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Tributes to Brookie from his close friends
My Tribute to Paul Brooke I first heard about Paul and his remarkable drum skills around about 1980, He was getting a lot of attention from local musicians. He was noted as being one of the most amazing players anyone had seen in years. He was in a band called Pzazz and he was being noticed for ability as being a great jazz player I was eager to see Paul play and my chance came soon after I left a band called Red on Red, Paul was asked if he would like to take my place and he said yes. The band was playing in Coventry and I had to go along to see who this Amazing Player was that took my place, WELL I am a down and out ROCK drummer and Paul came from the Jazz World, He was sweating like a pig during the show and he held it together just fine. We soon got to hang out together, We would go out every Thursday night to a place called Wilds in the centre of Leamington Spa and get pissed and always end up dancing on the tables until 3am . Paul to me was the best person that I have ever known ...He always had time for everyone and he devoted his life to Jenny and Drumming, You would always find Paul sitting in a cafe with his notepad and pen driving all the punters mad with his non stop tapping on the table and writing music. I have worked with Paul on the Yamaha recording sessions and on Chemical beats, His attention to detail was second to non , as I am sure you all know by his posts on MD and his Nu-Fusion website. I could go on for ages telling story''s about Paul but I will leave it here and just think back to all the great times I had with him ...We even played in the same band at the same time ....2 drummers ..WOW that was a blast. I have lost my best friend and I loved Paul to bits and I will never forget him Thanks for all your support Ted Dugan ********************************************************* |
Paul Brooke RIP by Jason Bould On Thursday the 3rd of May 2007 the world of drumming lost one of it’s great ‘goodfellas’ Paul had been very ill for some time with cancer and had battled extremely bravely, so much in fact, that he managed to outlive his own doctors prognosis. This was typical of Paul’s character though. He kept on drumming, in between having various operations – and when he didn’t have the strength to drum, his mind carried on drumming. Even whilst being bed ridden in hospital or at home Paul had a manuscript pad or laptop by his side and was constantly writing down new ideas and beats to inspire others – many of which, reside on the nufusions site. I know when I first met Paul six years ago whilst playing a drum clinic in Leamington spa he had the aura of a ‘Jedi drumming guru’ about him! When I went round to his house to see him play shortly after the clnic he drummed like a Jedi too! He had incredible independence, technical ability AND musicality and was one of the best drummers I’d seen. Since then I forged a friendship with him that helped breathe new life into my drumming as I was truly inspired not only by his fantastic playing ability, but also by his style of teaching. This is how the nufusions column in Rhythm magazine was born. Two different playing styles meeting in the middle. Along with hundreds of other people – in and out of the drumming community I will miss Paul a great deal, but the impact he had on my drumming will never be forgotten and will continue to be a source of inspiration. Paul lived in Leamington Spa with his wife Jenny with whom my thoughts are with. Here is a celebration and history of Paul’s playing career. Started playing drums over 30 years ago on an old Olympic kit. Having upgraded via Maxwin to a Hayman kit, he began by touring abroad with covers bands, before playing in the backing bands for Percy Sledge and later the Marvelettes. During this time, he was very passionate about fusion, his favourite drummers being Billy Cobham and Bill Bruford. Joined a Jazz-rock band in 1980 called Pzazz and made an album and toured extensively, including two tours with Level 42. From there, joined a band called “Mummy Calls”. who were signed for a ridiculous amount of money to Geffen records in 1984, and made a record with Hugh Padgham producing. The band dissolved the following year and Paul co-wrote the track “Beauty Has Her Way” which appeared on “The Lost Boys” soundtrack. In the years from ’85 to ’92 he divided his time between session drumming and programming, working with and for diverse artists including Nick Kershaw, Gary Moore, Greg Lake, Bonnie Tyler, Pino Palladino, Dream Academy, Coldcut, Danny Thompson, etc. etc. In 1992, Paul created the world’s first realistic drum sample CD “Masterkit” which was soon followed by “Masterkit 2”. Soon afterwards, he was approached by Yamaha to create a custom drum library, which appeared on their products over the next few years. Later sample CD’s included “Chemical Beats” (one of Zero-G’s top sellers ever) and latterly “Brutal Beats” (featuring Geoff Dugmore). From 1996 onwards, Paul got seriously into percussion and Jazz where he did gigs at the Montreux Jazz Festival and Ronnie Scott’s. Up until the end of 2006, Paul was working with Coldcut and running his private teaching practice, and lecture in sequencing & production at Mid-Warwickshire college.
Sonor Hi Lite Collectors Edition. Maple – Amber Satin-Oil finish. Cymbals: Istanbul 20” Agop Sultan ride, 20” Agop Special Edition Jazz ride, 20” Mehmet Ping ride. Classic series 17” crashes, one thin & one medium thin. Ufip Bionic Series 13” hats and 8” splash. 10” Meinl Mini-hats. E-Kit: Roland TD-6 plus Roland amplification. Percussion: All notation was prepared and published using Sibelius 3 software. |
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