Ginger Baker Took A Detour To Rock Stardom ::Cream News ::antiMusic.com

Ginger Baker Took A Detour To Rock Stardom

05/15/2013
. (Classic Rock) Cream icon Ginger Baker didn't want to be a drummer when he was young � he wanted to be a professional cyclist. But when he crashed and wrecked his bike, his need for a job led him to music. And he got his first paid gig with a modified toy drumkit.

Baker tells the Calgary Herald: "I was obsessed with the idea of being a cyclist when I was a kid, and I rode everywhere. One day I had a smash-up and the bike was a write-off.

"I had to earn some money, and this mate of mine said, 'Why don't you play drums?' It's funny � they all knew I was a drummer, and I didn't. I was always beating rhythms when I went to jazz gigs, which I did a lot. Anyway, I went along, they sat me down at the kit, and I just did it."

He remembers his mum wouldn't buy him any drums, so he was forced to improvise when he went for an audition. "I bought a toy drum kit and sort of worked on it," he explains. "I cut up my tent to put a front head on the bass drum, added a biscuit tin to one of the tom-toms, and took this kit with me to Leytonstone, and got the gig. more on this story

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