Paul Hammond

Paul Hammond (1952–1992) was an English rock drummer who was a member of the progressive rock band Atomic Rooster and the hard rock band Hard Stuff during the 1970s.

Career Born in Marlow, Buckinghamshire, Hammond began playing drums aged 12, and joined his first band, The Farm, after winning a competition in the Melody Maker music newspaper.

When Atomic Rooster drummer Carl Palmer left the group to form Emerson, Lake & Palmer in the summer of 1970, he was replaced briefly by Ric Parnell before Hammond was recruited as a permanent replacement in August, joining vocalist / guitarist John Cann and keyboard player Vincent Crane. The band subsequently recorded the Death Walks Behind You album in September of that year, followed by the hit singles "Tomorrow Night" and "Devil's Answer". After the recording of In Hearing of Atomic Rooster in the summer of 1971, Hammond left the band after Cann was fired by Crane. and in 1980 he rejoined Atomic Rooster, which now once again consisted of Hammond, Du Cann and Crane. After Du Cann had left again, and the band recorded the unsuccessful Headline News album in 1983, they disbanded for good.

Hammond died in 1992 or 1993 in London from an accidental drug overdose,

Discography

Atomic Rooster Death Walks Behind You (1970) In Hearing of Atomic Rooster (1971) Headline News (1983)

Hard Stuff Bulletproof (1972) Bolex Dementia (1973)

John Du Cann The World's Not Big Enough (1977, released 1992)