Biography
Born on 4 May 1930 in Hounslow, Middlesex, England, and passing away on 15 October 2004, Bill Eyden launched his drumming career inside an Army Cadet Corps ensemble. From there he moved into semi-professional dance and jazz outfits around his hometown, where his skills quickly drew attention. Engagements followed with leading dance orchestras fronted by Roy Fox and Harry Roy, after which he joined forces with the Ivor Kirchin band. Even while handling these mainstream jobs, Eyden’s heart remained with jazz, particularly bop, and he settled into the resident rhythm section at London’s Studio 51, where he collaborated with Tubby Hayes. In 1957 he became part of the Jazz Couriers, the acclaimed co-operative formed by Hayes and Ronnie Scott; he also spent periods inside Hayes’s own quintet. At the same time, Eyden found steady work across R&B, rock and pop circles, backing Long John Baldry, Wee Willie Harris and Alexis Korner, and serving for several years as a member of Georgie Fame’s Blue Flames. He further became a fixture at Ronnie Scott’s club, performing in the house band alongside Stan Tracey. Studio sessions also kept him busy, and in 1967 he was called to a Procol Harum date after the producer rejected the regular drummer’s work on the track that would become the group’s landmark hit, “A Whiter Shade Of Pale”; Eyden completed the job for a flat fee.
Through the late 1960s and into the 1970s he held drum chairs in the pit orchestras of West End productions such as Promises, Promises and Bubbling Brown Sugar. He continued to maintain jazz and rock ties, performing with the Bebop Preservation Society and Spike Robinson, and he served as one of three drummers in Charlie Watts’s thirty-odd-piece big band, appearing on recordings and touring both the UK and the USA. In addition to his playing, Eyden maintained an active teaching practice.
Through the late 1960s and into the 1970s he held drum chairs in the pit orchestras of West End productions such as Promises, Promises and Bubbling Brown Sugar. He continued to maintain jazz and rock ties, performing with the Bebop Preservation Society and Spike Robinson, and he served as one of three drummers in Charlie Watts’s thirty-odd-piece big band, appearing on recordings and touring both the UK and the USA. In addition to his playing, Eyden maintained an active teaching practice.