04-04-2019, 16:42
David “Pick” Withers was born on this day in 1948, in Leicester, England. He’s been a drummer since he first started tapping out a beat with knitting needles on a biscuit tin. Despite initial parental misgivings, through sheer dogged persistence and dues paid in the Boys Brigade (which he’d only joined to get close to drum although obliged to first play a bugle and wait his turn), he finally managed to wangle himself a drumkit and that was pretty much that! Career path laid down.
The Boys Brigade was followed by a few motley bands, then gigs and recordings with, amongst others, Ian Anderson, Dave Edmunds, Brinsley Schwarz, Gerry Rafferty, Bert Jansch, Ralph McTell, Magna Carta, and as a result of all those associations, an introduction to the fledgling Dire Straits. He stayed with the band up to Love Over Gold (during which time he also played on Dylan’s Slow Train Coming) and then left as he felt they were heading too much in the direction of arena rock which wasn’t/isn’t his thing. He seems to keep a fairly low profile these days.
A Gerry Rafferty number – “On The Way” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIBbBjDKFX0
And one from each of the four Dire Straits albums he was on …
“Telegraph Road” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4E_924b9SU
“Romeo and Juliet” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nc5SA6bP7HY
“Where Do You Think You’re Going” – love this – all so well placed - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d59wsd9JsuA
And going right back to the beginning - “Down to the Waterline” –
The Boys Brigade was followed by a few motley bands, then gigs and recordings with, amongst others, Ian Anderson, Dave Edmunds, Brinsley Schwarz, Gerry Rafferty, Bert Jansch, Ralph McTell, Magna Carta, and as a result of all those associations, an introduction to the fledgling Dire Straits. He stayed with the band up to Love Over Gold (during which time he also played on Dylan’s Slow Train Coming) and then left as he felt they were heading too much in the direction of arena rock which wasn’t/isn’t his thing. He seems to keep a fairly low profile these days.
A Gerry Rafferty number – “On The Way” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIBbBjDKFX0
And one from each of the four Dire Straits albums he was on …
“Telegraph Road” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4E_924b9SU
“Romeo and Juliet” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nc5SA6bP7HY
“Where Do You Think You’re Going” – love this – all so well placed - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d59wsd9JsuA
And going right back to the beginning - “Down to the Waterline” –
"The surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that it has never tried to contact us." ~ Bill Watterson