Post by Scifishocks on Nov 1, 2007 19:29:22 GMT 1
I was saddened to hear of the recent passing of the Drummer, Barry Morgan.
As I'm sure many of you will know, Barry lent his considerable talents to the making of Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of The Worlds and was a much respected and sought after figure in the music industry.
As well as working on The War of The Worlds, in his illustrious career Barry played drums for many top figures in music, including Elton John and the Bee Gees.
Jeff Wayne offered his thoughts on the official site...
''BARRY MORGAN
Things, both happy and sad can sometimes hit us all in 'waves'. And earlier this week, another unexpected event happened - I was attending the funeral service of Barry Morgan - one of the best drummers and percussionists ever to come out of Great Britain, and who graced many of my own productions with his brilliant and interpretive drumming, especially on The War of The Worlds.
Attending the service was like appearing at a Roll Call of Honor of some of the finest talent -musicians, singers- composers and songwriters - Great Britain has produced, along with professionals who are behind the scenes but who make the mechanics of our industry look so simple.
Barry most of all was a close family man - the heart of what made his life beat, and it was self-evident how they cared for him by their words of remembrance.
What touched me the most, is that while yes, there were quite a few tears shed, they seemed to be happy ones - knowing they were saying goodbye to someone who had brought an uplifting feeling to their lives, and the overflowing gathering of those who attended, made sure that was the mood of the day.
In fact one recurring memory of Barry from so many who attended, wasn't about his brilliance as a musician - that was a given - no, it was his infectious laugh which could change the seriousness of a recording session into the most lighthearted moment. On our Collectors Edition on CD-4 in fact is an out-take titled 'That Laugh' - which I had no idea when I selected it for inclusion in 2005, would I be recounting it today in this context.
As we walked out of the Chapel, the last music we heard was a recording that Barry had played on - terrific I thought, we're all marching out to the beat of his drum.
JEFF WAYNE.''
