Ronald Thomas Verrell was an English jazz drummer.
20 Facts About Ronnie Verrell
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Ronnie Verrell played in two of the United Kingdom's "most famous" big bands, the Ted Heath Orchestra and the Syd Lawrence Orchestra.
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Ronnie Verrell worked extensively in television, including as a drummer in Jack Parnell's ATV Orchestra and Sunday Night at the London Palladium.
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Ronnie Verrell provided the drumming for The Muppet Shows Animal, and was a "Skinnerette" on The Frank Skinner Show.
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The Scotsman called Ronnie Verrell a "driving band drummer" and an "exciting soloist".
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The Daily Telegraph said Ronnie Verrell had a "rare combination of craftsmanship and bravura showmanship" and called him "Britain's best-known big band drummer for half a century".
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Ronnie Verrell was born on 21 February 1926 in Rochester, Kent in England.
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Frank Skinner 8.
Ronnie Verrell was so impressed by what he saw, he stayed to watch the film a second time.
9.
Ronnie Verrell wanted to be a drummer and taught himself how to play after only one lesson.
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In 1940, after the outbreak of World War II, the 14-year-old Ronnie Verrell was evacuated to Porthcawl in South Wales, where he made his first public appearances drumming with local bands in the area.
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Ronnie Verrell returned to Kent in 1943 and worked professionally for a while with the Claude Giddins band, before being conscripted to work as a Bevin Boy in the coal mines for the remainder of the war.
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In September 1951 Ronnie Verrell joined the Ted Heath Orchestra and remained with the band until Heath's retirement in 1964.
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Ronnie Verrell joined Jack Parnell's house band at ATV, playing with them for ten years.
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In 1980 Ronnie Verrell joined Syd Lawrence's band and stayed with them for almost 20 years.
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Ronnie Verrell performed in several television shows, including The Muppet Show where he played drums for the show's manic puppet drummer, Animal.
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Several years later Ronnie Verrell was involved in a serious road accident that forced him to stop performing for almost a year.
17.
In 2000 Ronnie Verrell toured with an all-star band, Best of British, where his drum solos earned him standing ovations.
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Ronnie Verrell died on 22 February 2002 in Kingston-upon-Thames in England, one day after his 76th birthday.
19.
Ronnie Verrell was married three times and had three daughters, Sherry, Faye, and Lara.
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Ronnie Verrell has three grandchildren, Sherry's son David, Faye's daughter Bethany, and Lara's daughter Ellie-Jaye.