The Ride Cymbal

Ask Katy

This question is for Roger – obviously. Roger, during the early years of Duran up until you departed in the mid 80’s you had a distinctive drumming style, in that you only ever used your hi hats and didn’t use any Ride Cymbals. Can you elaborate on how this style developed, why didn’t you use a ride cymbal? And then when you returned to the band you have overcome your fear of the Ride Cymbal – why the change in your style? Rob from Sydney Australia

"Hi Rob, yes very observant of you! Ride cymbals were generally regarded as a bit 'naff' during the early eighties , it was all about those 'Chic Corporation' clean funky hi-hats and, in fact, some artists like Peter Gabriel completely did away with all types of cymbals at one point including crash and hi-hats. The ride cymbal did have a comeback of sorts in the early 90's with the advent of the 'grunge' movement, particularly noticeable on Nirvana's 'Lithium'. It also sneaked into the Duran sound on THE WEDDING ALBUM.. thus when the re-union happened I wanted to faithfully re-create the studio playing on songs like "Ordinary World," which quite prominently featured a ride cymbal...so there you have it ..TahTah! RTx