Bev Bevan

Beverley Bevan (born 25 November 1944[1][2][3]) is an English rock musician, who was the drummer and one of the original members of The Move and Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). After the end of ELO in 1986, he founded ELO Part II.

Bev Bevan
Bevan in 1977 as a member of Electric Light Orchestra
Background information
Birth name	Beverley Bevan
Born	(1944-11-25) 25 November 1944
Origin	Sparkhill, Birmingham, England
Genres	Rock
Occupation(s)	Musician
Instruments	Drums percussion vocals
Years active	1962–present
Labels	United Artists Jet Harvest Epic EMI
Associated acts	The Move Electric Light Orchestra Black Sabbath ELO Part II Bev Bevan's Move Denny Laine & The Diplomats
Website	Musical career

Bevan also served as the touring drummer for Black Sabbath during the Born Again Tour, and later played percussion on The Eternal Idol album in 1987. Bevan was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2017 as a member of Electric Light Orchestra.[4]

Biography

Bevan was born in South Yardley, Birmingham, England.[5] After attending Moseley Grammar School, where he gained two O level passes, he worked as a trainee buyer in a city centre department store called The Beehive with school friend Jasper Carrott (Bob Davis).

His professional music career started with a stint with Denny Laine in his group Denny Laine and the Diplomats, then with Carl Wayne & the Vikings, followed by The Move in 1966. The Electric Light Orchestra released their first album in 1971, by which time The Move existed only as a recording outfit. They released their final single, "California Man" in 1972.

Bevan has a deep singing voice. With The Move he sang lead on a remake of "Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart" and the country and western spoof, "Ben Crawley Steel Co". He composed one Move song: "Don't Mess Me Up", an Elvis Presley spoof from the album Message from the Country that was also the B-side of The Move's single "Tonight". He is also, incorrectly, credited with writing the rock-blues "Turkish Tram Conductor Blues" on Looking On; Roy Wood actually composed the song.[6]

On ELO records his voice can be heard most prominently on "Fire On High" and "Strange Magic", both from 1975's "Face the Music".

He recorded a solo single in 1976, a cover of the Sandy Nelson instrumental, "Let There Be Drums". Bevan played on all Electric Light Orchestra and ELO Part II albums up to 1999. In 1980 he published a historical memoir of the Electric Light Orchestra.

In 1983, he replaced Bill Ward in Black Sabbath for the Born Again Tour. Bevan was known for his heavy powerhouse drumming during this tour. He also appeared in Sabbath's videos "Trashed" and "Zero the Hero". A headlining appearance at the 1983 Reading Festival – extracts of which appear on a reissue of Born Again – was only Bevan's second gig with the band. "It was just all over the shop," recalled guitarist Tony Iommi. "Bev didn't know [the songs] at all. He did try. As we went on the tour, he did get a lot better… We went to America and he done good. That particular stage, doing the Reading Festival, was a definite wrong for us."[7] Bevan rejoined Black Sabbath briefly in 1987, recording percussion overdubs for album The Eternal Idol, but was replaced by Terry Chimes after refusing to play shows in South Africa, at the time under apartheid rule.[8]

After the death of Carl Wayne in 2004, the drummer formed Bev Bevan's Move[9] with Phil Tree and former ELO Part II colleagues Phil Bates and Neil Lockwood, to play a set comprising mostly The Move classics on tour. Bates left in July 2007 to re-join ELO Part II, by then renamed to The Orchestra. Bevan was then joined by former Move guitarist Trevor Burton.

Bevan appeared on Paul Weller's 2010 album Wake Up The Nation and played drums on two songs: "Moonshine" and "Wake Up The Nation". Weller told him that he was his second choice; his first choice would have been Keith Moon.[10]

Bevan currently presents a radio show on BBC Radio West Midlands on Sunday afternoons. He also reviews records for the Midlands' Sunday Mercury and has a blog on their website.[11] It was announced at the Best of Broad Street Awards on 17 January 2011 that Bevan would be honoured with a star on the Birmingham Walk of Stars.[12]

Bevan is also a patron of The Dorridge Music School (Knowle). In 2012, Bevan narrated the audiobook version of Tony Iommi's biography Iron Man – My Journey Through Heaven and Hell.[13] Bevan's 2014 calendar contained no fewer than 102 gigs in 11 months,[14] some of which formed the final gigs for The Move, before Bevan and Burton went their separate ways again.

Since 2017, The Bev Bevan Band has played gigs with Bev's former school mate Jasper Carrott under the name Stand up and Rock. [15]

Personal life

Bevan lives with his wife, Valerie, and their son, Adrian. He is a follower of Wolverhampton Wanderers FC.[16][17]

Bibliography

• Bevan, Bev (1980). Pearce, Garth (ed.). The Electric Light Orchestra Story. Mushroom Books. ISBN 0-907394-01-9.

References

1. "Breaking New: Former ELO and Black Sabbath Man ANnounces a Move to New Band With a Zing". Metaltalk.net. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
2. "Drummer BEV BEVAN's BLACK SABBATH Diaries". Blabbermouth.net. 19 November 2008. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
3. "Bev Bevan | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
4. "Inductees: Electric Light Orchestra (ELO)". Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
5. Strong, Martin C. (2000). The Great Rock Discography (5th ed.). Edinburgh: Mojo Books. pp. 673–75. ISBN 1-84195-017-3.
6. Greenwell, Ken. "Move Remaster Series – Looking On – Tracklisting". Ftmusic.com.
7. Tommy Vance's Friday Rock Show, BBC Radio 1, 28 June 1992, transcribed in Sabbath fanzine Southern Cross #14, October 1994, p40
8. Sharpe-Young, Garry. "MusicMight :: Artists :: BLACK SABBATH". MusicMight. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
9. "Move drummer Bev Bevan has joined forces with some old friends to form the Bev Bevan Band". Archived from the original on 3 May 2004. Retrieved 19 February 2004.
10. "Interview: Bev Bevan (The Move, ELO, Black Sabbath)". Hit-channel.com. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
11. "Blogs.sundaymercury.net". Blogs.sundaymercury.net. Archived from the original on 4 October 2011. Retrieved 2 October 2011.
12. "Top drummer Bev Bevan on Birmingham Walk of Stars". BBC Online. 18 January 2011. Retrieved 20 January 2011.
13. "Iron Man Book | The Official Tony Iommi website". Iommi.com. 1 November 2011. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
14. Cole, Paul (3 February 2014). "'I'll be beat after 102 gigs in 11 months' – Rock legend Bev Bevan". Birmingham Mail.
15. "Review: Jasper Carrott's Stand Up And Rock The Place, Telford | Jasper Carrott The Official Website". Jaspercarrott.com. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
16. Bevan, Bev (4 June 2009), "Tony Iommi, the Troggs, the Wolves and Batley Variety Club", Sunday Mercury, Birmingham, archived from the original on 24 July 2011
17. "BOING: The rich and famous celebrities who support West Bromwich Albion FC". Baggies.com. 12 June 2005. Archived from the original on 28 September 2011. Retrieved 2 October 2011.