[Simon Moon]

Best known as "Ric Shrimpton", one in the long line of mysteriously dying drummers, from "This is Spinal Tap", he was actually a pretty exceptional drummer in his own right.

He originally made a name for himself as the drummer for early prog band, Atomic Rooster, then went on to play on the fantastic Italian prog band, Ibis LP, "Sun Supreme".

After that, he played on several recordings with the British/Italian fusion band, Nova.

He has plenty of other credits, including with: Toni Basil, Michael Des Barres, and others.

 

[elgar's ghost]

That's a real shame. I knew that Ric played with Atomic Rooster during their final years in the 70s but even though I was a massive fan of the Spinal Tap film I was for a number of years unaware that it was the same man (the scene where Ric is seen showboating with his drums before losing his balance and falling into them is one of my favourites). Ric's great uncle Valentine (better known as Val) Parnell was famous in the UK for being a bandleader often seen on TV backing the big American stars of the 50s/60s when they played the peak-time variety shows. Ric's father, Jack Parnell, had an equally successful TV career as a musical director during the 60s/70s. Music/entertainment must have run in the blood. RIP

 

[NoCoPilot]

Uh.... how did he die? Mysterious gardening accident? Spontaneous human combustion? Choking on vomit (not his own)?