David Baynton-Power

David Baynton-Power (born 29 January 1961,[1] in Kent, England)[2] is a musician, best known as drummer of the long-existing English rock band James.[3] He has a recognizable and characteristic way of playing the drums, moving his sticks in a circular motion as the songs build up.[4]

Dave Baynton-Power performing with James at Haldern Pop 2013

Progressive rock was his first real venture into playing drums, but Baynton-Power became a huge fan of punk rock and was part of the new wave movement with his first real band, The Modernaires. They played some decent sized gigs for a new band, but they soon split after moving to Chester as their vocalist, who was schizophrenic, announced he was leaving.

They soon re-formed with a new singer however, they realized that with the arrival of the Welsh TV station S4C, if they changed the lyrics of their songs from English to Welsh they could make some profit. They changed their name to Brodyr Y Ffin (Welsh for 'Brothers on the Border') as their house in Chester was right on the Anglo-Welsh border, and quickly rose to the top of the Welsh scene, staying there for a few years.

However, their existence came to an abrupt end with a massive house fire, which resulted in the death of one of their members. Not long after, Baynton-Power was linked to James through another band's keyboardist, who was a friend of Andy Dodd – Dodd initially booked all the bands at the Band on the Wall venue in Manchester. Dodd suggested Baynton-Power as a replacement for James previous drummer Gavan Whelan in 1989.[5][6] According to the band's biography Folklore by Stuart Maconie, the band was particularly keen to hire Baynton-Power after lead singer Tim Booth's psychic medium advised him to look out for a "Dave from Wrexham" as the band's new drummer.[7] Although Baynton-Power was initially uninterested in the offer of an audition, he finally relented after the band members offered to pay his train fare to Manchester. Following the audition they immediately offered him the role of drummer.[8]

Baynton-Power endured, remaining in James from that time through to their farewell tour in December 2001. He also played a big part in the production side of the later James albums, from Whiplash onwards.

From 2002 Baynton-Power toured with the Welsh rock band The Alarm, spent more time with his family, and also worked as a freelance sound engineer in television.[9] In early 2007, he was confirmed as a member of the reformed James and joined them on their tour in April of that year, then played on their comeback album Hey Ma, released in April 2008.[10]

References

1. Rose, Mike; clevel; .com (29 January 2020). "Today's famous birthdays list for January 29, 2020 includes celebrities Oprah Winfrey, Heather Graham". Cleveland.com. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
2. "David Baynton-Power > Overview". AllMusic. Retrieved 1 February 2010.
3. International Who's Who in Popular Music 2002 (4 ed.). Routledge. 5 July 2002. p. 33. ISBN 978-1-85743-161-2. Retrieved 1 February 2010.
4. "'Everybody belongs here': james, Psychedelic Furs turn Canalside into a church". The Buffalo News. 19 July 2019. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
5. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "James > Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 1 February 2010.
6. "James". MTV. Retrieved 1 February 2010.
7. Mann, L. Paul (28 August 2019). "Psychedelic Furs and James Complete Their Tour at The Greek Theater Los Angeles". ENTRTNMNT. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
8. "North Wales: Ba – Bi". Link2wales.co.uk. 15 May 2008. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
9. Q, 2006
10. Costanzo, Angela (15 November 2018). "Booth turns every head as James light up Forum". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 13 June 2020.