Chris Sharrock (born 30 May 1964) is an English drummer from Bebington (Liverpool), Merseyside, England who has a long history of being an official member of many noted British bands, including The Icicle Works, The La's, The Wild Swans, World Party, The Lightning Seeds, The Robbie Williams Band, Oasis and Beady Eye.
Sharrock's recording career began as a member of The Icicle Works from 1980 to 1988, playing on the band's first four albums. He then left the band and briefly joined The La's, drumming on their hit single "There She Goes". He left The La's shortly thereafter, and drummed on The Wild Swans' second album in 1990.
He subsequently joined World Party as an official member in the mid 1990s, followed by a stint in The Lightning Seeds. In 1994, he was a member of "Terry and the Lovemen", a one-off recording project that was actually the band XTC appearing on their own tribute album under a pseudonym. He also played drums on Del Amitri's 1995 album Twisted, but was not an official member of that band. By 1998, he was the drummer in Robbie Williams' band, a position he held for the next 8 years.
Chris joined Oasis in 2008 after previous drummer Zak Starkey left the group. Chris did not play on the band's 2008 album, Dig Out Your Soul, but played on the subsequent tour. Noel Gallagher said in an interview for MOJO, regarding the appointment of Oasis' new drummer, "Liam is still not happy about him, because he's Robbie Williams' drummer. I went home and thought about it and it was just too much of a temptation to piss Robbie Williams and Liam off in one phone call." Sharrock made his live debut with Oasis on 14 August 2008 (Standing on the edge of the noise, then title of a song by Beady Eye), in front of 150 Oasis fan club members.
On the appointment of Chris as Oasis' new drummer, Noel suggested that he "shouldn't get too comfortable", joking that they (Oasis) were “trying to break Spinal Tap’s record” for the number of drummers. This in reference to the grisly ends met by Spinal Tap's long list of drummers. Noel also stated on the 2009 UK Stadium Tour "This is our new and final drummer." Considering that Oasis broke up only a few months later, this statement was indeed correct.
Chris became well-known to Oasis fans for his drum solo during the song "The Shock of the Lightning" which he performed several times whilst touring with Oasis during 2008 and 2009. As well, he was noted for his flamboyant tricks with his drumsticks, including twirling them during the intro to "Morning Glory" and throwing them up in the air now and again, much to the crowd's enjoyment.
In a interview given during the South American tour of 2009 (posted by Noel on the Official Oasis Blog), Noel Gallagher, asked to compare the drumming prowess of Chris Sharrock and Zak Starkey, stated that they are both the same. They have an extremely similar history, very often taking over from each other; Sharrock was Starkey's predecessor as the drummer for both The Icicle Works and the Lightning Seeds.
Chris is a Tranmere Rovers football supporter.
The Cherry Boys (1980–1981)
The Icicle Works (1981–1988)
The La's (1988–1989)
The Wild Swans (1990)
World Party (1990–1997)
The Lightning Seeds (1994–1996)
Robbie Williams (1998–2006)
Oasis (2008–2009)
Beady Eye (2010–present)
