As far as a drummer performances go, there are musicians who project their personalities over a song and those whose playing transforms it and takes to a different plateau. Mike Kellie belonged in the latter category having provided a backbeat and a backbone for such diverse collectives as SPOOKY TOOTH and THE ONLY ONES and left his mark on a few more remarkable projects. He was always eager to deliver new grooves, although at his own pace, but sadly the veteran has just passed away, aged 68.
Listen to the tension and release Mike created for “Better By You, Better Than Me” or “Miles from Nowhere” as well to Kellie’s work on THREE MAN ARMY’s "A Third Of A Lifetime": he didn’t know such thing as being “old guard; he went along with a song and, in the process, became its driver.
I didn’t get to interview Kellie, yet we were in touch. Rest in peace, Mike.
