BIRTHDAY WISHES: Topper Headon was born today in 1955 in London, England. Topper Headon is best known for his drumming contributions in the punk rock band The Clash. He is regarded as one of the most inspirational and technically inventive punk rock drummers of the late 1970s and early 1980s and appeared on many seminal recordings by the Clash. Although he was not an original member of the Clash, his arrival helped push them to the next musical level, as he quickly became an integral part of the group. Born Nicholas Bowen Headon, he became known as Topper due to his resemblance to the character Mickey the Monkey from the U.K. comic The Topper. Headon started playing drums at an early age and was a fan of jazz and soul music. Legendary drummers Buddy Rich, Gene Krupa, Keith Moon, Harvey Mason, Billy Cobham, and Steve Gadd were all some of his first major influences. In 1973, Headon joined the cult progressive rock outfit Mirkwood. He appeared with them for a year and a half as they supported major acts such as Supertramp. He later played with a band which opened for American R&B legends The Temptations. Through his acquaintance with Clash guitarist Mick Jones, Headon got the heads up regarding an audition with the Clash in 1977, after the group had gone through an extraordinary number of drummers during their short timespan together. With the band already signed to Epic Records and enjoying a substantial following, Headon agreed to join the Clash. However Headons original plan was to stay with the Clash for only a year in order to give him time to establish a reputation as a drummer before moving onto other projects and a more suitable group. Headon quickly realized that the group was not just a one-dimensional punk band, as they incorporated a wide variety of styles all the while never losing sight of their original punk ideals. He remained with them for four and a half years. Headon appeared on the Clash albums Give Em Enough Rope (1978) on which producer Sandy Pearlman dubbed Headon The Human Drum Machine due to his impeccable timing and skills, The Clash (1979 US version), London Calling (1979), Sandinista! (1980) and Combat Rock (1982), Of note are his lead vocal on Ivan Meets G.I Joe from Sandinista and his work on the hit single Rock the Casbah from Combat Rock, on which Headon composed most of the music and played drums, piano and bass guitar. He also appeared on Super Black Market Clash (1993), which included B-sides from the bands single releases. Despite the Clash becoming one of the worlds top rock outfits, tensions rose between Headon and his fellow band members due to a drug addiction, resulting in him leaving the band on May 10, 1982, at the beginning of the Combat Rock tour. At the time, the band covered up the real reason for Headons departure, citing his exit was due to exhaustion. Over the years, Headon has worked as a producer and has been featured on several other artists albums. As a solo artist, hes also released one studio album, one EP, and several singles. He currently lives in the Dover area of Kent, in the southeast of England, and still makes occasional public appearances. Love every minute of it. Enjoy every minute. Appreciate it and try not to get carried away because it can be a short career. - Topper Headon
Posted on: Fri, 30 May 2014 15:44:10 +0000
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