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RobbieFrance.com is the place where I, Robbie France, can write about the various projects I’m involved in now, and provide little snippets of history from my career.

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Video - Diamond Head Canterbury Tour Intro

Posted by Robbie | Posted in Music | Posted on 17-11-2008

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Just posted a video on the Robbie France YouTube Channel.

It’s from the 1984 Canterbury Tour I did with Diamond Head. In particular, it’s from the gig we did in Leicester. Here’s a bit of background:

I think Sean & Brian liked the fact they had good players in the band. They relished the fact that no matter what they threw at us, we came up with the goods. This intro… predominantly 7/4, was something we threw together at the rehearsal studio. Once I’d moved to Stourbridge and was determined to make a real go of the situation, Sean & Brian seemed to really trust me with ideas and were less wary in general about experimenting.

So a couple of quick blasts. Then the same with a few long tom rolls. These were the things I loved about Billy Cobham as a kid. Those rolls which just seemed to have no ‘timing’, but a beautiful descending note. (I do the same in the Robbie France Drum Tutorial Video Part 2. At the end of the middle part, to reintroduce the build up melody.)

Then 7/4 melody over 4/4 drums. Back to 7/4 with the band. A couple of fills, a nod of the head to Billy Cobham & Lenny White…And back to a straight 4/4 a ‘Highway Star’ type snare thing, a quick bash and there yas go! Intro. Simple.

LINKS:

Video - Diamond Head - Drum Solo from Heaven From Hell

Posted by Robbie | Posted in Music | Posted on 14-11-2008

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This solo is from the Diamond Head University Tour 1984, recorded at Leicester, taken from ‘Heaven From Hell’.

A bit of background:

Sean & Brian were well aware that I could `play a bit’…it was Sean’s idea to do the drum solo half way through the set. One of our most popular tracks was ‘Heaven From Hell’, that’s where we chose to introduce the fans to my style of playing.

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Want to know more about Robbie France?

Posted by Robbie | Posted in General | Posted on 13-11-2008

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Most of you who are here, I hope, already know me, or know something about me. Perhaps you listen to my Radio Shows, or have attended one of my Drum Clinics around the world, or even been to see me play live in one of the bands I played for way back when.

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Article Posted on Robbie on the Radio - Around the World in 80 Seconds

Posted by Robbie | Posted in Music | Posted on 12-11-2008

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Hi,

you may know, you may not, that I have another blog out here on t’internet - Robbie on the Radio.

Anyway, from time to time I post articles on there with opinions about the state of the music industry. Some of these articles are picked up and published elsewhere, like in the local Beachcomber Magazine based here in Spain.

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My Music - The Gab - Stan’s Journey

Posted by Robbie | Posted in Music | Posted on 31-10-2008

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Here’s the last of our sample tracks from The Gab. This one’s called Stan’s Journey. The full track runs for 10 minutes.

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My Music - The Gab - Trilok

Posted by Robbie | Posted in Music | Posted on 31-10-2008

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Time for another sample of a track from The Gab. This one’s called Trilok.

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My Music - The Gab - Slaughterhouse 12 to 5

Posted by Robbie | Posted in Music | Posted on 30-10-2008

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Here’s another sample of a track from The Gab. This one’s called Slaughterhouse 12 to 5. The full track runs for 14 minutes!

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My Music - The Gab - Half Moon Bay

Posted by Robbie | Posted in Music | Posted on 29-10-2008

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Hi There!

A special treat today: we’ve been through the archives and found some tracks from a project I worked on a few years ago - a band called The Gab.

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Ellis Beggs and Howard Videos Uploaded to YouTube - Big Bubbles No Troubles

Posted by Robbie | Posted in Music | Posted on 28-10-2008

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Here’s another Ellis Beggs and Howard video clip from the Robbie France Archives.

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Ellis Beggs and Howard Videos Uploaded to YouTube - Homelands

Posted by admin | Posted in Music | Posted on 28-10-2008

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After seeing the quality of some of the Ellis Beggs and Howard videos on YouTube, we had a dig around in the Robbie France Archives and thought we’d give it a go ourselves. Here’s the first offering (see if you can spot me in the background).

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