{"id":2326,"date":"2025-04-08T18:34:00","date_gmt":"2025-04-08T18:34:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/mojo\/?p=2326"},"modified":"2025-04-08T14:36:35","modified_gmt":"2025-04-08T14:36:35","slug":"as-the-beatles-first-drummer-retires-we-look-at-other-musicians-that-missed-out-on-fame","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/mojo\/2025\/04\/08\/as-the-beatles-first-drummer-retires-we-look-at-other-musicians-that-missed-out-on-fame\/","title":{"rendered":"As The Beatle&#8217;s first drummer retires, we look at other musicians that missed out on fame"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[et_pb_section fb_built=&#8221;1&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.20.4&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; theme_builder_area=&#8221;post_content&#8221;][et_pb_row _builder_version=&#8221;4.20.4&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; theme_builder_area=&#8221;post_content&#8221;][et_pb_column type=&#8221;4_4&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.20.4&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; theme_builder_area=&#8221;post_content&#8221;][et_pb_code module_class=&#8221;custom-cat&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.20.4&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; theme_builder_area=&#8221;post_content&#8221;]<\/p>\n<div class=\"fp-mojo-presents\"><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] -->\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"fp-col-1\"><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] -->\t\t<pee class=\"tac text-white bold\">Mojo<\/pee><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] -->\t<\/div>\n<p><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] -->\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"fp-col-2\"><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] -->\t\t<pee class=\"tac text-grey bold\">The List<\/pee><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] -->\t<\/div>\n<p><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><\/div>\n<p>[\/et_pb_code][et_pb_text module_class=&#8221;article-title&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.20.4&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; header_font=&#8221;||||||||&#8221; header_text_align=&#8221;center&#8221; header_text_color=&#8221;#111111&#8243; header_font_size=&#8221;68px&#8221; custom_margin=&#8221;40px||||false|false&#8221; hover_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; theme_builder_area=&#8221;post_content&#8221; sticky_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243;]<\/p>\n<h1 class=\"title_h1__SREzS undefined\" data-test=\"title\">I Could Have Been A Contender!<\/h1>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text module_class=&#8221;intro-text&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.20.4&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; text_orientation=&#8221;center&#8221; hover_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; theme_builder_area=&#8221;post_content&#8221; sticky_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243;]<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">As The Beatles\u2019 first drummer hangs up his sticks, MOJO uncovers some of rock and roll\u2019s other \u2018Pete Bests\u2019 who lost out on fame and fortune just as their bands hit the big time.<\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text module_class=&#8221;credit-main&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.20.4&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; text_font=&#8221;||||||||&#8221; text_font_size=&#8221;16px&#8221; text_orientation=&#8221;center&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; theme_builder_area=&#8221;post_content&#8221;]<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Words by <span style=\"color: #999999\">Chris Catchpole<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=&#8221;1&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.20.4&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; theme_builder_area=&#8221;post_content&#8221;][et_pb_row _builder_version=&#8221;4.20.4&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; theme_builder_area=&#8221;post_content&#8221;][et_pb_column type=&#8221;4_4&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.20.4&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; theme_builder_area=&#8221;post_content&#8221;][et_pb_image src=&#8221;https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/04\/GettyImages-74253749.jpg&#8221; title_text=&#8221;Beatles Performing At The Cavern Club&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.20.4&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; hover_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; theme_builder_area=&#8221;post_content&#8221; sticky_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243;][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text module_class=&#8221;text-with-dropcap&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.20.4&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; hover_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; theme_builder_area=&#8221;post_content&#8221; sticky_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243;]<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1 has-dropcap\">Earlier this week, it was announced that The Beatles\u2019 original drummer Pete Best was stepping down from public performances and appearances, \u201cI had a blast,\u201d Best, 83, wrote on X, \u201cthank you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.20.4&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; theme_builder_area=&#8221;post_content&#8221; hover_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243; sticky_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243;]<\/p>\n<p>Best was The Beatles\u2019 first drummer after they changed their name from The Quarrymen and played with the band between 1960 and 1962 before he was replaced by Ringo Starr.