DWF 2010 - Mel Gaynor
Born on May 29, 1960 in Balham, South London, Mel is best known as the drummer of the legendary SIMPLE MINDS and has also worked with icons such as Sir Elton John, Lou Reed, Tina Turner, Meatloaf, Peter Gabriel, The Pretenders, Gary Moore, Jackson Browne, Brian May and Robert Palmer!
11:00 - 11:45
During the festival, Mel will be accompanied by Stefan Dereine.
Mel Gaynor on his new Adams acrylic set during a concert with Simple Minds.
MEL GAYNOR (born May 29, 1960, in Balham, London, England) is a British musician. He is best known as the longtime drummer for the rock band Simple Minds. Gaynor was born to a Jamaican father and an Afro-Brazilian mother.
He joined Simple Minds in 1982 as a session drummer for the album New Gold Dream (recommended by producer Pete Walsh), and later became a permanent member for the album's tour, replacing Mike Ogletree. Except for a short break after the Real Life tour in the early 1990s, he has remained the band’s drummer to this day.
Gaynor began drumming at age 11 and had his first professional gig at age 14.
Besides drumming, he is also active as a songwriter and record producer. Currently, he is working on a side project as part of the duo The Fusion Project with Stephane Deriau-Reine. The Fusion Project’s debut album was released in April 2006 and is described as "a mix between progressive rock and jazz-fusion."
His main influences include The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, James Brown, and the Mahavishnu Orchestra.
In addition to Simple Minds, he has played with artists such as Sir Elton John, Lou Reed, Tina Turner, Meatloaf, Samson, The Associates, Peter Gabriel, The Pretenders, Gary Moore, Jackson Browne, Little Steven, Brian May, The Nolans, and Robert Palmer.
In 2007, Gaynor launched his solo project with a new version of Robert Parissi’s "Play That Funky Music."
Mel was also a member of Muscles, a Birmingham-based funk covers band that had minor chart success with "If it relaxes your mind" and "I'm a girlwatcher".
STEFAN DEREINE (Stephane-Xavier Deriau-Reine) was born on August 30, 1974, in Fort-de-France (Martinique, French West Indies). As a keyboardist, arranger, producer, and singer, he has worked with numerous artists, from Alexander O'Neal to musicians of Michael Jackson. A strong performer on stage, he eventually returned to his first passion: making records. So far, Stefan has produced around 10 albums and contributed to about 45. One of his albums is with the band "The Fusion Project" featuring Mel Gaynor and Dominique Dipiazza. Their debut album "Code Name" was rated best album of the year in eight countries in 2006.
