Dale Griffin, British drummer, Died at 67

  Music

Terence Dale “Buffin” Griffin was born on October 24, 1948, in Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire and died on January 17, 2016.

He was an English drummer and founding member of 1970s rock band, Mott the Hoople.

He attended Ross-on-Wye Grammar School.

Dale played in local bands with future fellow Mott the Hoople member Overend Watts and it was during this time he gained the nickname “Buffin”.

The bands during at that time included the Silence and the Charles Kingsley Creation.

He appeared on two singles in 1966 by Yemm and the Yemen.

During the year 1966, again with Watts and also with Mick Ralphs, Griffin played in the Doc Thomas Group.

Thriving in Italy, the group performed until the summer of 1968 when further changes of band personnel took place.

Organ-player Verden Allen was added and the group changed its name to the Shakedown Sound and then to Silence.

They moved to London and with the addition of Ian Hunter, in 1969, in June 1969 Mott The Hoople were formed.

Later after the withdrawal of Ian Hunter and Mick Ronson, Griffin, along with Overend Watts and Morgan Fisher formed Mott with guitarist Ray Major and vocalist Nigel Benjamin.

Next followed the departure of Benjamin in 1976 the remaining members regrouped as British Lions, with former Medicine Head member and songwriter John Fiddler, until their demise around 1978.

Griffin produced albums for Hanoi Rocks and The Cult in the 80’s, and the Department S hit, ‘Is Vic There?’, among others (such as New Model Army).

He also produced numerous BBC Radio 1 John Peel sessions from 1981 to 1994. These included:The first professional, recording session for Pulp in 1981, A session by the Smashing Pumpkins that included the track, “Girl Called Sandoz”, which was featured on Pisces Iscariot (in the liner notes, Billy Corgan referred to Griffin as ‘Mott The Nipple’), An early session for Nirvana, which appeared on their Incesticide collection, a session for Carcass in 1989, a session for Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark in 1983.

Dale Griffin passed away at 67 yrs old due to Alzheimers.