Mark Brzezicki
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Mark Brzezicki | |
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| Birth name | Mark Michael Brzezicki |
| Born | 21 June 1957 |
| Origin | Slough, Berkshire, England |
| Genres | Rock |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instrument(s) | drums |
| Years active | 1981–present |
| Labels | Phonogram Records, Track-BCR Records |
| Website | Big Country official website |
Mark Michael Brzezicki (born 21 June 1957, Slough, Berkshire, England) is a rock drummer, who is primarily known for his work with Big Country, and was a member of the groups The Cult, Ultravox, From The Jam and Procol Harum. He has also played with Pete Townshend, Roger Daltrey, The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown, Midge Ure, Fish, The Pretenders, Nik Kershaw and many others. He was also the drummer on Shine, the second and final English language album by Frida of ABBA. He uses both the traditional and matched grips.
Brzezicki is the son of a Polish war veteran and an English mother. Brzezicki left Big Country in July 1989, but rejoined in 1993. Together with bassist Tony Butler and guitarist Bruce Watson, Big Country started gigging again in 2007, as part of their 25th anniversary tour.
In 2004, Brzezicki helped found a new band, Casbah Club, with Bruce Foxton and Simon Townshend.
His surname is pronounced "bruh-zickee" in English and [bʐɛˈʑit͡ski] in Polish. Smash Hits had a running gag in the 1980s wherein they referred to him as "Mark Unpronounceablename of Big Country".[1] On Pete Townshend's All the Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes and White City: A Novel albums, there are joking references to the spelling of his last name.
His brother Steve is a session bassist with whom he frequently collaborates.
On 10 October 2009, Mark Brzezicki re-joined The Cult onstage at the Royal Albert Hall, London. He joined original members Ian Astbury, Billy Duffy and Jamie Stewart, with whom he had recorded their Love (1985) album, to perform "The Phoenix" and "She Sells Sanctuary" as a second and final encore to a live performance of Love.
Brzezicki is currently drumming in the reformed Thunderclap Newman line up. He was drummer of From The Jam from 2009 until 2013 alongside original The Jam member Bruce Foxton. In 2013, he quit to rejoin Big Country. in 2016 he played on all but one track on Bruce Foxton's album Smash the Clock.[citation needed]
See also
References
- ^ "Smash Hits - the Magazine - Edited Entry". Bbc.co.uk. 30 January 2007. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
External links
- Official Myspace page
- Mark Brzezicki on Facebook
- Bio and credits at allmusic.com
- Short bio page from Drummerworld
- Brzezicki at Discogs
- Official Big Country website
- Beyond the Pale (a semi-official Procol Harum website)
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