Eric Delaney, was one of the most inventive and exuberant of British drummers, captivating audiences with his energetic leaps across the stage from drums to timpani. He pioneered the technique of playing timpani with wire brushes, something that no percussionist had ever tried before.
Eric Delaney was born in Acton, west London on May 22 1924. When he was 18 months old, his mother bought him his first drum for sixpence in Woolworths. At 10, billed as Britain’s youngest drummer, he was leading his first band in a variety show at the Troquette, Elephant and Castle.


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