Pete York is a rock

Rock music

Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...

 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...

 who has been performing since the 1960s.

Early life

Born in Redcar

Redcar

Redcar is a seaside resort in the north east of England, and a major town in the unitary authority of Redcar and Cleveland in the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire. It lies east-northeast of Middlesbrough by the North Sea coast...

, he attended the Nottingham High School

Nottingham High School

Nottingham High School is a British boys' independent school situated about a mile north of Nottingham city centre. It has around 900 pupils from ages 11 to 18 and there is the adjoining Nottingham High Junior School catering for younger boys and, from September 2008, the Lovell House...

 and learnt to play the trumpet

Trumpet

The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...

 and snare drum

Snare drum

The snare drum or side drum is a melodic percussion instrument with strands of snares made of curled metal wire, metal cable, plastic cable, or gut cords stretched across the drumhead, typically the bottom. Pipe and tabor and some military snare drums often have a second set of snares on the bottom...

 in a school band, he also attended Trent College

Trent College

Trent College is a co-educational, HMC independent day and boarding school. There are 760 pupils in the Senior School and 330 pupils in the Junior School, The Elms School...

. Upon leaving school he embarked on a commercial apprenticeship.

Spencer Davis Group

He was one of the original members of the Spencer Davis Group

Spencer Davis Group

The Spencer Davis Group was a mid-1960s British beat group from Birmingham, England, formed by Spencer Davis with Steve Winwood and his brother Muff Winwood...

, along with Spencer Davis

Spencer Davis

Spencer David Nelson Davis is a British musician and multi-instrumentalist, and the founder of the 1960s rock band, the Spencer Davis Group.-Early life:...

 and the brothers

Sibling

Siblings are people who share at least one parent. A male sibling is called a brother; and a female sibling is called a sister. In most societies throughout the world, siblings usually grow up together and spend a good deal of their childhood socializing with one another...

, Steve

Steve Winwood

Stephen Lawrence "Steve" Winwood is an English international recording artist whose career spans nearly 50 years. He is a songwriter and a musician whose genres include soul music , R&B, rock, blues-rock, pop-rock, and jazz...

 and Muff Winwood

Muff Winwood

Mervyn "Muff" Winwood is an English songwriter and record producer, and the older brother of Steve Winwood. Both were formerly members of the Spencer Davis Group in the 1960s, in which Muff Winwood played bass guitar...

. York stayed with the band

Band (music)

In music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform music. The following articles concern types of musical bands:* All-female band* Big band* Boy band* Christian band* Church band* Concert band* Cover band...

 until 1969.

Later career

He left the Spencer Davis Group to form Hardin and York with Eddie Hardin.

Eric Clapton's Powerhouse

Eric Clapton's Powerhouse

Eric Clapton and the Powerhouse was a British blues studio supergroup formed in 1966.-History:The Powerhouse was formed with full intention of being a short-lived studio project...

 was a short lived blues

Blues

Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...

 band

Band (music)

In music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform music. The following articles concern types of musical bands:* All-female band* Big band* Boy band* Christian band* Church band* Concert band* Cover band...

 in 1967. It starred Eric Clapton

Eric Clapton

Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...

 (guitar

Guitar

The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...

), and featured Paul Jones

Paul Jones (singer)

Paul Jones is an English singer, actor, harmonica player, and radio personality and television presenter.-Career:As P. P...

 (harmonica

Harmonica

The harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...

) and Jack Bruce

Jack Bruce

John Symon Asher "Jack" Bruce is a Scottish musician and songwriter, respected as a founding member of the British psychedelic rock power trio, Cream, for a solo career that spans several decades, and for his participation in several well-known musical ensembles...

 (bass), Steve Winwood

Steve Winwood

Stephen Lawrence "Steve" Winwood is an English international recording artist whose career spans nearly 50 years. He is a songwriter and a musician whose genres include soul music , R&B, rock, blues-rock, pop-rock, and jazz...

 (vocals) with York (drums), and Ben Palmer (piano).

In the 80s he fronted an all-star band called Olympic Rock & Blues Circus featuring a rotating line-up of the likes of Jon Lord

Jon Lord

Jonathan Douglas "Jon" Lord is an English composer, pianist and Hammond organ player.Jon Lord, also known as 'Hammond Lord', is a classically trained piano player. He is recognised for his Hammond organ blues-rock sound and for his pioneering work in fusing rock and classical or baroque forms...

, Miller Anderson

Miller Anderson

Miller Altman Anderson was a diver from the United States, who won his first national diving championship in 1942, in the 3-meter springboard. A flyer during World War II, he was forced to parachute from his plane on his 112th mission, and his left leg was severely injured...

, Tony Ashton

Tony Ashton

Tony Ashton was an English rock pianist, keyboardist, singer, composer, producer and artist.-Biography:...

, Brian Auger

Brian Auger

Brian Auger is a jazz and rock keyboardist, who has specialized in playing the Hammond organ.A jazz pianist, bandleader, session musician and Hammond B3 player, Auger has played or toured with artists such as Rod Stewart, Tony Williams, Jimi Hendrix, Sonny Boy Williamson, Led Zeppelin, Eric Burdon...

