Aynsley Dunbar

Aynsley Dunbar
Dunbar performing in 2007
Background information
Birth name	Aynsley Thomas Dunbar
Born	(1946-01-10) 10 January 1946 Liverpool, England
Genres	Hard rock, blues rock, progressive rock, glam rock, jazz, blues, jazz fusion, heavy metal, glam metal
Occupation(s)	Musician, songwriter
Instruments	Drums, percussion
Years active	1961–present
Associated acts	The Jeff Beck Group, David Bowie, Frank Zappa, UFO, Whitesnake, Journey, Jefferson Starship, Lou Reed, John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, Sammy Hagar, Michael Schenker, Jake E. Lee, The Mojos, Flo & Eddie, Tomorrow (band)

Aynsley Thomas Dunbar (born 10 January 1946) is an English drummer. He has worked with some of the top names in rock, including Nils Lofgren, Eric Burdon, John Mayall, Frank Zappa, Ian Hunter, Lou Reed, Jefferson Starship, Jeff Beck, David Bowie, Whitesnake, Sammy Hagar, Michael Schenker, UFO, Flo & Eddie and Journey.^[1] Dunbar was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Journey in 2017.^[2]

Career

Aynsley Thomas Dunbar was born in Liverpool, England. He started his professional career in Derry Wilkie and the Pressmen in 1963. In December 1964 he joined Merseybeat group the Mojos, who were renamed Stu James & the Mojos, with original members vocalist Stu James and guitarist Nick Crouch and bass player Lewis Collins (later an actor in the Professionals). This line-up continued until 1966. Dunbar then auditioned for the Jimi Hendrix Experience and Hendrix had difficulty deciding between Dunbar and Mitch Mitchell – the latter won Hendrix's coin flip. Dunbar then joined John Mayall's Bluesbreakers replacing Hughie Flint in the summer of 1966. He stayed with Mayall until the spring of 1967 (playing on the A Hard Road album), being replaced by Mick Fleetwood.

After a short stint in the Jeff Beck Group Dunbar founded 'the Aynsley Dunbar Retaliation', so named to chide Mayall who fired him. They issued four albums during their existence. Dunbar co-wrote the song "Warning" (later recorded by Black Sabbath on their first album). The Dunbar single version was recorded in 1967 for the Blue Horizon label,^[3] prior to his band's first album release The Aynsley Dunbar Retaliation (circa 1969^[4]).

Subsequently, Dunbar founded a short-lived progressive rock band called Blue Whale, which debuted with a tour of Scandinavia in January 1970. Following the recent collapse of the original lineup of King Crimson, Dunbar unsuccessfully tried to recruit Robert Fripp as Blue Whale's guitarist. Fripp, in turn, unsuccessfully tried to recruit Dunbar as King Crimson's new drummer. Blue Whale recorded one album, which featured Paul Williams (vocals), Ivan Zagni (guitar), Roger Sutton (guitar), Tommy Eyre (from Retaliation, keys) and Peter Friedberg (bass).^[5]

Dunbar was later the drummer for Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention, featuring on albums such as Waka/Jawaka, and The Grand Wazoo, as well as the film 200 Motels. In 1974 he played on the soundtrack of Dirty Duck, an adult animated film directed by Charles Swenson. In the mid-1970s Dunbar played drums for former Grin leader, Nils Lofgren, before joining Journey for their first four albums. He joined Jefferson Starship for three albums. On 28 December 1978, he played at Winterland in San Francisco with the Tubes. Dunbar joined Whitesnake in 1985 and drummed on their 1987 album, Whitesnake. He also spent some time working with Eric Burdon, Michael Schenker and the Animals.

More recently, in 2005, he drummed on Jake E. Lee's solo Retraced album.

He has been the drummer for the World Classic Rockers since 2003.

In 2008 Dunbar recorded an album of material for Direct Music with Mickey Thomas of Starship, and musicians such as Jake E. Lee, former guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne. The complete recordings of Dunbar's drumming with Frank Zappa at Carnegie Hall in October 1971 were released exactly 40 years after the event in a four-CD set.

