The drummer Pink Floyd’s Nick Mason “wouldn’t be here” without
Although drumming had been a passion for Nick Mason from an early age, he didn’t envision his life being devoted to the instrument. As a studious adolescent, Mason worked hard at school and believed his future rested in the field of architecture, which was his ultimate dream career.
Mason’s exam results awarded him a place at the Regent Street Polytechnic in London, where he studied architecture. However, over his period of studying, music gradually became a more important part of his life. Meeting like-minded individuals, including Richard Wright and Roger Waters, was enough to change the course of his path, taking him on an unpredictable adventure.
His period at university was pivotal as it led to the formation of his first band, Sigma 6, which later became Pink Floyd. However, another seminal musical event took place at Regent Street Polytechnic that was equally transformative and changed his perception regarding the role of a drummer.
In 1966, Cream waltzed into Mason’s students’ union for what should have been a run-of-the-mill gig. Yet, it ended up being consigned to the history books as Jimi Hendrix made a cameo during the show and introduced himself in the grandest terms.
However, Mason was preoccupied with Cream drummer Ginger Baker, whom he couldn’t keep his captivated eyes away from. It was a masterclass in how to play the instrument, and although many will proclaim Hendrix stole the show, the Pink Floyd member would say differently.
In his 2004 autobiography Inside Out, Mason wrote of that concert: “I wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for Ginger Baker. When the curtain opened at the Regent Street Polytechnic in 1966 and there were Ginger, Eric and Jack I thought, that’s what I’d like to be, and that was it.”
Meanwhile, during a conversation with The Drummers Journal, Mason said about one of his primary influences: “Prior to 1960, drummers for pop groups were on a riser at the back with someone good looking at the front nodding along to the music. With Ginger, it suddenly became about a band and not just about a pop star and that was enormously attractive to a lot of people.”
Continuing to heap praise, he added: “It challenged the idea that popular music was for teenage girls. For Cream, the reality was that the main audience were all guys in trench coats (laughs).”
Although Mason was already on course to ditch his dreams of architecture and embark upon a musical future with his newfound friends from Cambridgeshire, seeing Baker strut his stuff with his own eyes further pushed him down this route. Less than two years later, Pink Floyd released their debut album and set out to stamp their own identity on the musical landscape.
