Skip to main content
Music Radar MusicRadar The No.1 website for musicians
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • Artist news
  • Guitar Amps
  • Guitar Pedals
  • Synths
  • Guitars
  • Drums
  • Keyboards & Pianos
  • Controllers
  • Software & Apps
  • More
    • Recording
    • DJ Gear
    • Acoustic Guitars
    • Bass Guitars
    • Tech
    • Tutorials
    • Reviews
    • Buying Guides
    • About Us
More
  • "Worst rap album in history"
  • Superbooth 2025
  • Eilish vs Radiohead
  • 95k+ free music samples

Recommended reading

Roger Taylor and Hank Marvin
Bands “Every one of them said yes without hesitation": Hank Marvin and Roger Taylor have just remade a '60s classic for charity
Primus interstellar drum derby logo
Drummers Primus lift the lid on their search for a new drummer in new Youtube series
Clem Burke, Ancienne Belgique (AB), Brussels, Belgium, November 1998
Drummers "I've analyzed hundreds of players over the years. They're all a part of what I do": Clem Burke's 10 essential drum albums
Millenium Drums book
Drums “This book will serve as a reliable companion on your journey through drumming”: Millenium launches new book for drummers
Hal Blaine
Drummers The man Neil Peart called his "six favourite drummers": Wrecking Crew legend Hal Blaine
Aaron Comess of the Spin Doctors
Artists “I used the snare drums I played on those early records, including the snare I played on Two Princes”: Why the Spin Doctors are still rocking with the same old gear they used in the ’90s
Eric Schenkman, Mark White, Chris Barron and Aaron Comess of Spin Doctors
Artists “I honestly can’t remember how my drum fill intro came to be. The stars aligned in the recording of that song”: The strange magic of the Spin Doctors’ ’90s mega hit Two Princes
  1. Artists
  2. Drummers

12 drummers that became frontmen

News
By Rich Chamberlain published 5 August 2014

A baker's dozen of upfront sticksmen

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

When drummers go solo

When drummers go solo

Phil Rudd this month releases his debut solo album, and he is far from the first drummer to move into the limelight and release their own album. Here we round up 12 more sticksmen who have gone solo – the good, the bad and the bloody awful.

Page 1 of 13
Page 1 of 13
Dave Grohl

Dave Grohl

Surely the ultimate example of a drummer stepping out from the kit and having a crack as a frontman. After Kurt Cobain's death Grohl almost took the gig as Tom Petty's drummer, but instead decided to pursue his own project. Not a bad decision, we'd say. Twenty years and seven (soon to be eight) albums later and Grohl now fronts possibly the biggest band on the planet and has penned some of the most enduring rock tracks of the past two decades.

Page 2 of 13
Page 2 of 13
Matt Sorum

Matt Sorum

The former Guns 'N Roses drummer managed to overshadow his own solo career by releasing his first album, Hollywood Zen, just a week before his then new band Velvet Revolver unleashed their own debut. It took Sorum ten years to record the follow-up, Stratosphere, which finds the sticksman sounding like Matchbox20 fronted by Primark version of Mark Lanegan.

Page 3 of 13
Page 3 of 13
Sheila E

Sheila E

In the midst of her monumentally successful work with Prince, Sheila E began what would be a long a fruitful solo career. Her 1984 debut, The Glamorous Life, saw E take on percussion and vocal duties. The album hit the US Top 30, and has since been followed by six more albums.

Page 4 of 13
Page 4 of 13
Andy Burrows

Andy Burrows

Burrows first showed his solo credentials as he co-penned hits America and Before I Fall To Pieces. Before he had even quit the band in 2009, Burrows released The Colour of My Dreams in 2008 and he then founded the ELO-ish I Am Arrows. Since then he's won critical acclaim for his work soundtracking The Snowman and the Snowdog and even got back behind the kit for David Brent.

Page 5 of 13
Page 5 of 13
Phil Collins

Phil Collins

Hang on a minute, Grohl, Collins hasn't done too bad for himself as well, you know. Collins' solo career has proven a huge bone of contention amongst Genesis fans down the years as he went from progressive drum superstar to chart-topping crooner. Early solo hit In The Air Tonight did, of course, feature one of the most iconic pieces of drumming ever recorded, but pop pap like Easy Lover and Two Hearts was a million miles away from Nursery Cryme, The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway et al.

Page 6 of 13
Page 6 of 13
Taylor Hawkins

Taylor Hawkins

We wonder where Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins got the inspiration to go solo from. To be fair though, Hawkins most definitely has the pipes to pull off his solo escapades, as you can tell from his two Queen-inspired Coattail Riders albums and the Rush-tastic 2014 Birds of Satan project.

Page 7 of 13
Page 7 of 13
Cozy Powell

Cozy Powell

Cozy enjoyed a successful solo career, but unlike the other drummers on this list, he did it without singing a note. Even more astounding, Powell scored a top ten single with the drum solo Dance With The Devil, something that is pretty unthinkable today, right? The Whitesnake/Rainbow drummer released three solo albums between 1979 and 1982, and – Over The Top, Tilt and Octopuss.

Page 8 of 13
Page 8 of 13
Ringo Starr

Ringo Starr

No matter what John Lennon had to say, Ringo most certainly was the best drummer in The Beatles, and you know what, he's not bad a bad solo career as well. Starting with 1970's Sentimental Journey, Starr has put out an impressive 16 solo albums, 12 live sets and a handful of compilations. In Photograph and You're Sixteen he scored back-to-back US number ones, although top spot in the UK has eluded him (unless you count his part on the 2009 Children In Need medley in which he voiced Thomas The Tank), with Back Off Boogaloo being his biggest hit on this side of the pond.

