• Andrew Atkinson talks to freelance drummer Joel Mulley-Goodbarne in Part 1 of a two-part Exclusive interview during a break from performing with The 710 on £788m cruiseliner Iona in Alicante.

“IT’S great to be back and performing to live audiences, the 18 months following the start of the coronovirus pandemic were extremely difficult,” said Joel, who studied Commercial Music Performance at the University of Westminster, graduating in 2018.

“I spent the winter working for the mail service – so I’m extremely grateful to be able to leave that job and get back to what I love doing,” said London born Joel.

Joel, who studied drums with Ralph Salmins, Matt Whittington and Neil Hogan, works professionally for Theatre productions and aboard cruise ships, including playing percussion on Paul Taylor-Mills’ production of The Wind in the Willows.

Ralph Salmins, world famous drummer, has performed or recorded with Paul McCartney, George Martin, Aretha Franklin, Elton John, Madonna, James Brown, Tom Jones, Mike Oldfield, Chaka Khan, Dionne Warwick, Quincy Jones, Diana Ross, Burt Bacharach, Alison Krauss, Sheryl Crow, Elvis Costello, Jeff Beck and Michel Legrand.

Ralph’s chart hits include Bjork’s It’s Oh So Quiet and Robbie Williams’ multi-platinum Swing When You’re Winning album and DVD. Ralph toured the world in Van Morrison’s band from 1995-1999, recording four albums with him.

He has played on the soundtracks to over 150 movies, including Harry Potter: The Prisoner of Azkaban, Goldeneye, Tomorrow Never Dies, Charlie and The Chocolate Factory, Moulin Rouge and Lord Of The Rings: Return Of The King.

“Ralph is the go to guy for the UK session scene, so to have been mentored by him in his studio is a pleasure.

“You would expect someone with so many big names to his CV to be a bit arrogant but he’s a lovely guy, down to earth and is happy to help.

“The one Theatre production that really stands out for me is the production of The Wind in the Willows that I was part of this summer.

“It was my first production back since the pandemic and a great show to be part of with a fantastic company of creatives. “To top it off we were fortunate enough to end the tour by taking the show to Latitude Festival,” said Joel.

*Part 2 of Joel Mulley-Goodbarne Exclusive interview next week.

Caption: Joel Mulley-Goodbarne: Great to be back performing to live audiences. Photo: Andrew Atkinson.