Barriemore Barlow
Encyclopedia
Barrie "Barriemore" Barlow (born 10 September 1949, Birmingham
) is an English
musician, best known as the drummer
and percussionist for the rock band
Jethro Tull
, from May 1971 to June 1980.
Christened Barrie, the 'Barriemore' was an affectation to suit the eccentric image of Jethro Tull (much as Jeffrey Hammond
had become "Jeffrey Hammond-Hammond").
and played on the following album
s:
Upset by the death
of bassist
John Glascock
, Barlow left Jethro Tull in 1980, after completing the final leg of the Stormwatch tour.
projects, including work with Robert Plant
, John Miles
, and Jimmy Page
, and he also started his own band for a spell called Storm. He played on the Yngwie Malmsteen album Rising Force
. He played on the Kerry Livgren
album, Seeds of Change.
Barlow has a recording studio
, The Doghouse, on his property in Shiplake
, Oxfordshire
, England
. He is currently managing a band from Henley on Thames called The Repertoires, and has also been linked with other local bands which echo his own folk-influenced musical history, such as Reading's Smokey Bastard.
Barlow played percussion on "Artrocker", the opening track of the critically acclaimed 2006 album Get Your Mood On by London
indie punk
band, Dustin's Bar Mitzvah
.
In an interview in the December 2007 issue of Drumhead
magazine, Barlow announced that he is looking to play on the road again.
24 x 14 bass drum
22 x 14 bass drum
13 x 9 tom tom
14 x 10 tom tom
16 x 16 tom tom
18 x 16 tom tom
20 x 18 tom tom
14 x 10 Ludwig snare
Ludwig sticks Rose-Morris
Ludwig silver sparkle
Ludwig black super classic (mainly for recording)
Paiste cymbals
Evans Oilfield drum heads
Ludwig musser marimba
Premier marimba
Ludwig glockenspiel
Natal bongos
Indian tablas
, Bursting Out
, is testimony to his creative talents as a drummer, notably on his drum solo in the song "Conundrum
". He was called "the greatest rock drummer England ever produced" by John Bonham
.
In a comment on his drumming for the Jethro Tull albums he said; "I've always admired people who invent — and on a percussion level I admire inventors of rhythm. I tried to strive for that in Tull, but now I go to great lengths to advise the drummers in the bands I'm managing not to play anything like I used to play in Tull, because it was so busy and over-the-top."
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
) is an English
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, best known as the 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...
and percussionist for the rock band
Rock Band
Rock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were released in the United States on November 20, 2007, while the PlayStation 2 version was...
Jethro Tull
Jethro Tull (band)
Jethro Tull are a British rock group formed in 1967. Their music is characterised by the vocals, acoustic guitar, and flute playing of Ian Anderson, who has led the band since its founding, and the guitar work of Martin Barre, who has been with the band since 1969.Initially playing blues rock with...
, from May 1971 to June 1980.
Christened Barrie, the 'Barriemore' was an affectation to suit the eccentric image of Jethro Tull (much as Jeffrey Hammond
Jeffrey Hammond
Jeffrey Hammond sometimes credited as Jeffrey Hammond-Hammond, is a former bass guitar player for the progressive rock band Jethro Tull....
had become "Jeffrey Hammond-Hammond").
Jethro Tull
Barlow was a school friend, and former bandmate of Jethro Tull frontman Ian Anderson. He joined after the departure of Clive BunkerClive Bunker
Clive William Bunker is a British rock drummer. He was the original drummer in the British band Jethro Tull....
and played on the following 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...
s:
- "Life's a Long Song" (EP)
- Thick as a BrickThick as a Brick-Differences between various CD releases:By 2011 the album received three major releases on CD: the first release , the MFSL-release , and the 25th Anniversary Edition . Whereas the first release and the MFSL-release run with identical speed, the 25th Anniversary edition runs 0.5% slower...
