Kim Patrick Chester - Drums

Kim started drumming in a school rock band (embarrassingly called ‘The Fleeting Carcass Blues Band' and covered Cream, Mayall and Hendrix songs (very badly) when they were in the charts - this gives his age away.

At 13 he was shown drum basics by a schoolmate in Market Rasen, Rod Temperton who later wrote and played Boogie Nights with Heatwave and then wrote Thriller and other hits for Michael Jackson.

Kim's other minor brushes with celebrities include meeting Jimi Hendrix backstage at a London club in summer 1967 having been introduced by some of the ‘New' Animals. Kim's all time favourite band (apart from us) is The Animals and he has met Eric Burdon several times and keeps in touch with Animals drummers, John Steel and Barrie Jenkins.

Over the years Kim has played with and stayed with many bands and the only criteria for him has been whether he enjoys it. He's played with Steel Bands, Reggae Bands, Blues Bands, Pub Rock Bands and a Commitments Tribute band and still plays with a Cliff/Shadows Tribute band.

His drum hero is Buddy Rich and early influences have been Ginger Baker, Mitch Mitchell, Tony Meehan and John Bonham. He rates John Steel, Ringo Starr and Charlie Watts drumming because they all play for the band - not themselves - and their ‘simple' styles are often innovative and always rock steady.

He likes and respects lots of today's high profile drummers - Dennis Chambers, Vinnie Colaiuti, Johnny Rabb, Ray Luzier and Steve Gadd.

Kim's gear includes 6 vintage Hayman kits (20", 22", 24" Bass Drums, 12", 13", 14", 16" Toms). A Yamaha Fusion kit, several brass, chrome and wood snares including Pearl, Tama, Premier, Yamaha and in pride of place a Johnny Craviotto ‘solid' wood snare. He borrows his mate Haydn's DW kit sometimes. Cymbals are vintage Paiste 602s and Big Beats and Avedis Zyldians (1960s) plus modern Zyldians/Sabians, etc.

The day job is management consulting in HR and employment tribunals.