- Rob Townsend
Rob Townsend (born
July 7 ,1947 ) is a British rock andblues drummer . He played for theprogressive rock band Family from 1967 to 1973. .Rob Townsend was born and raised in
Leicester, England , where he took an interest in music and started playing drums, heavily influenced by jazz greats such asBuddy Rich andGene Krupa . He spent his teenage years playing in various Leicester bands, such as the Beatniks, Broodly Hoo, and Legay. He joined Family in 1967, replacing Harry Ovenall, just prior to the recording of their debut single, "Scene Through The Eye of a Lens."Along with lead vocalist
Roger Chapman and guitarist Charlie Whitney, Townsend stayed with Family until their 1973 break-up.After Family broke up Townsend joined
Medicine Head , whose producer wasTony Ashton , Family's lastkeyboardist . After eighteen months with that group, Townsend left when Medicine Head decided not to have a permanent drummer any more. He spent much of the remainder of the 1970s as freelance session drummer. This time included a time with singerKevin Ayers , and future The Policeguitarist Andy Summers , and the reunited Charlie Whitney in the short-lived bandAxis Point .Since 1982 Townsend has been a member of
The Blues Band with Paul Jones,Dave Kelly ,Tom McGuinness , and Gary Fletcher. He also appears alongside Jones and McGuinness inThe Manfreds . "I have come home from tours absolutely dead on my feet," he told interviewer Mike Dolbear, "and I will get a call to go and play at a local pub because their regular drummer can't do it and I say yes. . . . When I am not playing I go to drum shops or music shows. I just love it. I feel so lucky to be able to be doing something I love to do and to be able to earn a living from it."Fact|date=July 2008External links
* [http://members.aol.com/songforme Strange Band: The Family Home Page]
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