A tom tom drum owned by ‘Britain’s greatest jazz drummer’ is set for auction after being given away at a bingo hall by the star’s heartbroken mum 50 years ago.
In 1973 the mother of legendary Midlands-born musician Phil Seamen gave the drum to a young boy out of kindness. She lost Phil when he was only 46 in 1972. Her husband also passed away around that time.
Now Phil’s 1950s/60s Trixon floor tom with original skin, the last remaining piece of his drum kit, will be offered in Hansons Auctioneers’ music sale on June 14 with a guide price of £200-£300 (lot 50).
The seller, Glyn Styne, 60, an NHS clerical assistant at Queen’s Hospital, Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire, Glyn and Phil’s home town, said: “Phil was a legendary drummer who even taught the great Ginger Baker. But when I was given the drum at the age of nine I had no idea how special it was, or who it belonged to.
“In 1973 I was nine years old and I’d just had my first drum kit. From the age of four I used to tap out rhythms on anything, even with pencils on cushions! It used to drive my parents crazy.
“On Tuesday nights, I went with my mum to prize bingo at Burton’s Working Men’s Club. We’d noticed a lady who seemed a bit of a loner. She preferred to sit on her own. One evening there were no spare tables so she sat with us.
“There wasn’t much conversation until she saw me tapping rhythms on the table. She told us her son played drums. We had no clue who she was, she just seemed a lovely old lady. I told her I had a drum kit at home and she asked if I had a floor tom-tom. I hadn’t and she offered to give me one.
“Dad went to pick it up from Outwoods Street in Burton, where she lived at the time, and brought it home on the crossbar of his bike. It was in a hard case with labels mentioning Oslo and Frankfurt, two cities it had visited. We were still none the wiser.
“The next Tuesday at bingo the lady sat with us again. She took a brown crumpled paper bag out of her bag and gave it to me. Inside were two small cymbals. She said, ‘You can have these too if you can use them, but if not I’d like to keep them as they have sentimental value’. I couldn’t take them. They were too precious to her.
“Later that evening, the bingo organiser said, ‘Do you know who that lady is? It’s Mrs Seamen. Phil Seamen’s mum’. Mum was amazed but I was too young to know much about him. We discovered the drum was part of a Trixon kit he’d toured with. Over time he’d acquired another kit which he used for practice at home.
“The floor tom was a welcome addition to my President drum kit. I played percussion with Stan Schofield’s Accordion Band. I always kept Phil’s drum as I promised Mrs Seamen I would. It sat in a spare room at my parents’ house for years.
“Over time, its importance began to sink in. I was invited to take it to a book launch of a biography about Phil’s life written by Peter Dawn from Woodville, South Derbyshire. The response was amazing. People were touching the drum, kissing their hand then touching it. Some were getting quite emotional. The penny dropped. I fully understood just how famous and important Phil was. It almost brought me to tears.
“Phil’s mum used to beg my mum not to allow me to go to London to play as this was where her beloved Phil had died. I’ve been told Mrs Seamen was so heartbroken and angry about what happened she threw Phil’s kit in the weekly dust cart collections, apart from the floor tom.
“I realise now just how hard it must have been for her to part with the floor tom but It feels like it was meant to be. Mrs Seamen passed away in 1981. My parents have both passed away, too, and I feel it’s time to sell Phil’s drum to someone who will enjoy owning a piece of jazz music history.
Claire Howell, music memorabilia consultant at Hansons Auctioneers, said: “It’s a story that tugs at the heartstrings. Phil was taken way too early but, thanks to his grief-stricken mother’s random act of kindness, we’re reminded of his talent 50 years after his premature death.
“He was one of Britain’s best bebop drummers and resident drummer at Ronnie Scott’s jazz club from 1964-1968. He played with virtually every major British jazz figure including Tubby Hayes, Kenny Baker, Stan Tracey, Ronnie Scott, Dick Morrissey, Harold McNair, Don Rendell, Victor Feldman, Dizzy Reece, Tony Coe, Tony Lee, and George Chisholm. In later years he also played with blues and rock units led by Alexis Korner and Ginger Baker.
“Ronnie Scott described Phil as ‘Britain’s greatest jazz drummer’. In a forward in Phil Seamen’s biography, The Rolling Stones’ late drummer Charlie Watts said, ‘Phil was my idol, and he influenced a whole new generation of drummers… the best drummer we’ve ever had’.
“This tom tom is a wonderful piece of jazz history. We feel privileged to drum up memories of Phil and his musical talent.”
The drum will be offered in Hansons’ June 14 Music Memorabilia Auction. Catalogue due live May 24.
Catalogue/bidding: www.hansonslive.co.uk or www.the-saleroom.com
To find out more, or to book a free music/film memorabilia valuation, email: [email protected]
