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Pick Withers | |
|---|---|
 Withers performing with Dire Straits in 1978 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | David Withers |
| Also known as | Pick Withers, Pique Withers, Pic Withers |
| Born | (1948-04-04)4 April 1948 (age 76) Leicester, England |
| Genres | Roots rock,folk rock,pub rock,R&B |
| Occupation(s) | Musician,producer |
| Instrument | Drums |
| Years active | 1964–present |
David "Pick" Withers (born 4 April 1948) is an English drummer. He was the original drummer of the rock bandDire Straits and played on their first four albums, which included hit singles such as "Sultans of Swing", "Romeo and Juliet" and "Private Investigations".[1] Withers was inducted into theRock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Dire Straits in 2018.[2][3]
Taught by childhood friend Richard Storer, Withers first played a drum in theBoys' Brigade in his home city of Leicester.[4] He became a professional musician at the age of 17, in an Italian band calledThe Primitives. This was followed by a band calledSpring who had a record contract but little success; they released one album on theRCA label. In the mid-1970s Withers was a house drummer atRockfield Studios nearMonmouth, Wales. He played on records byDave Edmunds,Michael Chapman, Hobo, theJohn Dummer Band and theGary Fletcher Band, amongst others.[5]
His nickname has been subject to some variations in spelling. During his time with Spring, he was billed as "Pique Withers". He is billed as "Pic Withers" on the secondBrewers Droop album.
Withers has also studied atDrumtech drum school in London.
He metMark Knopflerc. 1976 in North London. Knopfler called around to the house Withers was living in to borrowSimon Cowe's reel-to-reel tape recorder, and recorded some music with Withers that same day.[6] Withers was briefly a member of folk-rock outfitMagna Carta in 1977, but once Dire Straits gained a recording contract, turned to drumming for that band full-time.
His style with Dire Straits is distinctive for being restrained, favouring sparsesnare drum andhi-hat combinations rather than heavy beats, speed and technical flourishes. He played on the Dire Straits albumsDire Straits (1978),Communiqué (1979),Making Movies (1980) andLove Over Gold (1982).
Withers left Dire Straits in the summer of 1982, soon after completing theLove Over Gold sessions. In a 2021 interview in which he was asked why he left, Withers said that the band was becoming too loud, he was tired of the treadmill, and he wanted to try new things.[7] His replacement in Dire Straits wasTerry Williams, who like Withers had been a Dave Edmundssideman.
In 2021, Withers re-surfaced with a newrhythm and blues band called 'Slim Pickin's',[8] later renamed 'Pick's Pocket'.[9]
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