The London Drum Show is now in the Hands of Future plc, following their takeover of Blaze Publishing/Events and this was our first chance to experience the two-day event at Olympia under new ownership.
The Show has been a landmark in the drum and percussion calendar for a number of years and this year saw a growth in visitor numbers by 8% to around 3,700. We certainly had a busy time on the MU stand, which was ideally positioned near the entrance, next door to the British Drum Company (co-owned by Al Murray). On the stand and helping out with the excellent duo of Steve Haynes and Hencilla Canworth’s Mark Hopkinson, who were joined on the Saturday by event photographer Jonathan Stewart. Many drummers of note dropped by, including Ralph Salmins, Pink Floyd’s Nick Mason, Steve White, Ash Soan, Pete Cater and leading journalist Geoff Nicholls. We were so busy that we didn’t have time to attend the numerous seminars, workshops and live performances on the level upstairs, but these certainly seemed to be a hit with punters. Thanks to everyone we met for a very enjoyable weekend – see you there next year!
