Paul Burgess (born 28 September 1950) is an English rock drummer, notable for his association with a wide range of British rock and folk-rock bands. In addition to extensive session work, he has been a member of 10cc, Jethro Tull, Camel, Magna Carta, and The Icicle Works.[1][2]
Career
Burgess was born in Manchester, England.[3][4] He started playing drums in 1965 and played in 60s Stockport four piece band Axis, which he left in July 1971. He then joined 10cc on their 1973 UK tour and subsequently played with the band on most of their tours[5] until 1983.
He played on the 10cc Live: King Biscuit Flower Hour album recorded in 1975 and officially joined 10cc as drummer, percussionist and occasional keyboardist in 1976 after the departure of Kevin Godley and Lol Creme. His first studio album with the band was Deceptive Bends, which featured the hits "The Things We Do for Love", "Good Morning Judge" and "People in Love". During the 1977 10cc tour Burgess was joined on drums by Stuart Tosh. Burgess continued his association with 10cc on their albums Bloody Tourists (1978), Look Hear? (1980) and Ten Out of 10 (1981). Paul also played drums on Graham Gouldman's Animalympics (1980) soundtrack and Eric Stewart's first two solo albums; the soundtrack to the French film Girls (1980) and Frooty Rooties (1982).
He was also a member of folk-rock outfit Magna Carta for one album, 1981's Midnight Blue. After the release of this album, Magna Carta broke up for several years.
The following year 1982, Burgess was briefly a member of Jethro Tull, replacing Gerry Conway, and touring throughout Europe and North America with the band. He was the drummer on the London Symphony Orchestra's album A Classic Case, which also included the rest of the current Jethro Tull members. Burgess was replaced by Doane Perry in 1984.
Burgess rejoined 10cc for their 1983 tour, after which 10cc broke up.
Around the same time, Burgess was the session drummer (though not an official band member) for pop band The Colourfield, playing drums on virtually all the tracks on their 1985 debut LP, Virgins & Philistines.
In 1986, he toured with Joan Armatrading and returned as a member of the reformed Magna Carta. During the late 1980s, Burgess also did extensive live work with a range of artists including glam-rocker/rockabilly revivalist Alvin Stardust and disco singer Gloria Gaynor.
In 1990, Burgess replaced drummer Zak Starkey in a late-running version of the new-wave rock band The Icicle Works. He recorded one album, 1990s Permanent Damage, before the group broke up.
In 1992, Camel reformed with Burgess on drums.[6] He stayed until 1993, recording a studio album Dust and Dreams (1991) and a live album Never Let Go (1992) with the band. Around the same time, Burgess worked on the debut album from Jynine James, which also featured Peter Frampton on lead guitar.
Burgess then joined Chris Farlowe's R&B styled backing band in 1995 and worked with Farlowe steadily for the next decade. In 2000, Burgess once again re-joined 10cc for a series of live shows.
In 2003, in addition to semi-regular gigs with Farlow and 10cc, Paul Burgess played drums with The Soul Company (a band headed by Dave Sharp, formerly of The Alarm), as well as Then Came The Wheel, a band consisting of several veterans of the UK folk rock scene. During the mid-2000s Burgess also began playing and touring with the Stockport-based band, The Removal Men. More recently he has been working and performing as a member of English band Katy Lied, whose album, Late Arrival was released in 2008.[7]
In 2013, Burgess joined the Midnite Johnny Band.
In 2017, Burgess joined with bassist Rick Kemp and guitarist Ken Nicol to form the 'supergroup' trio, 'Burgess, Nicol and Kemp'.[8]
In 2022, Burgess joined singer-songwriter Clive Gregson, Neil Cossar (The Cheaters) and bassist-singer Craig Fletcher and Keyboardist Jez Smith from Barclay James Harvest to form The Guilty Men.[9]
