Aynsley Thomas Dunbar 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.
Career
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.
This line-up continued till 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, 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". The Dunbar single
version was recorded in 1967 for the
Blue Horizon label, prior to his band's
first album release The Aynsley Dunbar
Retaliation.
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, Ivan Zagni,
Roger Sutton, Tommy Eyre and Peter
Friedberg.
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 for "Dirty Duck", a Chuck
Swenson adult animated movie. 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. In 1985, Dunbar joined
Whitesnake, 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 later 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.
Discography
= The Aynsley Dunbar Retaliation=
The Aynsley Dunbar Retaliation
Doctor Dunbar's Prescription
To Mum, From Aynsley & The Boys
Remains To Be Heard
= Aynsley Dunbar=
Mutiny
= With Blue Whale=
Blue Whale
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 Produces By :
Aynsley Dunbar % Colin Caldwell Engineer
: Colin Caldwell Recorded March & April
1970 Marquee Studios London
= With John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers=
A Hard Road
Looking Back
So Many Roads
Thru the Years
= With Frank Zappa and the Mothers=
Chunga's Revenge
Fillmore East - June 1971
200 Motels
Just Another Band from L.A.
Waka/Jawaka
The Grand Wazoo
Apostrophe
Playground Psychotics
Joe's Domage
Carnegie Hall
Finer Moments
= With David Bowie=
Pin Ups
Diamond Dogs
= With Lou Reed=
Berlin
= With Herbie Mann=
London Underground
= With Michael Schenker=
Adventures of the Imagination
= With Mick Ronson=
Slaughter on 10th Avenue
Play Don't Worry
= With Nils Lofgren=
Nils Lofgren
Cry Tough
= With Ian Hunter=
All American Alien Boy
= With Paul Kantner=
Planet Earth Rock and Roll Orchestra
= With Journey=
Journey
Look into the Future
Next
Infinity
= With Sammy Hagar=
Nine on a Ten Scale
= With Jefferson Starship=
Freedom at Point Zero
Modern Times
Winds of Change
= With Whitesnake=
Whitesnake
1987 Versions
= With Ronnie Montrose=
The Diva Station
= With UFO=
Covenant
Sharks
= With Leslie West=
Blues To Die For
= With Jake E. Lee=
Retraced
Bibliography
Bob Brunning Blues: The British
Connection, London: Helter Skelter,
2002, ISBN 1-900924-41-2
Dick Heckstall-Smith 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 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