, Zoot Money

Zoot Money

George Bruno Money, known as Zoot Money is a British vocalist, keyboardist and bandleader best known for his playing of the Hammond organ and association with his Big Roll Band...

, Colin Hodgkinson

Colin Hodgkinson

Colin Hodgkinson is a British rock, jazz and blues bassist, who has been active since the 1960s.-Career:...

, Chris Farlowe

Chris Farlowe

Chris Farlowe is an English rock, blues and soul singer. He is best known for his hit single "Out of Time", which rose to #1 in the UK Singles Chart in 1966, and his association with Colosseum and the Thunderbirds.Outside his music career, Farlowe collects war memorabilia.-Career:Inspired by Lonnie...

 and many others. Olympic Rock & Blues Circus was touring primarily in Germany in 1981/82 and 1989.

In February 1987, York started his first series of "Superdrumming" featuring Ian Paice

Ian Paice

Ian Anderson Paice is an English musician, best known as the drummer of the English rock band Deep Purple. As of Jon Lord's departure in 2002, he is the only founding member of the band who never stopped performing with the group, and the only member to appear on every album the band has...

, Louie Bellson

Louie Bellson

Luigi Paulino Alfredo Francesco Antonio Balassoni , better known by the stage name Louie Bellson , was an Italian-American jazz drummer...

, Cozy Powell

Cozy Powell

Colin Flooks , better known as Cozy Powell, was an English rock drummer who made his name with many major rock bands.-Early history:...

, Gerry Brown

Gerry Brown

Gerry “The Gov.” Brown is a recording engineer and producer based in Los Angeles credited on over 47 Platinum and Gold Records. He has received over 15 Grammy bids, including five nominations for Alicia Keys’ “Songs In A Minor,” a Song of the Year Award for Erykah Badu’s “Love of My Life,” two...

 and Simon Phillips

Simon Phillips

Simon Phillips is an English jazz, pop and rock drummer.-Career:Phillips began to play professionally at the age of twelve in his father's Dixieland band for four years. He was then offered the chance to play in the musical Jesus Christ Superstar...

.

The next year, 1988, the second series of "Superdrumming" featured Billy Cobham

Billy Cobham

William C. Cobham is a Panamanian American jazz drummer, composer and bandleader, who has called Switzerland home since the late 1970s....

, Bill Bruford

Bill Bruford

William Scott "Bill" Bruford is an English drummer, percussionist, composer, producer, and record label owner. He was the original drummer for the progressive rock group Yes, from 1968-1972. Bruford has performed for numerous popular acts since the early 1970s, including a stint as touring...

, Dave Mattacks

Dave Mattacks

Dave Mattacks is a rock and folk drummer. Best known for his work with Fairport Convention, Mattacks has also worked both as a session musician, and as a performance artist...

, Zak Starkey

Zak Starkey

Zak Starkey is an English rock drummer. He is the son of Beatles drummer Ringo Starr and Starr's first wife Maureen Starkey Tigrett. He is also well known for his unofficial membership in the English rock band The Who, with whom he has performed and recorded since 1996. He is also the third...

, Nicko McBrain

Nicko McBrain

Michael Henry "Nicko" McBrain is an English musician, best known as the drummer for Iron Maiden, which he joined in 1982, prior to which he had played for Streetwalkers, Pat Travers, and the French political band, Trust.-Biography:...

, Jon Lord

Jon Lord

Jonathan Douglas "Jon" Lord is an English composer, pianist and Hammond organ player.Jon Lord, also known as 'Hammond Lord', is a classically trained piano player. He is recognised for his Hammond organ blues-rock sound and for his pioneering work in fusing rock and classical or baroque forms...

 and Eddie Hardin

Eddie Hardin

Eddie Hardin , is an English rock pianist and singer-songwriter. He is best known for his associations with the Spencer Davis Group, Axis Point also Hardin and York...

.

The third series of "Superdrumming" featured Jon Hiseman

Jon Hiseman

Jon Hiseman is an English drummer, recording engineer, record producer and music publisher.-Career:...

, Steve Ferrone

Steve Ferrone

Steven "Steve" Ferrone is a British drummer.He was a member of the Average White Band, and has recorded and performed with numerous other high-profile acts, including Slash, Chaka Khan, Eric Clapton, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Scritti Politti...

, Mark Brzezicki

Mark Brzezicki

Mark Brzezicki is a rock drummer, who is primarily known for his work with Big Country, and was a member of the groups The Cult, Ultravox, and Procol Harum. He has also played with Pete Townshend, Roger Daltrey, Midge Ure, Fish, The Pretenders and many others...

, Trilok Gurtu and the return of Ian Paice

Ian Paice

Ian Anderson Paice is an English musician, best known as the drummer of the English rock band Deep Purple. As of Jon Lord's departure in 2002, he is the only founding member of the band who never stopped performing with the group, and the only member to appear on every album the band has...