<\/p>\n<p>Hard to believe now, but when Paul McCartney asked Best if he\u2019d join the group, he got the gig partly because no one else they\u2019d asked fancied the band\u2019s upcoming live sojourn in Hamburg.<\/p>\n<p>In keeping with The Beatles\u2019 pre-fame aesthetic, Best certainly looked the part of a moody leather-clad rocker (and by some accounts could handle himself in a scrap \u2013 handy in the German post-war port town), and played on the group\u2019s earliest recordings, including their audition tapes for Decca in January 1962.<\/p>\n<p>However, by the time of the group\u2019s try-out for EMI in September that year, it was felt he neither fitted with the band\u2019s new mop-topped image, nor, in the opinion of producer George Martin, was he up to snuff on the drums. Best was given the boot by Brian Epstein and his place was taken by former Rory Storm &amp; The Hurricanes drummer Starr, who\u2019d often sat in for Best in Hamburg.<\/p>\n<p>While he made something of a career for himself in recent decades trading off his position as The Beatles\u2019 nearly man and performing with The Pete Best Band, the drummer has long been a byword for any musician kicked out of a group just as fame and fortune came a-knocking. From AC\/DC to U2, The Rolling Stones to the Sex Pistols, MOJO has uncovered the stories of some of rock and roll\u2019s other \u2018Pete Bests\u2019\u00a0 &#8211; the unlucky musicians who just missed out on a ticket to the big time\u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=&#8221;https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/04\/GettyImages-585269749.jpg&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.20.4&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; hover_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; theme_builder_area=&#8221;post_content&#8221; title_text=&#8221;The Rolling Stones&#8221; sticky_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243;][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.20.4&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; hover_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; theme_builder_area=&#8221;post_content&#8221; sticky_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243;]<\/p>\n<p><b>The Rolling Stones\u00a0<\/b>Ian Stewart<\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.20.4&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; hover_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; theme_builder_area=&#8221;post_content&#8221; sticky_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243;]<\/p>\n<p>Given the levels of musician swapping that went on in West London\u2019s blues and R&amp;B scene in the early 60s, the nascent lineups of soon-to-make-it groups including The Yardbirds, The Rolling Stones and Manfred Mann exchanged band members more frequently than they mixed up their setlists. As such, both the Pretty Things\u2019 Dick Taylor and The Kinks\u2019 Mick Avory could lay claim to being the Stones\u2019 Pete Best. The title surely belongs to keyboardist and founding member Ian Stewart, though, who was somewhat unfairly muscled out of the band\u2019s official lineup in 1963 by manager Andrew Loog Oldham for not looking the part. Burly and square-jawed, Stu &#8211; as he was affectionately known &#8211; remained a cherished member of the Stones extended family, however, and after initially becoming their road manager, continued to join the band both onstage and on record until his death in 1985. You can hear his boogie-woogie-influenced playing on all but four Rolling Stones albums recorded in his lifetime. \u201cHe really helped this band swing, on numbers like Honky Tonk Women and loads of others,\u201d Mick Jagger said of his old bandmate. \u201cStu was the one guy we tried to please. We wanted his approval when we were writing or rehearsing a song. We\u2019d want him to like it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.20.4&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; hover_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; theme_builder_area=&#8221;post_content&#8221; sticky_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243;]<\/p>\n<p><b>The Smiths\u00a0<\/b>Dale Hibbert<\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.20.4&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; hover_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; theme_builder_area=&#8221;post_content&#8221; sticky_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243;]<\/p>\n<p>Although not as celebrated as Morrissey and Johnny Marr, the elastic, funk-influenced playing of bassist Andy Rourke was an integral part of The Smiths\u2019 sound. So much so, that the importance of his basslines was cited as a central argument in the rancorous court battle between the group\u2019s former members in the mid-90s. For a very brief period, however, Marr\u2019s childhood best mate wasn\u2019t yet a Smith, and the unappointed role of bassist was taken by sound engineer Dale Hibbert, who, alongside being part of the band for their live debut supporting Blue Rondo \u00e0 la Turk in October 1982, also recorded The Smiths\u2019 first demos.<\/p>\n<p>Marr later admitted that he\u2019d always planned to have Rourke in the group and was more interested in Hibbert\u2019s access to a recording studio, but Hibbert claims his card was marked when he didn\u2019t adhere to Steven Patrick Morrissey\u2019s new edict to only be referred to by his surname.