About Richard

At a glance...


In detail...

I took up drums when I was 12 having already taken piano lessons. My drum tutor for seven years was the brilliant Paul Francis, an experienced professional player based near Colchester. I went on to study A Level Music at Colchester Institute receiving percussion lessons from Roy Sinclair who taught snare technique and introduced me to timpani, marimba and vibraphone. I even played bass drum and gong in the Symphony Orchestra! Alongside my studies, I played drums with a local progressive rock group. Passing my A Level in 1994, I moved up to Yorkshire for three years to read music at Bretton Hall College, University of Leeds, graduating in 1997 with a 1st in Contemporary Musics.

In the following year I recorded a solo album which received high praise in The Wire. I moved to Brighton to help edit a music web-site where I carried on writing and recording.

In 2000 I moved to Leicester to begin my music PhD at De Montfort University. To support my research I formed the band Evil Dick and the Banned Members, performing first as the group's keyboardist and later as its drummer. From October 2004 until May 2005 I lectured in popular music at the University of Northampton. I was awarded my doctorate from DMU in November 2005 when I also began teaching drums. Between 2009-11 I lectured in Performing Arts at De Monfort University specialising in music technology.

Over the years I have performed in London, Paris, New York, Rome and... Leicester. In 2011 my band played to hundreds at the annual Zappanale festival in Germany.

Richard Hemmings playing in Paris
Richard Hemmings playing in Paris