Buxton drummer writes rock memoirs

A Buxton drummer has released a book on his memoirs about his time touring with rock bands.
Buxton drummer Gareth Ashton, who has written a memoir on his rock career. Photo contributed.Buxton drummer Gareth Ashton, who has written a memoir on his rock career. Photo contributed.
Buxton drummer Gareth Ashton, who has written a memoir on his rock career. Photo contributed.

Gareth Ashton’s Hanging Around Musicians: The Life and Times of an Adequate Drummer is an entertaining look back over how he made a career of serial obscurity.

After discovering the joys of punk as a teen in Chapel-en-le-Frith in 1977 by watching The Jam on Marc Bolan’s TV show Marc, he formed his own band The Ruin, complete with stage name Mal Nutrition. Within months Gareth was living the dream and touring the nation with punk rockers The Damned.

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The 50-year-old went on to drum successfully all over the UK for more than two decades providing the beats for a bands playing everything from jazz funk to country and western.

Now retired, Gareth reflects on the lot of a semi-professional musician, a world away from the gilded lives of rock stars and their entourages.

Now available in paperback, the book’s title is based on the old joke: ‘What do call someone who hangs around musicians? A Drummer.’ He said: “This book is for all the drummers who may have been the butt of the jokes, but we know that secretly everybody would love to be a drummer, but weren’t clever enough to use both their hands and feet.”

To buy Hanging Around Musicians, email Gareth on [email protected], tweet him @garethflo or visit his website at hangingaroundmusicians. The first 500 copies are signed.

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