Every month, we get inside the minds of some of the biggest names in music. This issue, it’s Marillion’s Ian Mosley. From drumming in infamous 60s hippie musical Hair to auditioning for AC/DC, Mosley’s journey took him down some unlikely avenues before he ended up in the Marillion drum seat. But he’s turned out to be more than just the band’s backbone and peacemaker - he’s also their undisputed tennis king. We look back on his musical career… so far!

Words: Dave Everley Portraits: Kevin Nixon

When Ian Mosley was a teenager with lofty dreams of becoming a professional drummer, he got the chance to meet Buddy Rich. The legendary irascible sticksman was appearing at the BBC Television Theatre in Shepherd’s Bush. Mosley’s mother worked for the Beeb, and managed to wangle her son into rehearsals.

“If Buddy Rich had said give up, I would have”: Ian Mosley in his natural habitat.

“After they’d finished rehearsing, I went backstage and knocked on his dressing room door,” says Mosley today. “This voice went [curtly], ‘Yep?’ I thought, ‘I’m really in trouble now’, ’cos he had a reputation of being quite a mean guy. But I said, ‘Mr Rich, my name’s Ian, I just wanted to say hello and ask you some questions.’ And he said, ‘Come in.’ So I sat there and asked him about drumming while he was having a shave. And he was really, really nice. If he’d have said, ‘I think you should give up’, I probably would have.”

Luckily that wasn’t the case, and Rich’s papal blessing stuck with the young Mosley. His subsequent journey took him through such disparate gigs as drummer for infamous late 60s musical Hair to touring drummer for Steve Hackett, before he eventually landed on Planet Marillion in 1984.

“When I joined, I was the oldest member of the band, and supposedly one of the wisest,” he recalls. “None of that was true. Back in the 80s, problems seemed to arise when there wasn’t a problem. And because of the way I was, I was like, ‘Boys, there really isn’t a problem here.’

“I’d never heard of Marillion, but because you never know what’s around the corner, I’d always say, ‘Yeah, they’re fantastic.’”

Mosley’s book, Do I Owe You Money?

I think that’s carried on really. But generally we’re all a lot more laid-back these days. If any of us have got a problem, we can chat about it. I mean, I’m working with my mates, and it’s the best job in the world.”

What was your first proper show as a drummer?

It was probably a wedding gig at a working men’s club somewhere. The bridesmaid threw up over my drumkit. I can’t remember what I got, but I was only getting paid £10.50-a-week at the time.

How did you go from vomiting bridesmaids to being in the pit of the musical Hair?

I was working at a drum shop in London called Drum City, on Shaftesbury Avenue. One day, a guy named Peter Wolf, who was the drummer of the show Hair at the Shaftesbury Theatre, came in. He said, “Ian, do you fancy doing the show?” And I said, “You’re taking the piss aren’t you? I can’t do that.” And he said, “You’ll be able to do it, it’ll be a doddle.” So I went along to see what it was all about. I was sitting next to the drummer, watching him play and trying to pick it up, and all of a sudden there were 12 naked girls onstage.