Musical biography

The first Latin percussion instrument that Danny Cummings ever acquired was a second-hand conga he persuaded his parents to buy him for his 21st birthday. "I remember thinking that black fiberglass drum marked the beginning of a new era for me," says Cummings. And perhaps it did: In the 20 years since, the London-based percussionist has recorded with such rock notables as the late John Martyn, Dire Straits

Dire Straits

Dire Straits were a British rock band active from 1977 to 1995, composed of Mark Knopfler , his younger brother David Knopfler , John Illsley , and Pick Withers .Dire Straits' sound drew from a variety of musical influences, including jazz, folk, blues, and came closest...

, Johnny Hallyday

Johnny Hallyday

Johnny Hallyday is a French singer and actor. An icon in the French-speaking world since the beginning of his career, he was considered by some to have been the French Elvis Presley. He was married for 15 years to one of the most popular French female singers: Sylvie Vartan...

, Tina Turner

Tina Turner

Tina Turner is an American singer and actress whose career has spanned more than 50 years. She has won numerous awards and her achievements in the rock music genre have led many to call her the "Queen of Rock 'n' Roll".Turner started out her music career with husband Ike Turner as a member of the...

, George Michael

George Michael

George Michael is a British musician, singer, songwriter and record producer who rose to fame in the 1980s when he formed the pop duo Wham! with his school friend, Andrew Ridgeley...

, Les McKeown

Les McKeown

Leslie Richard McKeown is a pop singer. He was the lead singer for the 1970s pop sensation the Bay City Rollers during their most successful period.-Biography:...

, Penguin Café Orchestra

Penguin Cafe Orchestra

The Penguin Cafe Orchestra was a collective of performing musicians created by classically trained British guitarist, composer and arranger Simon Jeffes...

, Elton John

Elton John

Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...

, The Pet Shop Boys, Simply Red

Simply Red

Simply Red were a British soul band that sold more than 50 million albums over a 25-year career. Their style drew influences from blue-eyed soul, new romantic, rock, reggae and jazz...

, Daniel Beddingfield, Talk Talk

Talk Talk

Talk Talk were an English musical group, active from 1981 to 1991. The group had a string of international hit singles including "Today", "Talk Talk", "It's My Life", "Such a Shame", "Dum Dum Girl", "Life's What You Make It" and "Living in Another World"....

, David Sylvian

David Sylvian

David Sylvian is an English singer-songwriter and musician who came to prominence in the late 1970s as the lead vocalist and main songwriter in the group Japan...

, Mark Knopfler

Mark Knopfler

Mark Freuder Knopfler, OBE is a Scottish-born British guitarist, singer, songwriter, record producer and film score composer. He is best known as the lead guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter for the British rock band Dire Straits, which he co-founded in 1977...

, Depeche Mode

Depeche Mode

Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in 1980 in Basildon, Essex. The group's original line-up consisted of Dave Gahan , Martin Gore , Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke...

 and Bryan Adams

Bryan Adams

Bryan Adams, is a Canadian rock singer-songwriter, guitarist, bassist, producer, actor and photographer. Adams has won dozens of awards and nominations, including 20 Juno Awards among 56 nominations. He has also received 15 Grammy Award nominations including a win for Best Song Written...

. His playing is particularly well showcased on "Ocean Drive" by The Lighthouse Family, and on the cabaret-tinged "Shag Tobacco" by vocalist Gavin Friday

Gavin Friday

Gavin Friday is an Irish singer and songwriter, composer, actor and painter.-Career:Gavin was born in Dublin and grew up in Finglas, a neighbourhood located on Dublin's Northside...

 (on which Cummings recorded more than 60 overdubs). He also appears on Bryan Adams' most recent album, On a Day Like Today.

