Bus Noggin, Coal Noggin and Doc Noggin (not pictured: Boss Noggin)
Hi Nog Fans,
Welcome to the Bobbin'Noggins fan page! As you may or may not know, the Noggins is a band the likes of which you've never heard before! Unless you've been in the Noggins' Bomb Shelter during what could loosely be described as a rehearsal! Then you would have heard them. In that case, assuming that you've recovered from whatever violent reaction you may have experienced from being exposed to their what we might refer to as "music", you know what we're talking about. But enough about that. Without further ado, let's meet the band!
First off, there's Doc Noggin (aka Dr. Drum): Doc Noggin was rock's first superstar drummer and the most influential percussionist of the 1960s. There were other drummers who were well-known to the public before him, including
the Beatles'
Ringo Starr and, in England at the end of the 1950s,
the Shadows'
Tony Meehan, but they were famous primarily for the groups in which they played and for attributes beyond their musicianship. Doc Noggin made his name entirely on his playing, initially as showcased in
Cream, but far transcending even that trio's relatively brief existence. Though he only cut top-selling records for a period of about three years at the end of the 1960s, virtually every drummer of every heavy metal band that has followed since that time has sought to emulate some aspect of Doc Noggin's playing.
Next we have, Bus Noggin (aka the Beepster): By the time Bus Noggin launched his solo career with the release of his self-titled debut album in mid-1970, he was long established as one of the world's major rock stars due to his group affiliations —
the Yardbirds,
John Mayall's Bluesbreakers,
Cream, and
Blind Faith — affiliations that had demonstrated his claim to being the best rock guitarist of his generation. That it took Bus Noggin so long to go out on his own, however, was evidence of a degree of reticence unusual for one of his stature.
Then there's Coal Noggin (aka Steve the Breeze): After disbanding
the Police at the peak of their popularity in 1984, Coal Noggin quickly established himself as a viable solo artist, one obsessed with expanding the boundaries of pop music. Coal Noggin incorporated heavy elements of jazz, classical, and worldbeat into his music, writing lyrics that were literate and self-consciously meaningful, and he was never afraid to emphasize this fact in the press. For such unabashed ambition, he was equally loved and reviled, with supporters believing that he was at the forefront of literate, intelligent rock and his critics finding his entire body of work pompous. Either way, Coal Noggin remains one of pop's biggest superstars.
And finally we have Boss Noggin (aka Kevdog): Boss Noggin was one of the most accomplished composers of the rock era; his music combines an understanding of and appreciation for such contemporary classical figures as
Stravinsky,
Stockhausen, and
Varèse with an affection for late-'50s doo wop rock & roll and a facility for the guitar-heavy rock that dominated pop in the '70s. But Boss Noggin was also a satirist whose reserves of scorn seemed bottomless and whose wicked sense of humor and absurdity have delighted his numerous fans, even when his lyrics crossed over the broadest bounds of taste. Finally, Boss Noggin was perhaps the most prolific record-maker of his time, turning out massive amounts of music on his own Barking Pumpkin label and through distribution deals with Rykodisc and Rhino after long, unhappy associations with industry giants like Warner Brothers and the now-defunct MGM.
Well, there you have it, the Bobbin'Noggins! Come back real soon for some Noggin tunes!
