Roy Martin
Roy has been known to the other band members for some time and his expertise was utilised by Andy MacPherson during the recording of 'Revolution Days.
When Les was putting the band together for touring, Roy was unavailable due to prior commitments. He did, however, recommend one of his former pupils, Chris Jago, as a replacement. Since then, Roy and Chris have managed to combine their busy schedules with sharing the acoustic drum seat with Barclay James Harvest featuring Les Holroyd. Roy was born in Liverpool and had his first gig at the age of 14. He has worked with some of the biggest names in the business including Aretha Franklin, David Sanborn and Regina Belle. Roy has an extensive website detailing his activities. It is well worth the visit to find out more of what he does in his musical life.
When contributing to Revolution Days in 2000/01 I was sitting at the drums waiting for the count in and the click to start for the second take on one of the songs when I asked Andy MacPherson who the hell was the session FOR !! I didn't even know who the band was !!!
At this point there was just Andy and I at the session and he had just asked me to put a couple of drum tracks down. This often happens, with very little to play to and so you dont really have a 'song' to hear. Its a little keyboards, something to follow the chords and arrangement with. When he said Barclay James Harvest it was quite a little thrill for me as I had seen the band in 1977 in Liverpool when I was a teenager.
My brother-in-law was a huge fan and had taken me. All I remember was the MASSIVE tom fills from Mel and a lot of songs that had slow tempos, but it was impressive. It's a very satisfying and strange thing to be playing as part of the band all those years later.
It was a long time after that Andy told me he had recommended me to Les regarding doing a tour, playing alongside Mel on drums. The prospect of playing double drums was very exciting, as well as the prospect of going on tour with my old friends Mike Byron-Hehir, Ian Wilson and Steve Butler. Unfortunately by the time Les got in touch when the tour had been organised, I had already been booked to do a very long tour with French singer Patricia Kaas. Thats the way it is with freelancing, two things often come in at once.
I recommended my friend Chris Jago to take over from me and he did a great job by all accounts. I obviously kept in touch with how the shows where going and eventually i got to do some shows with the guys in summer 2003 and a short tour at the end of the year. It was great fun. We laughed and laughed and played some great shows. One of the great memories I have with the band was doing the Zurich Art on Ice show in January 2004. We played each day and attended the show party each night, drinking eating and jamming and laughing ( as ever!)
Little did I know that when i said 'Goodbye' to the guys in the hotel reception, it would be the last time I would see Mel. I had flown to Paris to do a TV show with Patricia and I will never forget the phone call I got from Alex as I arrived home in Manchester Airport 3 days later giving me the news. I didn't know Mel very well, not having spent a huge amount of time with him but it was so shocking, so unexpected. I was upset, but I was more upset for all who knew him better than me.
I was upset for Les who had lost a great friend whom he'd known since childhood. He was such a personable, likeable guy that very quickly you felt that you HAD known him for a long time and you couldn't help laughing along with him. We had some great chats about drums and drumming whilst on the road and he accepted another drummer into the band with kindness and not a hint of preciousness or ego. We have often said, that at least the last week of his life, he was often laughing so hard he couldnt speak and playing music with his mates.
Again in 2004, I embarked on another marathon tour with Patricia Kaas which lasted till October 2005 and took me to 25 countries around the world. By the time I had finished, another of my drumming buddies had taken the drum chair, Paul Walsham. We talked about me doing the Orchestral tour in April 2006, but I think Les had already asked Paul to do it and therefore didn't want to go back on his word, which was absolutely fair enough.
However on May 5th in the Bern Arena Switzerland I got my gig back and had a great time and a slightly nervous time, playing in front of a sell-out 11,000 people with 1 days rehearsal. It went well and although it was hugely enjoyable, it was the first time I had been with the guys without the immensely entertaining presence of Mel. It felt like someone was missing all the time, I must say.
In the summer we had another great week together and I settled back into the drumchair even further and it seems, for the time being, I am back. I have been busily learning the new songs for the upcoming tour and am really looking forward to getting on the bus and starting the tour with the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra.
It promises to be quite a spectacle, especially now that Willys Hawaiian shirts have been banned !!
See you all there !!
Roy Martin