Nottingham Evening Post Interview - The Drifters

Interview: The Drifters
Friday, September 05, 2008,
Steve Haines

IN the history of music, few bands have been as changeable as The Drifters, with more than 60 official members and a number of unofficial band line-ups in the 55 years since they were first formed. They are best remembered for their golden ages from the mid 50s to the early 60s when Clyde McPhatter and Ben E. King were, in turn, principal members. It was during this period they produced the soul classics Save The Last Dance For Me, Up On The Roof, Under The Boardwalk and Kissin' In The Back Row Of The Movies.

"We're carrying on the traditions of the earlier members," says current Drifter Michael Williams. "We've taken the baton. The Drifters name will always be there and we've just taken on the mantle." The name most synonymous with The Drifters was and is Treadwell. George, a man who never sang with the group, took on management of the Drifters following Clyde McPhatter's departure and his wife Faye shaped their ongoing existence.

The current incarnation is managed by daughter Tina Treadwell. After a brief plateau of success, the band had over three decades in the wilderness, relocating to the UK at the turn of the 70s. "I think that Faye just wanted a new challenge," says Williams. "The English public had always had a lot of love for The Drifters. Many of the original hits were recorded in the UK and there's always been a great rapport between the fans and the band and Faye just wanted to go where the fans were."

After another period of upheaval since the turn of the century, a protracted court case saw Tina Treadwell, a former Disney executive who nurtured the likes of Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake, take back full control of the Drifters name. "The Treadwell connection is vitally important. It lets people see who the real Drifters are. "It also helps us really feel like Drifters.

"Faye and Tina have hand picked all of us. I was spotted singing in a club in New York. Maurice Cannon was spotted in a club having been in the military, Steve was doing jazz and Damien, who's actually English, was found singing in a church choir. "Those girls know how to pick Drifters, that's for sure!"

With uncertainty now behind them, 2008 sees the first new Drifters studio recording in more than 30 years. 5 Decades And Moore is a covers album celebrating great songs. It's dedicated to Johnny Moore, the longest-serving Drifter, who died in 1998. While the music is modern, Williams says they've retained a Drifters feel: "We've got some great songs from the last 50 years. We cover the likes of Prince, Elton John and U2, but it was recorded in the old-school style with all of us around one microphone to keep the Drifters sound." While the new album is more recent songs, Williams is in no doubt of the lasting legacy of The Drifters.

"The legacy has to be the songs. When we perform them live, the crowd just love them so much and when we play them, we feel a sense of history. The response is so great - and it's all there in those songs." Three of the current Drifters are from the US, so do they feel homesick?
"No. On this run, there's over 80 dates and then we head home for Christmas, but how can it be hard with this music? "When we step on the stage and start playing these songs, the crowd make us feel that we're home anyway."

For ticket details call 0115 989 5555.

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