- Ray Cooper
Ray Cooper (born
19 August 1942 inWatford ,Hertfordshire ) is an Englishmusician . He is a session and road-tourpercussionist who has worked withPink Floyd , Sting,George Harrison ,Eric Clapton , andElton John .Biography
Ray Cooper's recording career started in the 1960s, recording with
The Who , among others, and is still going. Among his early jobs were America,Carly Simon ,David Essex ,Blue Mink . Most notable was his work withElton John , for whom he played on most of his 1970s albums. He had also played onNicky Hopkins ' 1973 solo album.Cooper got his short stint with
The Rolling Stones playing percussion for their 1974 "It's Only Rock'n Roll " album.Later in that decade he recorded with George Harrison,
Bryan Ferry , Wings andArt Garfunkel among others. Since then he has recorded withPaul McCartney and Elton John again,Ringo Starr ,Eric Clapton ,Pink Floyd ,Roger Waters ,The Traveling Wilburys andRavi Shankar among others.In the late 1970s Cooper toured with Elton John as a duo in which Elton would play a solo set and then be joined by Cooper on percussion for the second half. The tour included some concerts in Russia (1979), and in the course of the tour Cooper became a favorite with Elton John fans for his expressive energy and intuitive accompaniment. Fans showed up with signs for Cooper at some concerts. The success of the "Solo" tour with Elton John was repeated in the mid-90s when he and Elton John brought their two man show to a new generation in the United States.
His relationship with the Rolling Stones continued into the 1980s. In 1981, Cooper contributed to
Bill Wyman 's third solo album. In 1983, he participated in a short tour for theRonnie Lane ARMS charity along with Eric Clapton,Jimmy Page ,Jeff Beck and other stars (including Bill Wyman andCharlie Watts ). Cooper showed up on Christine McVie's self-titled solo album in 1984. In 1985, Cooper appeared on bothMick Jagger 's "She's the Boss" album and Bill Wyman's Willie and the Poor Boys project. In 1997, he was again teamed up with Wyman for "Struttin' Our Stuff".Notable is his percussion playing in the 1992 Eric Clapton "Unplugged" performance as well as playing in the 2002
Concert for George , a tribute to deceased former Beatle George Harrison (he also served as a producer of the film). In 1997 he performed at theMusic for Montserrat concert and can be seen in the DVD of the event. He also contributed to the tribute concert forJim Capaldi in January 2007.He has also worked in
film s, producing and performing music in several ofTerry Gilliam 's productions, and playing small roles such as playing the preacher in the feature film "Popeye" (1980) starringRobin Williams andShelley Duvall , and the technician who swats the beetle at the beginning ofTerry Gilliam 's 1985 film Brazil.He also worked on
Katie Melua 's album "Pictures"(2007).The role of
Albert Arthur Moxey in the hit television series "Auf Wiedersehen Pet " was written for Cooper by friendsDick Clement andIan La Frenais , with the character originally being conceived as an Irishman, after Cooper expressed an interest in becoming an actor. The role was however given toChristopher Fairbank , who opted to play him as ascouser , due to Cooper being unable to make it to the audition. The character of Moxey was given only limited lines and screentime in the first series of "Pet" due to Cooper's acting inexperience.Fact|date=August 2007External links
*imdb name|0178318
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