Viv Prince
| Viv Prince | |
|---|---|
| Born |
9 August 1941 Loughborough, England |
| Genres | Rhythm and blues, rock, jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Drummer, percussionist |
| Instruments | Drums |
| Years active | 1961–present |
| Associated acts | Carter-Lewis and the Southerners, The Pretty Things, The Jeff Beck Group, The Denny Laine String Band |
Viv Prince (born 9 August 1941) is an English drummer. He played in a variety of bands during the 1960s, including The Pretty Things. He was noted for his wild and eccentric behaviour, which garnered a lot of publicity for the group and influenced Keith Moon.
Biography
Viv Prince was born in Loughborough. His father, Harry Prince, played in a local jazz band.[1]
His first professional work was with the Dauphin Street Six in 1961. He joined Carter-Lewis and the Southerners in June 1963, but left them during a tour in Denmark to form his own group, The Jazz Cardinals. Without a work permit, he soon had to return to London, earning a living as a session musician.[1] He became a member of The Pretty Things in 1964 and played the drums on their first two albums, The Pretty Things and Get the Picture?, both released in 1965.
The Pretty Things often made the headlines for their wild antics, which were due in no small part to Prince. Often inebriated or high on amphetamines, he would leave his drum stool to roam around the stage, and generally cause havoc wherever he went. A young Keith Moon attended several Pretty Things concerts to study Prince's style.[2] This culminated in a tour of New Zealand in August 1965, during which he paraded around in a leopard-skin pillbox hat, carrying around a dead crayfish on a string.[3] Over time, he would miss recording sessions more and more often, and the band had to call upon other drummers to replace him, including Bobby Graham, Mitch Mitchell and Twink. His tenure with the Pretty Things ended in mid-November 1965, when the band sacked him due to his growing unreliability. He was replaced by Skip Alan.[4]
After leaving the Pretty Things, Prince played with The Jeff Beck Group and The Denny Laine String Band. He also deputised on drums during concerts for The Honeycombs and The Who. During the second half of the 1960s, he released a few singles with bands such as Vamp (with Pete Sears), Kate, and The Bunch of Fives, as well as a solo single, Light of the Charge Brigade.
During the 1980s, Prince returned to Loughborough for a while, playing with local soul band Sugar Shack.[1] As of 2005, he was living near Faro, Portugal.[5] The Pretty Things wrote and recorded "Vivian Prince," a song in hommage to him, on their album ... Rage Before Beauty, released in 1999.
Discography
- 1965: The Pretty Things – The Pretty Things
- 1965: The Pretty Things – Get the Picture?
- 1966: Viv Prince – Light of the Charge Brigade / Minuet for Ringo
- 1966: Chicago Line – Shimmy Shimmy Ko Ko Bop / Jump Back
- 1966: The Bunch of Fives – I Go Home Baby / At the Station
- 1968: Vamp – Floatin' / Thinkin' Too Much
- 1969: Vamp – Green Pea / Wake Up and Tell Me
- 1969: Kate – Shout It / Sweet Little Thing
Notes
- 1 2 3 Rush, Andy (4 August 2015). "Viv Prince - legendary Pretty Things drummer". Loughborough Echo. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
- ↑
- Neill, Andrew; Kent, Matthew (2009). Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere: The Complete Chronicle of The Who 1958–78. Sterling Publishing. p. 100. ISBN 978-1-4027-6691-6.
- ↑ Stax, Neil & Baker, pp. 39–40
- ↑ Stax, Neill & Baker, pp. 94–97
- ↑ Stax, Neill & Baker, pp. 110–112
Sources
- Stax, Mike; Neill, Andy; Baker, John (2006). Don't Bring Me Down... Under: The Pretty Things in New Zealand, 1965. San Diego: UT Publishing. ISBN 0-9778166-0-5.