Footnotes

Provenance:
Offered by Mark Brzezicki.

Mark Brzezicki is a respected and prolific drummer, who first found fame with the band Big Country in the 1980's. However, his career spans several decades and reads like a who's who in the music industry.

In the late 1970's and 80's, Mark had already established himself in London as a session drummer as part of a rhythm section with bassist Tony Butler known as "Rhythm for Hire". They were both already working and recording with Pete Townshend's solo album Empty Glass. It was through this connection that in 1981 Mark and Tony were asked to perform with Pete Townshend at the Right to Work concert at Brockwell Park, London. After the concert, Mark and Tony were approached by the manger of a new band looking for a rhythm section to complete their line-up. The record company Phonogram needed a strong rhythm section to secure a major record deal. The newly minted band and record company were delighted with the line-up, and a record contract was duly signed between Phonogram and the new band members of Big Country.

Big Country had great success in the UK, including four top 10 hits and eight top 20 hits. Their debut album The Crossing reached number 3 in the UK charts, and peaked at number 18 in the USA Billboard charts. In 1983 the band had a hit single in the US with 'In A Big Country', receiving two Grammy® nominations for Best New Artist, and Best Rock Performance by a Duo of Group with Vocal. In 1984 their album Steeltown reached number 1 in the UK.

Mark Brzezicki was the house drummer for the Prince's Trust All Star Band from 1987 to 2007. In 1986, he performed with Big Country at the Prince's Trust Rock Gala concert. Mark's session work had already gained momentum and got him noticed, when in 1987 Midge Ure asked Mark to be the house drummer for the All Star Band, alongside Phil Collins. In 1988, Mark was asked to perform at Wembley Stadium for the Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute, which was broadcast in 67 countries to an audience of 600 million.

After 40 years in the music industry, Mark has performed with a vast number of notable artists including Pete Townshend, Roger Daltrey, Eric Clapton, Ringo Starr, George Harrison, Elton John, Phil Collins, Peter Gabriel, the Bee Gees, Ben E King, and many more. Mark is as busy as ever performing with Big Country, and recording new material for artists around the globe.

Please contact the department for more images of Mark using this kit at the Prince's Trust.