At age 12, Cummings began playing snare drum in his school band, then got hooked on percussion with a pair of bongos that his grandparents brought him from Trinidad. His early musical influences included Curtis Mayfield

Curtis Mayfield

Curtis Lee Mayfield was an American soul, R&B, and funk singer, songwriter, and record producer.He is best known for his anthemic music with The Impressions during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960's and for composing the soundtrack to the blaxploitation film Super Fly, Mayfield is highly...

, Isaac Hayes

Isaac Hayes

Isaac Lee Hayes, Jr. was an American songwriter, musician, singer and actor. Hayes was one of the creative influences behind the southern soul music label Stax Records, where he served both as an in-house songwriter and as a record producer, teaming with his partner David Porter during the...

, and Bill Withers

Bill Withers

William Harrison "Bill" Withers, Jr. is an American singer-songwriter and musician who performed and recorded from 1970 until 1985. Some of his best-known songs are "Lean on Me", "Ain't No Sunshine", "Use Me", "Just the Two of Us", "Lovely Day", and "Grandma's Hands"...

, and "as any percussionist who plays congas in contemporary music will tell you, Santana

Carlos Santana

Carlos Augusto Alves Santana is a Mexican rock guitarist. Santana became famous in the late 1960s and early 1970s with his band, Santana, which pioneered rock, salsa and jazz fusion...

 (Carlos) was a most powerful influence."

Today, in addition to congas, shakers, and tambourines, Cummings plays a collection of original African instruments and experiments with electronic sounds: "I like the idea of blending very traditional instruments with futuristic, cosmic things."

Danny has embarked on several projects with Knopfler, both as part of Dire Straits and Knopfler's solo band. The last Dire Straits album On Every Street

On Every Street

On Every Street is the sixth and final studio album by British rock band Dire Straits, released in 1991 . It made #1 on the UK Albums Chart.-History:...

featured Cummings as a percussionist and he also contributed to Knopfler's solo album releases All the Roadrunning

All the Roadrunning

All the Roadrunning is a collaborative album by Mark Knopfler and Emmylou Harris. Released in 2006 by Warner Bros. in the US and Universal Music in Europe, "This Is Us" was released as the first single, followed by "Beachcombing"....

, Kill to Get Crimson

Kill to Get Crimson

Kill to Get Crimson is the fifth solo album by Mark Knopfler, released 23 October 2007. The album cover image is taken from the painting "Four Lambrettas and Three Portraits of Janet Churchman" by John Bratby, painted in 1958....

and Get Lucky

Get Lucky (Mark Knopfler album)

Get Lucky is the sixth solo album by Mark Knopfler, released on 14 September 2009 in Europe and 15 September in the United States in three configurations...

. He toured with Knopfler on the tours for each of these albums, and featured on the live CDs and DVDs On The Night

On the Night

On the Night is the second live album by Dire Straits. It was released in 1993, between Alchemy and Live at the BBC . It features many of their later hits, including the successful singles "Walk of Life" and "Money for Nothing"...

and Real Live Roadrunning

Real Live Roadrunning

Real Live Roadrunning is a live album by Mark Knopfler and Emmylou Harris. Released in November 2006, it was recorded at the end of their summer tour in support of their critically acclaimed album, All the Roadrunning. The album is released by Warner Bros. Records and Mercury Records as a DVD...

(featuring Emmylou Harris

Emmylou Harris

Emmylou Harris is an American singer-songwriter and musician. In addition to her work as a solo artist and bandleader, both as an interpreter of other composers' works and as a singer-songwriter, she is a sought-after backing vocalist and duet partner, working with numerous other artists including...

).

Cummings also appears on Guy Fletcher

Guy Fletcher

Guy Wilson Fletcher is an English multi-instrumentalist, best known for his position as the keyboardist in the British rock band Dire Straits from 1984 until the group's dissolution, and his involvement in nearly every part of Mark Knopfler's solo work to date.-Biography:Fletcher was born into a...

's albums Inamorata (2007) and Natural Selection (2010).

He now lives in the south of England with his wife and 2 boys.