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI discovered later that \u2018Steve\u2019 was outlawed by Morrissey because it \u2018reminded him of Steve Austin,\u2019 the bionic man played by Lee Majors in The Six Million Dollar Man,\u201d recalled Hibbert in 2015. \u201cI hate being told what to do, so I decided immediately that when I met him, I\u2019d call him Steve.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Hibbert relived his brief tenure with the darlings of 80s indie in his autobiography, Boy Interrupted: Memoir Of A Former Smith, and Morrissey would probably approve of his current venture: running a vegetarian coffee bar near Hebden Bridge.<\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.20.4&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; hover_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; theme_builder_area=&#8221;post_content&#8221; sticky_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243;]<\/p>\n<p><b>Sex Pistols\u00a0<\/b>Wally Nightingale<\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.20.4&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; hover_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; theme_builder_area=&#8221;post_content&#8221; sticky_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243;]<\/p>\n<p>Until former Gallows frontman Frank Carter unexpectedly took up the role last summer, the idea of the Sex Pistols without Johnny Rotten was unthinkable. However, before John Lydon auditioned for the gig, miming along to Alice Cooper\u2019s I\u2019m Eighteen in Malcolm McLaren\u2019s Sex boutique, the Pistols had a different early lineup. Initially trading as The Strand, then The Swankers, Steve Jones originally handled most of the vocals, with Jones and drummer Paul Cook\u2019s schoolmate Wally Nightingale joining as a second guitarist.<\/p>\n<p>After McLaren became increasingly involved with the group, however, Nightingale was given the heave-ho, and after failing to make a very convincing frontman (partly because he couldn\u2019t carry a tune in a bucket), Jones switched to just playing guitar, and the group began the search for a new lead singer. Unsuccessfully looking to New York Dolls\u2019 Sylvain Sylvain, Midge Ure and Richard Hell before finding Lydon.<\/p>\n<p>More than just a Pistols footnote, Nightingale did contribute to the writing of early track Did You No Wrong, which would later be chosen as the B-side to God Save The Queen. And to be fair to McLaren, it\u2019s hard to think of a less punk rock name than Wally Nightingale.<\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.20.4&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; hover_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; theme_builder_area=&#8221;post_content&#8221; sticky_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243;]<\/p>\n<p><b>Nirvana\u00a0<\/b>Aaron Buckhard<\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.20.4&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; hover_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; theme_builder_area=&#8221;post_content&#8221; sticky_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243;]<\/p>\n<p>You might point to drummer Chad Channing as Nirvana\u2019s very own Pete Best. Yet while Channing didn\u2019t go on to achieve the levels of fame and success as his eventual replacement, Dave Grohl, he did play on Nirvana\u2019s first album, 1989\u2019s Bleach, so doesn\u2019t really qualify. Instead, the title should probably go to Aaron Burckhard, who was the first of several drummers recruited by Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic for the band.<\/p>\n<p>Burckhard played their first ever gig at a house party in 1987 and was part of the trio that variously traded as Skid Row, Pen Cap Chew, Bliss, and Ted Ed Fred before Cobain settled on Nirvana.<\/p>\n<p>The drummer was a loose cannon even by Cobain\u2019s standards though and frequently missed rehearsals and clashed with his bandmates. The final straw reportedly came when the drummer got Cobain\u2019s car impounded while DUI (although Burckhard claims it because he was too hungover to show up to band practice one day). Regardless, he was kicked out of the band prior to the recording of Nirvana\u2019s January 1988 demo at Seattle\u2019s Reciprocal Studios with future Bleach producer Jack Endino, for which the role was taken by the Melvins\u2019 drummer Dale Crover. For those interesting in what might have been, you can hear Burckhard on a handful of very early radio sessions and rehearsal recordings featured on 2004 boxset With The Lights Out.<\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.20.4&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; hover_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; theme_builder_area=&#8221;post_content&#8221; sticky_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243;]<\/p>\n<p><b>The Police\u00a0<\/b>Henry Padovani<\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.20.4&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; hover_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; theme_builder_area=&#8221;post_content&#8221; sticky_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243;]<\/p>\n<p>Corsica-born guitarist Henry Padovani moved from Paris to London in 1976 where he met Stewart Copeland, then drumming with prog outfit Curved Air. Enamoured with the burgeoning punk scene Copeland introduced him to, the guitarist cut off his long hair and beard and was about to join new wave outfit London, featuring future Culture Club drummer Jon Moss, when Copeland convinced him to instead join the group he was starting with Sting. It\u2019s unclear whether the drummer ran this decision past Sting, however, and while Padovani played on The Police\u2019s debut single, 1977\u2019s Fall Out, the singer soon brought in more technically proficient guitarist Andy Summers to join them. The Police briefly became a four-piece but after an ultimatum from Summers, Padovani was asked to leave. \u201cI was just the guitar player,\u201d Padovani told MOJO\u2019s Phil Sutcliffe of his brief tenure in the group. \u201cWith the Police\u2026\u00a0 it could have been nobody on guitar. I was an apprentice.