Ginger Baker - Hellraiser
Peter ‘Ginger’ Baker is a legend. A critically acclaimed drummer famed for his pioneering use of two bass drums instead of the conventional single bass kick drum he has enjoyed success with several supergroups including Cream, Blind Faith, the Graham Bond Organisation and Hawkwind.
Written with his daughter Ginette (Nettie) HELLRAISER tells Baker’s life story from humble beginnings in south London to his adopted home in South Africa including.
* The reason why he developed his ‘smash bash’ style – Eric Clapton and Jack Bruce played so loudly that seated between the two he couldn’t hear himself otherwise
* Superstar friends including Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and Stevie Winwood
* His bet with Eric Clapton as to who could be first to sleep with all the waitresses in the Speakeasy club
* The time Paul McCartney handed over thousands of pounds to four Nigerians thinking they were muggers – in reality they only wanted his autograph
* The day Prince Charles greeted him saying “You’re that famous drummer chappie aren’t you”
* Why actor/gangster John Bindon threatened to cut his horses’ throats
* How he, a rock star, developed an unlikely passion for polo yet it is a passion that has lasted for years
* How he tried to give up drugs 29 times in 21 years
* Baker was a world music pioneer and one of the first Western rock stars to be seduced by the rhythms of Africa and established his own studio there
Full of colourful stories of life on the road in the 60s his autobiography also tells of his life-long love of jazz, his globe-trotting life which has seen him living in Colorado, Tuscany and now the Western Cape, his three marriages, the Cream reunion in 2005 and the financial ups and downs of his career.
The book is released 29th October 2009 by John Blake Publishing
David Jensen Photography:
https://www.davidjensen.co.uk/
