Ginger Baker - Drummer - Cream - 1980

(Credits: Far Out / Alamy)

Sun 11 May 2025 23:00, UK

You don’t get many more drums as iconic as Ginger Baker. He first made a name for himself in the band Cream, where his contribution to the blues-infused and psychedelic rhythm ingrained within the band cemented them as one of the most innovative voices in rock throughout the ‘60s. The majority of bands that created something which pushed the boundaries of sound and genre afterwards were all inspired by Cream in some way. 

One of those artists was Geddy Lee, who learnt a lot from the band and constantly used their influence to create his own music. The result is that Rush is championed as one of the best power trios in music, and it all stems from Cream. 

“Cream sort of changed my life,” he said when discussing his early influences. “They blew my mind and I remember they were coming to Toronto. I couldn’t get any of my friends interested to go see them; they were playing at Massey Hall, and I went down and bought a ticket, and I went by myself.”

He continued, “I just had to see them, they were such an important band to me. Jack Bruce’s bass playing was just out of this world. Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker, I mean they were the ultimate trio. The most influential band in my entire career in many ways.”

Lee’s comments resonate throughout the music industry as the band have continued to influence musicians across the board. Because of their stature as musicians, it’s no surprise that Ginger Baker has been asked to play drums for a number of other bands. He had stints in the likes of Blind Faith, Baker Gurvitz Army and Atomic Rooster.

His time with each band was volatile and varied in length, but he was always passionate about the music. That can’t be said for the one band he called “appalling.” He played with them for a short period, and while they are considered psychedelic icons by many different music lovers, Baker wasn’t convinced, as he said the music was rubbish and the members cared more about their appearance than the sound. The band he was talking about was Hawkwind, and it’s a period in his life that Baker would rather forget than dwell on. 

“That was the biggest joke in history,” he said. “I needed the money, and that was the only reason. Sadly I never saw what was offered, because they didn’t have any money. Hawkwind were more interested in their stage appearance and their lighting than their actual music – and their music was fucking appalling. Atrocious. I hated it all. Thank Christ I wasn’t with them very long.”

The issue of rock bands becoming style icons was that there were a number of different musical outfits that cared much more about how they looked rather than how they sounded. Hawkwind weren’t on their own in this regard, as entire genres were formed around bands who went through more hairspray than they did guitar picks. The beauty of music is its subjectivity; however, the reliance on image wasn’t something that Ginger Baker was very impressed with. 

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