- Living in the PastLiving in the Past (album)Living in the Past is a double album quasi-compilation collection by Jethro Tull which contains album tracks, outtakes, the "Life Is A Long Song" EP, and all of their singles non-lp tracks except "Aeroplane", "Sunshine Day", "One For John Gee", "17" and the original United Kingdom version of...
(compilation including above EP) - A Passion PlayA Passion PlayA Passion Play is a concept album, and the sixth studio album, released by Jethro Tull. Apparently concerning the spiritual journey of one man in the afterlife, it is similar to Thick as a Brick in that it is one long track split across both sides of the LP vinyl record, save for the interruption...
- War ChildWar Child (album)War Child is the seventh studio album by Jethro Tull, released in October 1974.Originally meant to accompany a film project , it was reinstated as a ten-song, single-length rock album after failed attempts to find a major movie studio to finance the film.The "War Child" movie was written as a...
- Minstrel in the GalleryMinstrel in the GalleryMinstrel in the Gallery is the eighth studio album by British band Jethro Tull, released in September 1975.Ian Anderson's lyrics and subject matter show an introspective and cynical air, possibly the byproduct of Anderson's recent divorce from first wife Jennie Franks and the pressures of touring,...
- Too Old to Rock 'n' Roll: Too Young to Die!Too Old to Rock 'n' Roll: Too Young to Die!Too Old to Rock 'n' Roll: Too Young to Die! is the ninth studio album released by British band Jethro Tull. It is widely considered a concept album. The remastered 2002 CD version contains two bonus tracks that were cut from the original LP, "Small Cigar" and "Strip Cartoon"...
- Songs from the WoodSongs from the WoodSongs from the Wood is the tenth studio album by Jethro Tull and is considered to be the first of a trio of folk rock albums despite the fact that folk music elements are present in the work of Jethro Tull both before and after this trilogy...
- Heavy HorsesHeavy HorsesHeavy Horses is the eleventh studio album by Jethro Tull, released on 10 April 1978. It is considered the second album in a trilogy of folk-rock albums by Jethro Tull, although folk music's influence is evident on a great number of Jethro Tull releases...
- Bursting OutBursting OutBursting Out is a 1978 live album by rock band Jethro Tull. It was recorded at various locations during the European Heavy Horses tour of May and June 1978, but it is not certain where each track was recorded...
- StormwatchStormwatch (album)Stormwatch is the twelfth studio album by the rock group Jethro Tull. It is considered the last in the trilogy of folk-rock albums by Jethro Tull...
Upset by the death
Death
Death is the permanent termination of the biological functions that sustain a living organism. Phenomena which commonly bring about death include old age, predation, malnutrition, disease, and accidents or trauma resulting in terminal injury....
of bassist
Bassist
A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...
John Glascock
John Glascock
John Glascock was the bass guitarist, backing vocalist, and occasional lead vocalist for the progressive rock band Carmen. He was also the bass guitarist and backing vocalist for the progressive rock band Jethro Tull from December 1975 until August 1979...
, Barlow left Jethro Tull in 1980, after completing the final leg of the Stormwatch tour.
Since Jethro Tull
Barlow went on to do various sessionSession musician
Session musicians are instrumental and vocal performers, musicians, who are available to work with others at live performances or recording sessions. Usually such musicians are not permanent members of a musical ensemble and often do not achieve fame in their own right as soloists or bandleaders...
projects, including work with Robert Plant
Robert Plant
Robert Anthony Plant, CBE is an English singer and songwriter best known as the vocalist and lyricist of the iconic rock band Led Zeppelin. He has also had a successful solo career...
, John Miles
John Miles (musician)
John Miles is an English rock music vocalist, songwriter, guitarist and keyboard player, best known for his 1976 Top 3 UK hit single, "Music".-Career:...
, and Jimmy Page
Jimmy Page
James Patrick "Jimmy" Page, OBE is an English multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and record producer. He began his career as a studio session guitarist in London and was subsequently a member of The Yardbirds from 1966 to 1968, after which he founded the English rock band Led Zeppelin.Jimmy Page...