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rather than being thrown on the scrap heap, though, Padovani was quickly snapped up by Wayne County &amp; The Electric Chairs, who at that stage had a much higher profile than his former outfit. Things looked up further for him when Copeland\u2019s brother Miles appointed him vice president of IRS Records in 1984. In 2011 he was a judge on the second series of the French X Factor and thirty years after his dismissal, Padovani joined his former bandmates on stage in Paris for a rendition of Next To You from 1978\u2019s Outlandos d\u2019Amour during The Police\u2019s reunion tour.<\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.20.4&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; hover_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; theme_builder_area=&#8221;post_content&#8221; sticky_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243;]<\/p>\n<p><b>The Who\u00a0<\/b>Doug Sandom<\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.20.4&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; hover_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; theme_builder_area=&#8221;post_content&#8221; sticky_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243;]<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI hope I die before I get old!\u201d stuttered The Who\u2019s Roger Daltrey on the band\u2019s 1965 single, My Generation. It was meant as an old guard-baiting call to arms for \u2018the kids\u2019 but could just as easily been aimed at The Who\u2019s former drummer, Doug Sandom.<\/p>\n<p>A bricklayer by trade and already married with a child, Sandom was the ripe old age of 32 when he replaced Daltrey\u2019s schoolfriend Harry Wilson in the pre-Who Detours in 1962.\u00a0 Over ten years older than Daltrey, Pete Townshend and John Entwistle, Sandom is credited with being a stabilising presence within the band (\u201che acted like a proper professional musician,\u201d recalled Townshend) and was still in their ranks when they transitioned from the more trad jazz-leaning Detours into The Who.<\/p>\n<p>However, when the band auditioned for Fontana Records in April 1964, the label\u2019s A&amp;R man Chris Parmenter was unimpressed with their more mature drummer. \u201cSeeing our chance at a record deal fading I cold-bloodedly told the band that Doug would stand down,\u201d Pete Townshend wrote in his autobiography Who I Am. \u201cDoug was deeply hurt by this especially because, unknown to me, he had defended me against being thrown out of the band when another auditioning agent said I was gangly, noisy and ugly. Doug did stand down, with some dignity, so we got our break. It is one of the actions in my career I most regret. Doug had always been a friend and a mentor to me. Not to mention he was the first person to get me drunk.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sandom fulfilled a number of live obligations then went back to bricklaying while his former bandmates recruited a livewire 17-year-old from north London covers outfit The Beachcombers by the name of Keith Moon. Sandom died in 2019, aged 89. Over the years, when he was asked about missing out on his ticket to rock superstardom he was often inclined to point out: \u201cI\u2019m alive &#8211; Moonie isn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.20.4&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; hover_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; theme_builder_area=&#8221;post_content&#8221; sticky_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243;]<\/p>\n<p><b>AC\/DC\u00a0<\/b>Dave Evans<\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.20.4&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; hover_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; theme_builder_area=&#8221;post_content&#8221; sticky_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243;]<\/p>\n<p>Welsh \u00e9migr\u00e9 Dave Evans joined Sydney-based covers band the Velvet Underground (not to be confused with Lou Reed\u2019s seminal New York outfit of the same name) soon after Malcolm Young had left. However, sharing Young\u2019s fondness for Chuck Berry, Free and The Rolling Stones, he answered the guitarist\u2019s ad in a local paper to start a new group, and when Malc\u2019s younger brother Angus\u2019 band Tantrum broke up, the first lineup of AC\/DC came together.<\/p>\n<p>Although he performed extensively with the band between 1973 and 1974 (including opening for Lou Reed on his Sally Can\u2019t Dance tour) and sang on their debut single Can I Sit Next to You, Girl, the more glam rock-leaning Evans wasn\u2019t always on the same page as the Young brothers, thinking that Malcolm was the better guitarist of the two and should be playing lead, and unsure of Angus\u2019 new on-stage schoolboy outfit.\u00a0 \u201cHe thought he was Gary Glitter\u201d recalled Angus Young to MOJO\u2019s Sylvie Simmons.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking in 2007, Evans dismissed the sartorial differences reasoning behind his sacking as \u201cbullshit\u201d and instead put it down to \u201cjealousy\u201d on the part of his former bandmates. His place swiftly taken by Bon Scott, Evans performed with a succession of bands including Rabbit, Hot Cockrel and Dave Evans And The Thunder From Down Under. Keen to highlight his early role in the Antipodean rock giant\u2019s story, Evans currently performs AC\/DC songs live.