Page 9 of 13
Page 9 of 13
Tommy Lee

Tommy Lee

With Motley Crue, Tommy Lee established himself as not just possibly the greatest drumming showman, but also as an innovator. So when he launched a post-Motley solo career at the turn of the century we waited with baited breath to hear the boundary-testing sounds that Lee had come up with. What we got was a god-awful rap-rock mish-mash released under the Methods of Mayhem banner. Lee followed this up with a pair of passable singer-songwriter offerings released under his own name (Never a Dull Moment and Tommyland: The Ride) before he returned to Methods for the sonically abhorrent A Public Disservice Announcement.

Page 10 of 13
Page 10 of 13
Philip Selway

Philip Selway

Perhaps one of the most pleasantly surprising drummer-turned-frontman moves of recent years is that of Radiohead's Phil Selway. Selway released a thinking man's record in the shape of Familial in 2010 and he's just returned with his second solo album, Weatherhouse. The former saw Selway bring in an outside sticksman to track beats, but he's back at the kit on the latter.

Page 11 of 13
Page 11 of 13
Levon Helm

Levon Helm

The late, great Levon Helm was a rare case of a man who's incredible vocal talents were matched by his supreme skills at the kit. It was as drummer and often also singer for The Band that Helm made his name, but he also released numerous solo albums, including the Grammy-winning Dirt Farmer. Helm sadly passed away in 2012, aged 71.

Page 12 of 13
Page 12 of 13
Roger Taylor

Roger Taylor

In any other band, Roger Taylor would have been head and shoulders above his bandmates in terms of songwriting ability. But, with Queen Taylor had to make do with being one of four supremely talented musicians. As well as penning tracks like Radio Gaga and A Kind of Magic, Taylor went solo, releasing his first single, I Wanna Testify, in 1977. Since then he's released five solo records, the last of which was Fun On Earth, released in 2013.

Page 13 of 13
Page 13 of 13
Categories
Drums
Rich Chamberlain
Rich Chamberlain

Rich is a teacher, one time Rhythm staff writer and experienced freelance journalist who has interviewed countless revered musicians, engineers, producers and stars for the our world-leading music making portfolio, including such titles as Rhythm, Total Guitar, Guitarist, Guitar World, and MusicRadar. His victims include such luminaries as Ice T, Mark Guilani and Jamie Oliver (the drumming one).

Read more
Roger Taylor and Hank Marvin
“Every one of them said yes without hesitation": Hank Marvin and Roger Taylor have just remade a '60s classic for charity
Primus interstellar drum derby logo
Primus lift the lid on their search for a new drummer in new Youtube series
Clem Burke, Ancienne Belgique (AB), Brussels, Belgium, November 1998
"I've analyzed hundreds of players over the years. They're all a part of what I do": Clem Burke's 10 essential drum albums
Millenium Drums book
“This book will serve as a reliable companion on your journey through drumming”: Millenium launches new book for drummers
Hal Blaine
The man Neil Peart called his "six favourite drummers": Wrecking Crew legend Hal Blaine
Aaron Comess of the Spin Doctors
“I used the snare drums I played on those early records, including the snare I played on Two Princes”: Why the Spin Doctors are still rocking with the same old gear they used in the ’90s
Latest in Drummers
Nick Banks performing with actual Pulp in 2023
"Can you believe this?": Watch Pulp drummer Nick Banks join tribute band Pulp’d at Fake Festival
Barry Keoghan
“I met him at his house and he played the drums for me”: As he prepares to play him in the Beatles biopics, Barry Keoghan has been studying Ringo Starr’s technique up close
Billy Cobham performs at Blue Note on February 23, 2024 in Milan, Italy
“Miles runs into the studio with his horn and shouts ‘hit the record button,’ and we were recording. We wrapped that album up by midday”: Billy Cobham on Miles Davis’s agile approach to recording
Zak Starkey
Zak Starkey is back in The Who. “I take responsibility for some of the confusion… Zak made a few mistakes and he has apologised”, says Pete Townshend
Mike Portnoy of Dream Theater
“I oversaw every element - not just the music and the lyrics and the melodies and the production, but also the merch and the fan clubs and everything”: Mike Portnoy talks about his years away from Dream Theater
Zak Starkey
“I’m surprised and saddened anyone would have an issue with my performance that night”: Zak Starkey explains why he got fired from The Who
Latest in News
Scott Ian of Anthrax introduces his new X Series signature King V in black with gold hardware, and the original Jackson logo on the headstock.
“The old-school Jackson logo, that’s pretty much the pièce de résistance! And it plays even better than it looks”: Jackson gives its metal thrashing X Series Scott Ian King V a super-classy makeover
Billie Eilish
Fresh from covering Radiohead, Billie Eilish has now tackled a Coldplay classic on her Hit Me Hard And Soft Tour (and it's not the first time she's sung it)
Nick Banks performing with actual Pulp in 2023
"Can you believe this?": Watch Pulp drummer Nick Banks join tribute band Pulp’d at Fake Festival
Epiphone DG-335
The Epiphone Dave Grohl DG-335 has just seen its biggest ever discount - this is a call to save a whopping £380 at Andertons
Brad Paisley wears a white cowboy hat, burgundy jacket black jeans and cowboy boots as he sits with his new Fender Lost Telecaster from the Custom Shop.
“I like the real thing that happens when you dig in a little bit and the amp starts to cry for mercy”: Is the compressor pedal a country guitar essential? Brad Paisley doesn’t think so – and here’s why
Paul McCartney performs with guitarist Brian Ray on August 10, 2014 in Los Angeles
“Paul’s basslines, while they’re iconic and memorable and musical, they’re not really technically challenging”: How McCartney’s sidekick Brian Ray juggles bass and guitar — and plays the Lennon role in The End

MusicRadar is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...