Rick Philpott
Initially Rick was self-taught and at the age of 17 joined the rock band Mortal Disguise. Appearing regularly in Melody Maker, the band played many festivals supporting bands such as Saxon. In his 20's Rick had lessons with drummer and teacher Freddie Wells along with others such as Gilson Lavis of Jules Holland's Big Band and Squeeze fame and then attended Drumtech in Acton for some master classes from some of his heroes. He went on to play with the Celtic rock band Splitting Rocks for 25 years.
Rick has also played in various big bands with people such as Chris Smith, big band arranger for the National Youth Jazz Orchestra and Herb Miller (Glen's brother) regularly playing prestigious venues such as The Hilton, The Savoy and The Grosvenor Hotel. From this the band 5 Star Swing was formed touring theatres with their Swing and Sinatra shows, often with Sinatra musicians guesting. Recently Rick has been a regular with American-style jump jive band Skyliner specialising in authentic 1940's dance music. This band featured sax player Clive Hitchcock famed for his session work with big names such as Tina Turner and Phil Collins and his time spent in musicals such as 42nd Street, Evita and Cats to name just a few.
Rick brings a wealth of experience with him and is a valued member of The Blues Express