In 2009 the blues album The Bluesmasters featuring Mickey Thomas was released, featuring Dunbar on drums along with Tim Tucker on guitar and Danny Miranda on bass as well as guest stars such as Magic Slim on guitar and vocals.

In 2017 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Journey.

Discography

The Aynsley Dunbar Retaliation

• The Aynsley Dunbar Retaliation (1969^[4])
• Doctor Dunbar's Prescription (1969^[6])
• To Mum, From Aynsley & The Boys (1969^[7])
• Remains To Be Heard (1970)

Aynsley Dunbar

• Mutiny (2008)

With Blue Whale

• Blue Whale (1971)

Tracks:
1. Willing to Fight – 6:48
2. Willie the Pimp – 14:55
3. It's Your Turn – 9:57
4. Days – 5:35
5. Going Home – 8:56

Personnel:
Aynsley Dunbar – Drums
Tommy Eyre – Organ, Piano
Ivan Zagni, Roger Sutton – Lead Guitars
Paul Williams – Vocals
Peter Friedberg – Bass
Charles Greetham – Saxophone
Edward Reay-Smith – Trombone
Colin Caldwell – Producer

Produced By: Aynsley Dunbar & Colin Caldwell
Engineer: Colin Caldwell
Recorded March & April 1970 Marquee Studios London

With John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers

• A Hard Road (1967)
• Looking Back (1969)
• So Many Roads (1969)
• Thru the Years (1971)

With Frank Zappa and the Mothers

• Chunga's Revenge (1970)
• Fillmore East - June 1971 (1971)
• 200 Motels (1971)
• Just Another Band from L.A. (1972)
• Waka/Jawaka (1972)
• The Grand Wazoo (1972)
• Apostrophe (') (1974)
• Playground Psychotics (1992)
• Carnegie Hall (2011)
• Finer Moments (2012)

With David Bowie

• Pin Ups (1973)
• Diamond Dogs (1974)

With Lou Reed

• Berlin (1973)

With Herbie Mann

• London Underground (Atlantic, 1973)

With Michael Schenker

• Adventures of the Imagination (2000)

With Mick Ronson

• Slaughter on 10th Avenue (1974)
• Play Don't Worry (1975)

With Nils Lofgren

• Nils Lofgren (1975)
• Cry Tough (1976)

With Ian Hunter

• All American Alien Boy (1976)

With Paul Kantner

• Planet Earth Rock and Roll Orchestra (1983)

With Journey

• Journey (1975)
• Look into the Future (1976)
• Next (1977)
• Infinity (1978)

With Sammy Hagar

• Nine on a Ten Scale (1976)

With Jefferson Starship

• Freedom at Point Zero (1979)
• Modern Times (1981)
• Winds of Change (1982)

With Whitesnake

• Whitesnake (1987)
• 1987 Versions (1987)

With Ronnie Montrose

• The Diva Station (1990)

With UFO

• Covenant (2000)
• Sharks (2002)

With Leslie West

• Blues To Die For (2003)

With Jake E. Lee

• Retraced (2005)

Bibliography

• Bob Brunning (1986) Blues: The British Connection, London: Helter Skelter, 2002, ISBN 1-900924-41-2
• Dick Heckstall-Smith (2004) The safest place in the world: A personal history of British Rhythm and blues, Clear Books, ISBN 0-7043-2696-5 – First Edition : Blowing The Blues – Fifty Years Playing The British Blues
• Christopher Hjort Strange brew: Eric Clapton and the British blues boom, 1965–1970, foreword by John Mayall, Jawbone (2007) ISBN 1-906002002
• Paul Myers: Long John Baldry and the Birth of the British Blues, Vancouver 2007 – GreyStone Books
• Harry Shapiro Alexis Korner: The Biography, Bloomsbury Publishing PLC, London 1997, Discography by Mark Troster

References

Preceded by Prairie Prince	Journey drummer 1974–1978	Succeeded by Steve Smith