From ELP_DISC:
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I've just had a phone call from Lee Jackson to tell me that Brian died last night around 9.30pm.
Brian had been ill since before Christmas with a brain tumour and secondaries in his liver and was already in a very poor state by the end of January. Lee told me that Keith (Emerson) was on the phone to him when he got the call from Bazz on his landline. with the sad news, so they both found out at the same time.
I'm sure all are thoughts will be with Brian's wife Terri at this sad time.
Brian was a very under-rated drummer who deserved much more success than he got imho.
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If you don't know who Brian is, do yourself a huge favour and quickly order copies of Five Bridges and Elegy by The Nice. Honestly...there are times I far prefer them to ELP.
11 comments:
What I have by the Nice are: 1983 Rock (storia E musica)Keith Emerson & The Nice with some live 1971 Filmore East, NY stuff (hang on to a dream; concerto no. 6); and a greatest hits with the 3 band members floating in the clouds on the cover (1977 NEMS), both cassettes.
On the first one, Keith is wearing a strange locket and spaceship type uniform top. I'll be listening to these both and see if Blinky sends me a sign from wherever he's at now!_!
gvl
Brian was my drum teacher and one of my best friends. He was the coolest person i ever met. I would have given anything )ust to see him one more time.
Rock on Blinky Brian
will bathurst.
He does a drum solo on the beforementioned cassette, so far it sounds great but I had to pause it for later, had to go ...
And the Nice have a real cool America anthem, too!
gvl
Not an anthem as such...rather a re-arrangement of the Leonard Bernstein composition from "West Side Story."
Oh my, I am saddened by this news. Just a few days ago we lost musical brother Danny Federici and now Brian. I was fortunate to be able to attend a few Nice shows in the UK in October 04 and met Brian. I remember Keith specifically making sure i was introduced to Brian backstage at De Montofort Hall and again at Hammersmith. Brian was really enjoying a bit of the spotlight that he deserved. At least that reunion took place when it did so the band got to play and tour together again. Here's to Brian playing a tom roll or two forever.
Buzz Delano
San Clemente, CA
...make that October 03...can't believe it's almost 5 years.
I wish I'd had a chance to see him play live...I certainly enjoy hearing his playing on the Nice albums I have.
BTW, thanks for commenting, Buzz, and welcome :o)
Is Brian at all comparable to Carl Palmer? Guess I'll listen to him some more; his drum solo on the live Filmore East show was good, albeit short. So long ago, too.
I try to play music myself: since a kid, drums, guitar and keys now, and sing some. I get criticized by my friends, and compared negativly to others' playing - of my peers. I don't think I'm 'that' bad; makes me want to quit sometimes ...
Every Which Way with Graham Bell on vocals is one of my favourite prog albums and one of the most underappreciated. A master of understated playing and now sadly missed.
I used to see Blinky playing with Nice at the University of Manchester in 1968 and '69. There was a lot of experimentation and genre-bending then and Nice were combining hard rock, European and modern Classical music. Their concerts were political art theater. Blinky's hair was frizzed out and he wore a black tank top, tight black jeans, and plimsols...more an artiste than yer typical rocker. Blinky's drumming was inventive, ranging from subtle to hard-rockin to surprisingly complex. I recall thinking he must be "jazz trained".
After I moved to Buffalo, New York, I turned my friends on to Nice. Then Blinky and Nice came to play at a local bar and I brought my friends. Clearly Nice were trying to break into the US market and got booked into this dying workin class city without adequate promotional support. I felt badly for these artists, stars at home, here in Buffalo like pearls before swine.
When Keith Emerson made it, I was happy for his success and wished Blinky's equal artistry had been rewarded with fame and money. Maybe he was rewarded in other ways and his legacy is that he helped many more than just me to develop our own artistry.
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