“Every one of them said yes without hesitation": Hank Marvin and Roger Taylor have just remade a '60s classic for charity

Together at last! Ever wondered what might happen if Roger Taylor severed his Brian May umbilical? Wonder no longer for he has just got with The Shadows legend Hank Marvin to rework Sandy Nelson’s much-loved Let There Be Drums.

PLUS a cast of superstar drummers, PLUS it’s all for charity.

The track is part of a new compilation album, Think Loud 4 Parkinson’s, which has been put together by music manager, Ian Grant – manager of The Stranglers, Big Country, The Cult, Elizabeth McGovern and many more – who himself, has been living with Parkinsons since 2016.

Let There Be Drums - YouTube

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And if the style of the video looks familiar – lots of famous musicians letting their frosty guard down for a moment in order to spread some good cheer and raise some cash – that’s because it’s directed by Nigel Dick, who also helmed the legendary Do They Know It’s Christmas video.

“I knew it was an opportunity too good to pass up,” said Dick about being invited to come on board. “I contacted every drummer I knew, pitched them the idea, and every one of them said yes without hesitation.”

Thus the full list of artists featured on the track runs like this:

Kodo Drums
Roger Taylor (Queen)
Vinnie Colaiuta (Joni Mitchell, Frank Zappa, Sting, Jeff Beck)
Ice Dob (The Molotovs)
Eric Manegold (Chuck Berry, Merrie Lee Rush)
Terl Bryant (John Paul Jones, Peter Murphy, Martin Barre)
Derrek Phillips (Gloria Gaynor, Michael McDonald, Vanessa Williams)
Chad Wackerman (Frank Zappa, Steve Vai, Andy Summers)
Simon Phillips (The Who, Toto, Hiromi, Jeff Beck)
Peter Erskine (Weather Report, Chick Corea, Dr. Um)
James Guckenheimer (Prophets & Outlaws, Matt Boggs)
Nick D’Virgilio (Mr. Big, Genesis, Big Big Train, Tears For Fears)
Jimmy Keegan (Kenny Loggins, ABC, John Waite, Spock’s Beard)
Neal Evans (Dopapod, Neal Evan’s Fro-Down)
Matt Tecu (Jacob Dylan, Neil young)
Joey Shuffield (Fastball)
Jamie Moreno (Edge Of Paradise)
Liam Bolton (Only 13)
Katie Marie Richards (Paula Cole, Sophie B. Hawkins)
Will Birch (The Records)

Let There Be In-Jokes

Let There Be Drums is a bit of an industry insider trademark. Often the warm-up of bands, it’s become a kind of secret handshake among rockers who really know their stuff.

“I’d had a few flop records with Imperial Records and they were ready to drop me,” Nelson, the creator of the track first released in 1961, told Scott K Fish. “But they gave me one more chance on Let There Be Drums. And so I fooled everybody and had another hit. And that one I got paid on, of course.

“I stole a lot of licks from dear old Cozy Cole on Let There Be Drums. Just the other day I was listening to an album of his – the one that has another version of Topsy and Ol’ Man Mose. He did Let There Be Drums on it and he was trying to copy me, copying him! It was like several carbon copies.”

And if you’re thinking, this all sounds a bit familiar, that’s because Slade’s Don Powell did the same thing with the same track back in 2021, to raise money for musicians and crew who had been out of work due to Covid-19.

Looks like you can’t hold a good idea back. Get your copy of the Think Loud 4 Parkinsons album and donate to the Cure Parkinsons charity here.