Ray Cooper: Just standing in the shadows...

Ray Cooper.

My wife first noticed him during an old Elton John concert from the mid nineties, showing on the Sky Arts channel. A short, middle aged guy, shaven head, sunglasses, he was standing at the back of the stage nonchalantly rattling a tambourine. Didn't seem to be doing that much, to be honest.

Then a couple of weeks later we were watching another concert - a tribute to George Harrison from 2002 - and there he was a again. Heavy sunglasses, shaven head, back of the stage, standing in the shadows doing his thing. Every concert we seemed to watch, the man was there and he was so distinctive, it was impossible to miss him.

But who the hell was he?

Eric Clapton - '24 Nights' - 1991

And, of course, now that we'd noticed him, he kept cropping up everywhere. Didn't seem to matter who the artist performing was, the guy with the tambourine was there, rocking away at the back of the stage. And he never seemed to get a credit. The band would take a bow and the mystery man would disappear.

Last night I was watching an Eric Clapton  concert '24 Nights', a series of concerts from the Albert Hall in 1991, and blow me, there he was again, at the back of the stage. And he was doing much more than just tapping a tambourine. So, this time I waited for the credits to roll and found out who he was. 

His name is Ray Cooper, and he does much more than bang a tambourine. Much more. Born 19 September 1945, in Watford, Hertfordshire, he is a session and road-tour percussionist and occasional actor, who has worked with many of the great and good of the rock world, including Eric Clapton, AC/DC, Weezer, and most notably, Elton John, with whom he has played on every album.

His career started in the early sixties, recording with The Who and The Rolling Stones, notably playing percussion on the Stones 1974 It's Only Rock'n Roll album. He recorded with George Harrison, Wings and Art Garfunkel in the early seventies before moving on to record with Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton, Mark Knopfler, Roger Waters, The Traveling Wilburys, Maynard Ferguson and Ravi Shankar among others.

Elton John and Ray Cooper - 1993.

In the late seventies 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 of the concert. The tour included concerts in Russia (1979), and in the course of the tour Cooper became a massive favorite with Elton John fans for his expressive energy and his incredible drum work.

The success of the "Solo" tour was repeated in 1993-1994 when he and Elton brought their two man show to a new generation in the United States. More recently, Cooper reunited with Elton John in the autumn of 2009, with a series of shows in France and Italy

Ray Cooper's relationship with the Rolling Stones continued into the eighties. In 1981, he contributed to Bill Wyman's third solo album. In 1983, he participated in a short tour for the Ronnie Lane ARMS Charity Concert along with Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck and other stars (including Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts). In 1985, Cooper appeared on both Mick Jagger's She's the Boss album and Bill Wyman's Willie & The Poor Boy.

Popeye - 1980

He has also worked in films, playing small roles such as the preacher in Robert Altman's feature film Popeye (1980) starring Robin Williams and Shelley Duvall. Cooper produced and performed music in several of Terry Gilliam's productions, appearing on-screen in quirky roles like the technician who swats the beetle at the beginning of Gilliam's 1985 film Brazil and as the functionary whispering in the ear of Jonathan Pryce's Horatio Jackson character in 1989's The Adventures of Baron Munchausen.

In the 1995 'Evening With Elton John and Ray Cooper' tours the two men performed in Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Venezuela and Costa Rica, Elton would perform a setlist of songs by himself and his piano, and would then be joined by Cooper on percussion and drums for the second half of the show.

When touring with Eric Clapton, the band would play 'Sunshine of your Love', which would then flow into a short one-minute drum solo by Steve Farrone (drummer for Clapton's band currently), then into the now famous 7-minute percussion solo by Ray Cooper on the tambourine, congas, and gong.

Ray Cooper - 2010.

In the middle of the solo Cooper would lead the audience into a chant lasting about a minute, then finish the solo by breaking the giant gong after hitting it 10 times.

Which wasn't a bad way to finish a concert.

So, if you notice a bald guy wearing heavy sunglasses, standing at the back of the stage, you'll know who it is. It's Ray Cooper, a rock star who stands in the shadows.

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