Dinky Diamond

Norman Victor "Dinky" Diamond (15 December 1950–10 September 2004) was a British drummer who played with the rock band Sparks at the height of their fame in the UK in the early 1970s, playing on the albums Kimono My House (1974), Propaganda (1974) and Indiscreet (1975). In 1975 Diamond was voted Drummer of the Year in a poll held by Premier Drums. He committed suicide by hanging in 2004 after a long-running dispute with noisy neighbours.

Born in Aldershot in Hampshire, the son of Isabella (née Copland) and Albert Victor Diamond, Norman Diamond gained the nickname "Dinky" as a child because of his small stature. He had three sisters, Maureen, Daphne and Margaret and a brother, David and attended St. Michael's Church of England Secondary School in Aldershot. A self-taught drummer, Diamond played in a variety of local bands including Sound of Time in his native town while working in electrical distribution.

Founding members of Sparks, the brothers Ron and Russell Mael, moved to England in 1973 with a new manager, John Hewlett, founder of John's Children, and a deal from Island Records, thanks in part to the exposure garnered by a BBC2 television Old Grey Whistle Test performance. The Mael brothers placed an advertisement in music weekly Melody Maker which read: "Wanted bass player for Sparks. Must be beard free and exciting". As a result, Martin Gordon was hired. With Adrian Fisher on guitar and Diamond on drums, in the midst of power strikes and a threatened vinyl shortage, they recorded their breakthrough Kimono My House in 1974, scoring a number 2 hit with the single "This Town Ain't Big Enough for Both of Us".

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