<\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=&#8221;https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/04\/GettyImages-1141193070.jpg&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.20.4&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; hover_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; theme_builder_area=&#8221;post_content&#8221; title_text=&#8221;Virgin Prunes&#8221; sticky_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243;][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=&#8221;4.20.4&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; theme_builder_area=&#8221;post_content&#8221;][et_pb_column type=&#8221;4_4&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.20.4&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; theme_builder_area=&#8221;post_content&#8221;][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.20.4&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; hover_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; theme_builder_area=&#8221;post_content&#8221; sticky_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243;]<\/p>\n<p><b>U2\u00a0<\/b>Dik Evans<\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.20.4&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; hover_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; theme_builder_area=&#8221;post_content&#8221; sticky_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243;]<\/p>\n<p>On September 25, 1976, four days after The Clash and Sex Pistols unveiled a new thing called \u201cpunk\u201d at the 100 Club in Oxford Street, London, seven Irish schoolboys crammed themselves into a north Dublin kitchen for a riot of their own. Lured to 15-year-old Larry Mullen Jr.\u2019s modest suburban home by an advert he placed on the school notice board (\u201cdrummer seeks musicians to form band\u201d) the group soon to be known as Feedback were struggling to squeeze themselves between the fridge, cooker and sink as the not-so-revolutionary sounds of The Eagles and The Rolling Stones began to emerge from the single amp they were sharing. \u201cThere was a lot of talk,\u201d remembers Dave \u2018Edge\u2019 Evans, in attendance with his older brother Dik, \u201cand people playing songs they knew very badly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Within weeks, the group would coalesce as a five piece with Dik, and begin regular rehearsals at their school, Mount Temple Comprehensive, sporadically performing rock and punk covers live as The Hype.\u00a0 Four years older than his brother, Dik had built the yellow Flying V replica the pair both played in their parents shed as part of a school science project. However, as the newly re-Christened Edge began to develop his own playing style inspired by emerging post-punk guitarists such as Magazine\u2019s John McGeoch, it soon became apparent that two guitarists were surplus to requirement. \u201cAs a guitar player, I\u2019ve always done the work of two,\u201d Edge told Hot Press in 1984. \u201cOne of the reasons Dik left was because two guitar players never worked. I never had that discipline. I was always filling up every spare moment with guitar.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dik left the band by mutual agreement with a farewell concert on March 4 1978. The first half of the show featured The Hype performing a covers set, Dik ceremoniously walked off stage with his bandmates, then the remaining four reemerged, announcing themselves as U2 and played original material.<\/p>\n<p>Dik joined U2\u2019s sister act the Virgin Prunes alongside singer Gavin Friday, the group serving as a more provocative art rock yang to their schoolmates\u2019 increasingly successful yin until their split in 1984.<\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider color=&#8221;#111111&#8243; module_class=&#8221;custom-divider&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.20.4&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; custom_margin=&#8221;||0px||false|false&#8221; custom_padding=&#8221;||0px||false|false&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; theme_builder_area=&#8221;post_content&#8221;][\/et_pb_divider][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Behind every great band there&#8217;s a jilted musician, seemingly&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":2328,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2326","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mojo-presents"],"acf":[],"modified_by":"kschwarz","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/mojo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2326","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/mojo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/mojo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/mojo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/mojo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2326"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/mojo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2326\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2335,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/mojo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2326\/revisions\/2335"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/mojo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2328"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/mojo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2326"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/mojo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2326"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/mojo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2326"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}