LIVERPOOL born dance band leader - and drummer - Jonny Baxter is pictured taking part in the biggest drum session ever held in the UK with over 800 ‘skin bashers’ taking part to raise funds for a Multiple Sclerosis charity.
The mammoth session called Stick it to MS featured famous drummers including Mike Joyce from the Smiths and Pete Salisbury from the Verve and was staged in Manchester’s massive event’s and exhibition complex close to the Trafford Centre on Sunday afternoon, July 15th.
Drums over Mersey
The Guinness World Record breaking gig took take place at 4.15pm and saw the massed ranks of over 800 drummers playing a basic rock beat in time for five minutes - and all with a full drum kit.
Drumming RecordThe Chief Executive of the MS Society Simon Gillespie said: “All the drummers who took part are playing their part in helping us continue to invest in our relentless search for a cure, and to help support people with MS to live their lives to the full.”
It’s actually the second drum marathon for Jonny Baxter, who now lives in Manchester, as he took part in the fabled Drums Over the Mersey event in the summer of 1985. That was aimed at raising funds for an anti-heroin campaign.
It was organized by then Mighty Wah drummer Joey Musker and Jonny, at 12 years of age, was the youngest performer, joining drumming stars like Chris Sharrock from Icicle Works and others from the Farm, Echo and the Bunneymen and Lawnmower. A few years later Jonny hit the spotlight as the drummer with Liverpool’s famous Juvenile Jazz.
Jonny, now 40 and leader of the band Natural High, commented: “We all had to stuff in ear plugs as the sound was deafening - much louder than being directly underneath a jumbo jet taking off."
For more information about the event visit: www.stickittoms.com
