Barriemore Barlow
| Barriemore Barlow | |
|---|---|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Barrie Barlow |
| Born |
10 September 1949 Birmingham, England |
| Genres | Progressive rock, hard rock, heavy metal |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter, producer |
| Instruments | Drums, percussion, flute |
| Years active | 1963–present |
| Associated acts | Jethro Tull, Yngwie Malmsteen |
| Website | Biography on official Jethro Tull website |
Barrie "Barriemore" Barlow (born 10 September 1949, Birmingham) is an English musician, best known as the drummer and percussionist for the rock band Jethro Tull, from May 1971 to June 1980.
Christened Barrie, the 'Barriemore' was an affectation to suit the eccentric image of Jethro Tull (much as Jeffrey Hammond had become "Jeffrey Hammond-Hammond").
Barlow first met Ian and John in Blackpool, where the two were member of a beats group, The Blades. By then, Barrie had become an apprentice Plastic Mould Tool Fitter, but walked out in the middle of a Maths exam to answer the call by Ian and John to go to Nottingham that night for a suddenly announced gig.
He didn't go back to finish the exam. His first major public appearance was not as a musician, but as a TV "extra" in the series "Coronation Street" where he briefly appeared alongside Ian's then girlfriend, actress Yvonne Nickelson. Having left the John Evan Band as the Blades were now known, Barry went on to join another local group "The All Jump Kangaroo Band" featuring and run by one Andy Trueman (who later became the production manager for Tull in 1995).
Barlow was a former bandmate of Jethro Tull frontman Ian Anderson. He joined after the departure of Clive Bunker, in 1971. Barlow played on the EP "Life's a Long Song", before embarking on a concert tour with the band. By this time, the original members of The Blades were now back together with the addition of Martin Barre, and a relatively long-running edition of the Jethro Tull lineup was to follow (late 1971–1975).
Barlow's second gig with Tull involved an unfortunate episode in Denver, Colorado when the local police tear-gassed the audience from helicopters, both outside and inside the Red Rocks Amphitheatre. Believing that they would be arrested, the band made a run for it after the show in an unmarked station wagon where, hidden under a blanket on the floor in the back, Barrie was heard to ask Ian, "Will it be like this every night?" Anderson replied, "As a general rule, only on Tuesdays and Thursdays."
Upset by the death of bassist John Glascock, with whom he had become very close, Barlow left Jethro Tull in 1980 after completing the final leg of the Stormwatch tour.
Since Jethro Tull's Big Split, Barlow went on to do various session projects, including work with Robert Plant, John Miles, and Jimmy Page, and was one of the few drummers that Plant and Page considered as a remote possibility to replace John Bonham in Led Zeppelin after his death, though the band decided to break up instead. He also started his own band for a spell called Storm. He played on the Yngwie Malmsteen album Rising Force. He played on the Kerry Livgren album, Seeds of Change.
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