, and he also started his own band for a spell called Storm. He played on the Yngwie Malmsteen album Rising Force
Rising Force
Rising Force is the first studio album by guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen, released in 1984 through Polydor Records. An article in Guitar World magazine ranked the album as first in the all-time top ten list of shred albums.-Track listing:-Personnel:...
. He played on the Kerry Livgren
Kerry Livgren
Kerry Allen Livgren is an American musician and songwriter, best known as one of the founding members and primary songwriters for the 1970s progressive rock band, Kansas.-Biography:...
album, Seeds of Change.
Barlow has a recording studio
Recording studio
A recording studio is a facility for sound recording and mixing. Ideally both the recording and monitoring spaces are specially designed by an acoustician to achieve optimum acoustic properties...
, The Doghouse, on his property in Shiplake
Shiplake
Shiplake is a village and civil parish about south of Henley-on-Thames in Oxfordshire, England on the River Thames.-History:The Church of England parish church of St. Peter and St. Paul dates from at least the 13th century, but in 1869 the Gothic Revival architect G.E. Street rebuilt the chancel,...
, Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
, 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...
. He is currently managing a band from Henley on Thames called The Repertoires, and has also been linked with other local bands which echo his own folk-influenced musical history, such as Reading's Smokey Bastard.
Barlow played percussion on "Artrocker", the opening track of the critically acclaimed 2006 album Get Your Mood On by 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...
indie punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band, Dustin's Bar Mitzvah
Dustin's Bar Mitzvah
Dustin's Bar Mitzvah are an English four piece band from Acton, London. They are signed to Hungy Kid Records in the United Kingdom and Vinyl Junkie records in Japan. Dustin's Bar Mitzvah have achieved greater success in Japan, issuing a collection of demos entitled Dial M For Mitzvah and entering...
.
In an interview in the December 2007 issue of Drumhead
Drumhead (magazine)
- Drumhead :Drumhead is an American percussion magazine. Hitting stands in January 2007, Drumhead expanded its distribution to Pacific Rim countries including New Zealand, Australia and New South Wales in 2011...
magazine, Barlow announced that he is looking to play on the road again.
Equipment
Ludwig blue Vistalite24 x 14 bass drum
22 x 14 bass drum
13 x 9 tom tom
14 x 10 tom tom
16 x 16 tom tom
18 x 16 tom tom
20 x 18 tom tom
14 x 10 Ludwig snare
Ludwig sticks Rose-Morris
Ludwig silver sparkle
Ludwig black super classic (mainly for recording)
Paiste cymbals
Evans Oilfield drum heads
Ludwig musser marimba
Premier marimba
Ludwig glockenspiel
Natal bongos
Indian tablas
Drumming technique
Barlow is known as a very technical and creative drummer. His drumming on the live albumLive album
A live album is a recording consisting of material recorded during stage performances using remote recording techniques, commonly contrasted with a studio album...
, Bursting Out
Bursting Out
Bursting Out is a 1978 live album by rock band Jethro Tull. It was recorded at various locations during the European Heavy Horses tour of May and June 1978, but it is not certain where each track was recorded...
, is testimony to his creative talents as a drummer, notably on his drum solo in the song "Conundrum
Conundrum
Conundrum may refer to:* A riddle whose answer is or involves a pun or unexpected twist* A logical postulation that evades resolution, an intricate and difficult problem- Literature :...
". He was called "the greatest rock drummer England ever produced" by John Bonham
John Bonham
John Henry Bonham was an English musician and songwriter, best known as the drummer of Led Zeppelin. Bonham was esteemed for his speed, power, fast right foot, distinctive sound, and "feel" for the groove...
.
In a comment on his drumming for the Jethro Tull albums he said; "I've always admired people who invent — and on a percussion level I admire inventors of rhythm. I tried to strive for that in Tull, but now I go to great lengths to advise the drummers in the bands I'm managing not to play anything like I used to play in Tull, because it was so busy and over-the-top."