

Turbulence In fluid dynamics, turbulence or turbulent flow is fluid motion characterized by chaotic changes in pressure and flow velocity. It is in contrast to a laminar flow, which occurs when a fluid flows in parallel layers, with no disruption between ...

'' (1980)

Steve Hillage

* 1976 : BBC Old Grey Whistle Test 2/11/76 "Hurdy Gurdy Glissando". * 1979 : ''Live Herald'' : He played drums on the tracks "Salmon Song", "The Dervish Riff", "Castles In The Clouds" and "Hurdy Gurdy Man" These tracks were recorded on the gig which was played on 26 March 1977 in the Rainbow Theatre London. * 2007 : ''Green'' : On the 2007 reedited version, Clive plays drums on one song recorded live at The Rainbow in 1977 : ''"Not Fade Away (Glid Forever)''.

With Electric Sun Uli Jon Roth

* '' Beyond the Astral Skies'' (1985)

With Blodwyn Pig

* ''Lies'' (1994) * ''Pig in the Middle'' (1996) * ''Live At The Lafayette'' (1997) * ''The Basement Tapes'' (2000) * ''Live At The Marquee Club London 1974'' (2002) * ''All Said And Done'' (2011) * ''Pigthology'' (2013)

With Manfred Mann's Earth Band

* '' Soft Vengeance'' (1996)

With Solstice

* ''Circles'' (1997) * ''The Cropredy Set'' (2002)

With Beggar's Farm

* ''Diving in the Past'' (2005) – With ex- PFM and

Acqua Fragile Acqua Fragile was an italian progressive rock band, active from 1971 to 1975. The band was established in the city of Parma. , leader and vocalist of the band, is best known for his work with Premiata Forneria Marconi and has played in many other ...

Italian singer Bernardo Lanzetti on vocals. * ''Itullians'' (2007) – With ex-Jethro Tull members Mick Abrahams on guitar, Jonathan Noyce on bass and Bernardo Lanzetti on vocals.

References

External links

* Clive Bunker biography at Allmusic*
Clive Bunker on Manfred Mann's Earth Band

Clive Bunker on www.collecting-tull.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bunker, Clive 1946 births Living people English rock drummers Jethro Tull (band) members Manfred Mann's Earth Band members People from Luton Progressive rock drummers