Jimmy B
Inscrit le: 12 May 2002
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Localisation: Rhythm Land
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 Posté le: 07 Jun 2006 10:53 Sujet du message: Disparition de Nigel Gray [Batteur anglais] |
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Nigel GRAY
10 Décembre 1957 | 04 Juin 2006
| http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/news/local/14736006.htm a écrit: | Wichita drummer Nigel Gray, 48, dies
BY JILLIAN COHAN
The Wichita Eagle
Nigel Gray owned every Beatles album released, both on vinyl and CD. His tidy apartment was filled with books and videos on the Fab Four. And in his lifetime, Mr. Gray came as close as he could to sharing the stage with his all-time favorite band.
In April, the Wichita drummer and his band, Rain, opened for the premiere Beatles tribute band, 1964... The Tribute.
"It was a real buzz for him, to, in his mind's eye, play with the Beatles," said his longtime friend and colleague Bob Childs.
Mr. Gray died Thursday in his Wichita home. He was 48.
Born on Dec. 10, 1957, in Suffolk, England, Mr. Gray came to the United States in 1995 when the company he worked for, British Aerospace, was acquired by Raytheon.
He managed technical publications for the aircraft company, but his passion was music. Although he sang and played guitar, he fell in love with the drums at age 6, when he saw Ringo Starr perform on TV.
"That was it for me; I only ever wanted to play drums from that point on," Mr. Gray wrote on the Rain Web site.
And play he did, from tapping on his parents' tables with a teaspoon to performing at country-music clubs in London.
"He always had drumsticks in his hands," said his wife, Valli. "From the age of 3 he had (our son) Daniel trying to learn drums, too."
She remembered her late husband as a clothes horse with a closet three times the size of hers, filled with the black shirts he favored for stage attire.
"When I met Nigel, I was 25 years old," she said. "I heard this laugh from across the office. It took me two days to track down that laugh, and I married him."
Friends and bandmates also recalled Mr. Gray's warmth and charisma. Though he made his home in Wichita, playing with bands such as Color Blind, Flipside and Gravy From The Hip, those who knew him said he never forgot his British influences.
"Every time we were making up a set list, there was a Beatles song on there, or a Ringo song," recalled Rain keyboard player Gary Hess.
Several years ago, Mr. Gray returned to England with his friend and bandmate Al Lang. The two "Beatleheads" visited Abbey Road, Penny Lane and other haunts of their idols.
"We walked in the path of the greats," Lang recalled. "I'm glad to have shared it with him. He was more than a bandmate; he was like a brother to me."
At what proved to be his last rehearsal with Rain, Mr. Gray sat behind his drum kit, signaling time changes in the 1969 Beatles tune "Come Together" for his bandmates.
It was fitting for a man who loved music more than himself, his friends said.
In addition to his wife and son, Mr. Gray is survived by his brother John and sisters Sandy Lanier and Maureen Duralski.
Viewing and cremation services will be at 5:30 p.m. Monday at Lakeview Funeral Home, 12100 E. 13th St.
Rain also will hold a celebration of Mr. Gray's music Tuesday night at the Roadhouse, 3813 N. Broadway. Musicians are invited to sit in and donations will be accepted to support the Gray family. For more information, call 316-832-0075. |
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| ["Le bruit règne en maître sur la sensibilité humaine" | Luigi Russolo ] |
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