Jeremy Clarkson is known as many things - the figurehead of the classic Top Gear presenting team, the host of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, and of course, being a divisive personality who sometimes really, really craves a steak. However, you might not know him as well for his love of playing the drums.
Clarkson has showcased his drumming abilities numerous times, perhaps most notably during the Top Gear of the Pops show in 2007 for Comic Relief. Accompanied by James May (keys), Richard Hammond (bass) and The Darkness’ Justin Hawkins, the Top Gear Band ran through a rendition of Billy Ocean’s Red Light Spells Danger, which you can watch below.
But now, the car-enthusiast-turned farmer has taken to social media to shine the light on his window cleaner, who apparently spotted Clarkson’s collectable Premier Spirit of Lily kit while working at Clarkson’s Oxfordshire home and couldn't resist having a bash.
Sat at the eight-piece, double-bass drum kit, Jason Carter — who plays in Oxfordshire-based band, Man Make Fire — unleashed some Dave Grohl-style flams around the toms before thrashing his way through a Grohl/Bonham-inspired beat and trashcan ending.
The short clip impressed Clarkson fans enough for some people to comment that he’s “overqualified” to be a window cleaner, and that it’s more like Clarkson’s “Personal drummer decided to clean the windows."
Meanwhile, other followers reminded Clarkson that the red tape is never far away, warning, “A councilman will have a problem with this.” and “West Oxfordshire Council Noise prevention officers are on their way.”
Clarkson’s kit is a Premier Spirit of Lily replica of Keith Moon’s iconic Pictures of Lily kit. Based on Moon’s original (taking its name from The Who’s song of the same name), the drums feature an artistic portrait of actress, Lily Langtry, known for having had an affair with King Edward VII.
The ‘pictures of Lily’ are interspersed on each shell with The Who’s logo in fluorescent print, as well as Moon’s self-moniker the “Patent British Exploding Drummer” following the infamous gunpowder-in-the-bass-drum incident during The Who's appearance on The Smothers Brothers Show in 1967.
Moon's over-rigged pyrotechnics went off with a bigger bang than anticipated, with Pete Townshend claiming the incident left him permanently deaf in one ear.
The replica drums were released in limited edition quantities over 14 months starting in 2006 — one month for every year that Keith Moon played Premier drums — with a retail price of £4,995.
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