Remo Drummers’ Night Goes With a Bang

The invasion of London´s Docklands on 14 June by a staggering line-up of the world´s biggest drumming hit-makers was one of the loudest and proudest events in 2008´s UK drum calendar. The show brought the stars of the drumming community together to perform in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust, with percussionist and past Rhythm guest tutor Pete Lockett kicking off proceedings playing Remo world percussion with students of the Institute of Contemporary Music Performance. Other Remo artists to take to the stage backed by the evening´s house band included Andrew Small (Kylie Minogue/Massive Attack), Rhythm diarist Karl Brazil (James Blunt), Jojo Mayer (Nerve), Trevor Lawrence Jr (Snoop Dogg, Alicia Keys), Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Andy Newmark (Bryan Ferry/Roxy Music), Ian Matthews (Kasabian) and Steve White (Paul Weller).
Punters dug deep for the live auction hosted by Chad Smith, for which Remo had donated a 50th Anniversary Remo snare drum signed by all participating Remo artists. The drum was snapped up for a whopping £1500 by Jules Follett, who gifted it to Mark Schulman - who has drummed for Cher and Pink and is himself a cancer survivor - to be later auctioned by the Teenage Cancer Trust following Mark´s moving speech praising the efforts of the charity. Other gear being auctioned at a later date includes donations from Phil Collins (Genesis), Stewart Copeland (The Police), Nicko McBrain (Iron Maiden) and a snare drum donated by Nigel Olsson and signed by Elton John.
The final amount raised from the concert and auctions will be announced in January at NAMM 2009.