Mikkey Dee
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Michael Delaouglou, better known as Mikkey Dee (born October 31, 1963) is a half-Greek half-Swedish drummer/ songwriter in the heavy metal band, Motörhead. The drummer has been known for his incredible speed and precision since his mid-80s stint with King Diamond.
[edit] Career
Born in Gothenburg, Sweden,[1] he began his musical career with local bands Nadir and Geisha. His favourite drummer is Ian Paice, other influences being Brian Downey, Neil Peart and Steve Smith (musician). Dee also gives credit to Buddy Rich.[2]
Having moved to Copenhagen to play with Geisha,[2] in 1985, he joined King Diamond, who were looking for additional members to complete their line-up. After their release of the "Them" album (1988), Dee decided to leave the band, as he felt he was becoming more of a back-up musician, rather than an equal contributing songwriter — Diamond himself was becoming quite popular and the musicians backing him were taking a secondary role in the writing and decision making, often Diamond was the only person answering for the whole group in magazine interviews, etc.[2] Dee continued to play as a session drummer for the recording sessions of the Conspiracy album (1989), after which he was replaced by Snowy Shaw .
He joined Don Dokken for his solo album, Up From The Ashes (1990) (which he says to be one of his greatest albums he ever recorded),[citation needed] whilst also playing for World War Three.
Lemmy had been repeatedly asking him to join Motörhead since 1985, and in 1992, when asked once again, Dee accepted the offer, replacing "Philthy Animal" Taylor.[3] Dee's first gig with the band was on August 30, 1992 at Saratoga Performing Arts Center,[4] but he did not have much input on that year's release, March or Die, as this had been recorded with Tommy Aldridge prior to Dee joining the group. Dee did play on the tracks 'Hellraiser', which was on the album, and 'Hell On Earth', which was not but was on the soundtrack album to the film Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth. Ideally the band would have had Dee re-record all the drum tracks but this was not possible, due to a combination of money and time factors.
It is important to note that Alridge was never a member of the band, rather he was a session musician, and Dee's photo appeared on the rear album sleeve. Aldridge generously said that Dee could take his credit for the playing but Dee politely declined, as the drummers' styles are very different. In an ironic reversal, Aldridge had earlier had his photo on an album on which he played nothing, namely Ozzy Osbourne's Diary Of A Madman.
Their record label, Epic Records dropped the band after its release and the group continued recording with SPV GmbH. The band also started a label themselves, called "Motörhead", which was copyrighted and distributed through Warner-Chappell and ZYX, Dee's first album for this label being 1993's Bastards.
He also played drums on Helloween's 2003 album Rabbit Don't Come Easy, stepping in for Mark Cross.
Dee also played the drums for Martin "E-Type" Eriksson in the Swedish pre-qualification to the Eurovision song contest 2004, as well as on E-Type's 2003 Eurometal tour.
[edit] Trivia
Dee is a ice hockey enthusiast and a supporter of the Frölunda HC team from Gothenburg.
Dee has endorsed German drum manufacturer Sonor for well over 20 years (since his King Diamond days). He is also a long-time endorser of Paiste cymbals, Vic Firth sticks and DW/Drum workshop bass drum pedals.
[edit] References
- ^ Biography for Mikkey Dee. IMDb. Retrieved on 2007-03-29. Also gives date of birth.
- ^ a b c Mikkey Dee (Motörhead) Interview. Metal Rules — Heart of Steel: Interviews. Retrieved on 2007-03-29.
- ^ Lemmy (2002). White Line Fever Simon & Schuster p. 243. ISBN 0-684-85868-1.
- ^ Burridge, Alan Illustrated Collector's Guide to Motorhead Published: 1995, Collector's Guide Publishing p.62. ISBN 0-9695736-2-6.
| Motörhead |
| Members |
|---|
| Ian "Lemmy" Kilmister - Phil Campbell - Mikkey Dee |
| Former members: Larry Wallis - "Fast" Eddie Clarke - Brian "Robbo" Robertson - Michael "Würzel" Burston |
| Lucas Fox - Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor - Pete Gill - Tommy Aldridge |
| Discography |
|
Albums: On Parole - Motörhead - Overkill - Bomber - Ace of Spades - No Sleep 'til Hammersmith - Iron Fist - Another Perfect Day - No Remorse - Orgasmatron - Rock 'n' Roll - No Sleep at All - 1916 - March ör Die - Bastards - Sacrifice - Overnight Sensation - Snake Bite Love - Everything Louder Than Everyone Else - We Are Motörhead - The Best Of - Hammered - Live at Brixton Academy - Inferno - BBC Live & In-Session - Kiss of Death |
| Related articles |
|
Motörhead discography - Joe Petagno - Alan Burridge - Headgirl |
