Pick of the Week sometimes just makes you go, 'Wow!', assuming you are me. Last night I only caught a few minutes, but they included an interview with Clem Cattini. He drummed on some number ones over the years, including Rolf Harris's Two Little Boys, Bennie Hill's Ernie (the Fastest Milkman in the West). Clive Dunn's Grandad, Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep by Middle of the Road and Whispering Grass, sung by Windsor Davies and Don Estelle off of It Ain't Half Hot Mum.
So what? Novelty records need drummers, even if they are longlasting enough to still be drumming when it's time for the Peter Kay version of Amarillo. So, I repeat, what?
Well, he was also the drummer for Tom Jones's It's Not Unusual and The Green, Green Grass of Home and I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing by The New Seekers. And Make it Easy on Yourself and The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Any More by The Walker Brothers, and You Don't Have to Say You Love Me by Dusty Springfield. And Something in the Air by Thunderclap Newman (one of those songs you definitely know even if you couldn't have named it) and, and this is my favourite one on the list, Kung Fu Fighting.
This is literally not the half of it. He has drummed on 45 number ones. You can do that kind of thing as a session musician, I suppose, but Clem also, by the way, in addition, was one of Les Tornados, who released Telstar, which was the first song by an English band to reach No.1 in the States. I've just listened to about ten versions, most of which are great but none of which are as good as Les Tornedos.
The version on this video is not great, but it was the last time Les Tornados played live, assuming we can believe YouTube (I would check it elsewhere, basically) and you get to see some drumming from The Cat if you watch for a bit.
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