Martin Gilks
Encyclopedia
Martin Richard Gilks was an English
musician. He was a founder member and original drummer
for The Wonder Stuff
, based in Stourbridge
(West Midlands
, England
).
Gilks who was born in Stourbridge
, was originally the drummer with Midlands
-based The Mighty Lemon Drops
before leaving in 1985 (allegedly sacked for not wanting to cut his hair), and later joined Miles Hunt
, Malcolm Treece, and Rob "The Bass Thing" Jones to form The Wonder Stuff in March 1986. As part of The Wonder Stuff, Martin went on to have a string of top-forty singles
and album
as well as being voted the best drummer
on the planet in an NME
poll in 1989. The group split up in 1994.
He continued to work with Treece and Paul Clifford (Rob Jones' replacement who joined The Wonder Stuff in 1990) after the split under the name of We Know Where You Live with Ange Dolittle (formerly of Eat
) on lead vocals.
Martin left the group at the end of 1995 to join his brother "Tank" in forming Furtive Mass Transit Systems, a management company who would later look after Reef
, Lowgold
, Cable
, A
and Hundred Reasons
. We Know Where You Live disbanded the following year.
When The Wonder Stuff reformed in 2000, performing five sell-out shows at the London venue Forum, Martin also acted as the group's manager and continued to do so until a much-publicised split of the original members in 2004.
Martin died, aged 41, on 3 April 2006, after losing control of his motorbike in London
.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
musician. He was a founder member and original drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
for The Wonder Stuff
The Wonder Stuff
The Wonder Stuff are a British alternative rock band, originally based in Stourbridge, West Midlands, in the Black Country, England.-Origins:...
, based in Stourbridge
Stourbridge
Stourbridge is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, in the West Midlands of England. Historically part of Worcestershire, Stourbridge was a centre of glass making, and today includes the suburbs of Amblecote, Lye, Norton, Oldswinford, Pedmore, Wollaston, Wollescote and Wordsley The...
(West Midlands
West Midlands (county)
The West Midlands is a metropolitan county in western central England with a 2009 estimated population of 2,638,700. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, formed from parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. The...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
).
Gilks who was born in Stourbridge
Stourbridge
Stourbridge is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, in the West Midlands of England. Historically part of Worcestershire, Stourbridge was a centre of glass making, and today includes the suburbs of Amblecote, Lye, Norton, Oldswinford, Pedmore, Wollaston, Wollescote and Wordsley The...
, was originally the drummer with Midlands
English Midlands
The Midlands, or the English Midlands, is the traditional name for the area comprising central England that broadly corresponds to the early medieval Kingdom of Mercia. It borders Southern England, Northern England, East Anglia and Wales. Its largest city is Birmingham, and it was an important...
-based The Mighty Lemon Drops
The Mighty Lemon Drops
The Mighty Lemon Drops were an English rock group active from 1985 to 1992.-Biography:Originally called the Sherbet Monsters, the quartet first formed in the spring of 1985 in Wolverhampton, in The Black Country...
before leaving in 1985 (allegedly sacked for not wanting to cut his hair), and later joined Miles Hunt
Miles Hunt
Miles Hunt is the singer / guitarist and songwriter for the Stourbridge, England-based Alternative Rock band The Wonder Stuff.- Early life :His father was a union official for the TGWU...
, Malcolm Treece, and Rob "The Bass Thing" Jones to form The Wonder Stuff in March 1986. As part of The Wonder Stuff, Martin went on to have a string of top-forty singles
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
and album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
as well as being voted the best drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
on the planet in an NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
poll in 1989. The group split up in 1994.
He continued to work with Treece and Paul Clifford (Rob Jones' replacement who joined The Wonder Stuff in 1990) after the split under the name of We Know Where You Live with Ange Dolittle (formerly of Eat
Eat (band)
Eat were a British alternative rock band who were active in the late 1980s and early 1990s. They released two albums on The Cure's label Fiction...
) on lead vocals.
Martin left the group at the end of 1995 to join his brother "Tank" in forming Furtive Mass Transit Systems, a management company who would later look after Reef
Reef (band)
Reef are an English band from Glastonbury. The band members includes Gary Stringer on vocals, Kenwyn House on guitar, Jack Bessant on bass and Dominic Greensmith on drums.-Early days:...
, Lowgold
Lowgold
Lowgold are an English indie rock band formed in 1997 in St Albans, comprising vocalist and rhythm guitarist Darren Ford, lead guitarist Dan Symons and bassist Miles Willey....
, Cable
Cable (British band)
Cable were a British alternative rock band, formed in the early 1990s by Matt Bagguley , Darius Hinks , Suza Ward , Pete Darrington and Martin Syvret , followed by Neil Cooper, formerly of The Beyond . Cooper left in 1995 to form Gorilla with other ex-members of The Beyond, and was replaced by...
, A
A (band)
A are a British alternative rock band from Suffolk, England, that formed in 1993. They have released four albums, and two live mini-albums.In 2002, the band enjoyed a brief period of commercial success, in which "Nothing", the first single from Hi-Fi Serious , charted at #9 on the UK singles chart...
and Hundred Reasons
Hundred Reasons
Hundred Reasons are an English rock band from Farnborough, Hampshire, composed of Colin Doran , Larry Hibbitt , Andy Gilmour , Andy Bews and Ben Doyle . Originally, the band was signed to Columbia Records in mid April 2001, after fourteen months of near-constant touring...
. We Know Where You Live disbanded the following year.
When The Wonder Stuff reformed in 2000, performing five sell-out shows at the London venue Forum, Martin also acted as the group's manager and continued to do so until a much-publicised split of the original members in 2004.
Martin died, aged 41, on 3 April 2006, after losing control of his motorbike in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
External links
- Tributes to Martin Gilks
- BBC News - Wonder Stuff drummer dies at 41, retrieved 5 April 2006