Alan found his way to the drum stool at the age of 12 yrs learning to play the side drum with ‘St Andrews Pipe Band’for the local Boys Brigade Drum Corps then graduating from military drumming into the ‘beat group’ scene around the time when the the ‘Stones’ and the  ‘Beatles’ were  hitting the pop charts. During the next few years, Alan  decided to take his drumming more seriously and studied for 3 years under the tutorship of ‘Geoff Riley’ who worked with the BBC Big Band & The NDO. Alan travelled around the country playing in a variety of groups and bands performing in clubs and dance halls supporting the likes of The Kinks, Ike & Tina Turner, Them with Van Morrison etc. After honing his reading skills, Alan spent the next 12 years working in cabaret clubs backing some of the UK’s top acts including Bernard Manning, Gary Wilmott, Don Estelle to name a few.  During his extensive drumming career, Alan  has played in Big Bands, Jazz Quartets, Brass Bands and Orchestra  pits for musicals including Barnum, Cabaret, West Side Story, and Fiddler on The Roof  etc. Alan has now brought all this experience  together and is now a peripatetic percussion teacher in a number of schools throughout the county. In order to encourage pupils into music Alan is actively involved with local school bands and orchestras and has performed in school music tours throughout Europe including Denmark, Prague, Italy, Germany, Paris, Netherlands and a recent performance at the Barcelona Jazz Festival.

 

Unusual fact....Alan ownes the original 'top of the pops' Ludwig drumkit from the 1960's. As the in house kit you can't believe who has played it!