Mark Kennedy (musician)
| Mark Kennedy | |
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Mark Kennedy at the Record Plant, L.A. in 1975
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| Background information | |
| Born | 20 August 1951 |
| Origin | Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
| Genres | Rock, progressive rock, jazz fusion |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, record producer |
| Instruments | Drums, percussion |
| Years active | 1968–present |
| Associated acts | |
Mark Kennedy (born 20 August 1951) is an Australian musician who has been the drummer for several artists including Spectrum (1969–70), Doug Parkinson in Focus (1971), Leo de Castro (1971–73), Ayers Rock (1973–76), Marcia Hines (1976–83), Men at Work (1985), Renée Geyer (1985–86, 1995–96) and Jimmy Barnes (2005).
Mark Kennedy was born on 20 August 1951 and grew up in Melbourne. Kennedy was trained in classical piano at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music for six years. In 1968 he was the drummer for Gallery, alongside Bill Putt on lead guitar. Putt recalled that they had "Three girl singers in real short dresses, me on guitar, a bass-player and Mark Kennedy on drums." In April 1969 Kennedy and Putt, now on bass guitar, formed a progressive rock group, Spectrum, with Lee Neale on organ (ex-Nineteen87), and Mike Rudd on guitar, harmonica and lead vocals (ex-Chants R&B, The Party Machine).Brian Cadd had wanted Kennedy for his group, Axiom, "He had the sort of funky, slinky, laid-back style we were looking for."
Rudd remembered meeting Kennedy and Putt for the first time "Bill, of course being enormously tall, and Mark actually being a tiny little fella – he must’ve been around 5'3" or 4" or something… there was an astonishing kinda disparity between the two." Kennedy remained with Spectrum until they recorded their debut album, Spectrum Part One (March 1971), in August 1970. He had "lost patience" as the group "struggled for gigs (promoters found them 'too progressive')."
Rudd described Kennedy's impact on Spectrum: "[he] really carried us through the first year because people would say 'Wow, look at that drummer, they must be a good group'... He used to play things like drum solos!, but he was very good. By the same token, I was almost relieved to get away from that 'cause the emphasis swung back to the material and the band in general rather than one player." Nevertheless, the group's debut single, "I'll Be Gone" (January 1971), which had been recorded while Kennedy was still a member, reached No. 1 on the Go-Set National Top 60 singles chart.
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