.
The band on this series featured Miller Anderson

Miller Anderson (musician)

Miller Anderson is a UK based blues guitarist and singer.Apart from pursuing his own solo career, he was a member of the Keef Hartley Band. Other groups Anderson has been associated with are; the Spencer Davis Group, Broken Glass, The Dukes, Savoy Brown, T.Rex and Chicken Shack...

, Colin Hodgkinson

Colin Hodgkinson

Colin Hodgkinson is a British rock, jazz and blues bassist, who has been active since the 1960s.-Career:...

, Brian Auger

Brian Auger

Brian Auger is a jazz and rock keyboardist, who has specialized in playing the Hammond organ.A jazz pianist, bandleader, session musician and Hammond B3 player, Auger has played or toured with artists such as Rod Stewart, Tony Williams, Jimi Hendrix, Sonny Boy Williamson, Led Zeppelin, Eric Burdon...

, Jon Lord

Jon Lord

Jonathan Douglas "Jon" Lord is an English composer, pianist and Hammond organ player.Jon Lord, also known as 'Hammond Lord', is a classically trained piano player. He is recognised for his Hammond organ blues-rock sound and for his pioneering work in fusing rock and classical or baroque forms...

 and Barbara Thompson

Barbara Thompson

Barbara Gracey Thompson MBE is an English jazz saxophonist, flautist and composer. She studied clarinet, flute, piano and classical composition at the Royal College of Music, but the music of Duke Ellington and John Coltrane made her shift her interests to jazz and saxophone...

.

In 1989, Brian Auger

Brian Auger

Brian Auger is a jazz and rock keyboardist, who has specialized in playing the Hammond organ.A jazz pianist, bandleader, session musician and Hammond B3 player, Auger has played or toured with artists such as Rod Stewart, Tony Williams, Jimi Hendrix, Sonny Boy Williamson, Led Zeppelin, Eric Burdon...

 was musical director for the thirteen-part film

Film

A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...

 retrospective series Villa Fantastica, made for German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 TV

Television

Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...

. A live recording of the series, Super Jam

Super Jam (album)

Super Jam is a live studio recording featuring jazz, pop and traditional standards, many of them film scores, included in the German TV series, Villa Fantastica...

(1990), featured Brian Auger on piano

Piano

The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...

, York on drums, Dick Morrissey

Dick Morrissey

Richard Edwin "Dick" Morrissey was a British jazz musician and composer. He played the tenor sax, soprano sax and flute.- Background :...

 on tenor saxophone

Tenor saxophone

The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble...

, Roy Williams on trombone

Trombone

The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...

, Harvey Weston on bass guitar

Bass guitar

The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....

, plus the singers Zoot Money

Zoot Money

George Bruno Money, known as Zoot Money is a British vocalist, keyboardist and bandleader best known for his playing of the Hammond organ and association with his Big Roll Band...

 and Maria Muldaur

Maria Muldaur

Maria Muldaur is a folk-blues singer who was part of the American folk music revival in the early 1960s...

.

In 1990, the fourth series of "Superdrumming" was held in Freiburg, Germany with drummers Ian Paice

Ian Paice

Ian Anderson Paice is an English musician, best known as the drummer of the English rock band Deep Purple. As of Jon Lord's departure in 2002, he is the only founding member of the band who never stopped performing with the group, and the only member to appear on every album the band has...

, Jon Hiseman

Jon Hiseman

Jon Hiseman is an English drummer, recording engineer, record producer and music publisher.-Career:...

, Cozy Powell

Cozy Powell

Colin Flooks , better known as Cozy Powell, was an English rock drummer who made his name with many major rock bands.-Early history:...

 and York.

Since 2004, York has teamed up with German multi-talent entertainer Helge Schneider

Helge Schneider

Helge Schneider is a German comedian, jazz musician and multi-instrumentalist, author, film and theatre director, and actor....

 on a regular basis, playing the drums on several of Schneider's recordings as well as accompanying him on tour. York also had a substantial acting

Acting

Acting is the work of an actor or actress, which is a person in theatre, television, film, or any other storytelling medium who tells the story by portraying a character and, usually, speaking or singing the written text or play....

 part in Schneider's film

Film

A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...

 Jazzclub (IMDB's entry for the film).

York participated in the 'Drum Legends' project with Herman Rarebell

Herman Rarebell

Herman 'Ze German' Rarebell is a German drummer, best known for his time in the band Scorpions from 1977 to 1995, playing on 8 studio albums...

, where they released a live CD

Compact Disc

The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...

 and DVD

DVD

A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....

 with the contribution of jazz

Jazz

Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

 drummer, Charly Antolini

Charly Antolini

Charly Antolini is a Swiss jazz drummer.Antolini started playing the traditional Swiss Basler drum and in 1956 went to Paris where he played with Sidney Bechet, Bill Coleman among others, and playing in the Oldtime Jazz Band "The Tremble Kids" with trumpeter Oscar Klein and clarinettist Werner...

.

External links

• Pete York at Drummerworld.com
• http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0948751/Pete York minibiography at IMDb
  Internet Movie Database
  Internet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
  
  ]
• Biography at Drumsoloartist.com