Tom was a member of the MU for 68 years.
Tom was born on 22 March 1936 and grew up in Brisbane, Australia. He played both fife and snare drum whilst at school, graduating to his first full drum kit.
When he first left school, he joined the Brisbane Courier-Mail radio stations 4BC and 4BK. He was panel operator for the Breakfast Show and also did the outside broadcasts.
Although Tom had a very successful trio that entertained Brisbane and the Gold Coast, his music teacher, Harry Lebler, said to him: “You’re a big fish in a small sea. Go out and travel the world and find your place in music.” So Tom left Brisbane for the UK in 1957.
A well-known and highly respected professional theatre percussionist
His first professional gig was with Billy Smart’s Circus, touring the UK. He started teaching drums as a dep for Bobby Cook at the Terry Walsh & Bobby Kevin’s Music Store in South London in the 1960s. That is where he first met Andy Pook and, after a couple of years of lessons, they became good friends.
Tom was instrumental in assisting Andy in securing his first professional gig and giving him a list of agents and phone numbers.
Tom worked at the Beachcomber, Murray’s Cabaret and the Café de Paris, to name a few, and did many BBC broadcasts with The Men About Town. He was a very well-known and highly respected professional theatre percussionist. He played in many successful West End musicals and was also honoured to play for Her Majesty the Queen’s Garden Party at Buckingham Palace as part of The Players’ Theatre “Good Old Days.”
A varied career on stage and at sea
Apart from West End theatre, Tom was also associated with groups like The 4 Buddies and supported acts such as Des Lane, The Penny Whistle Man, Pearl Carr and Teddy Johnson, The Three Squires, and he toured the UK with The Bachelors, just to name a few.
Over the years, Tom worked on quite a few cruise ships for both P&O and Cunard. He and Andy shared jobs like the QE II crossings to New York and the Café de Paris in London.
He returned to live in Australia in the early 1980s and first met Raewyn whilst he was touring New Zealand with one of Roy Waterson’s Nostalgia Productions shows featuring Patrick O’Hagan, the Irish Tenor, and later with Tessie O’Shea.
As Raewyn’s parents knew Patrick, he and the band were invited back home for Sunday lunch, and that’s how Tom and Raewyn first met.
Staying connected to new music
In 1984, Tom convinced Raewyn to move over to Sydney. They lived in Elizabeth Bay and then purchased a unit in Glebe in 1990. Tom was working professionally around Sydney and touring Australia and New Zealand with Nostalgia Productions.
Around 2000, he was having difficulty picking up and carrying his drum kit. After investigations, it was determined that he had suffered extensive physical damage and it was not repairable. So, reluctantly, Tom ceased playing his beloved drums.
Before the internet, he’d write or telephone his mates in the UK regularly. Eventually, Tom became very web- and email-savvy. Soon he was utilising search engines, and later YouTube, to track down both obscure and well-known music and sending links to his best friend Andy Pook in the UK.
He started using Skype to chat with friends and family, then Teams. They’d meet twice a week via video chat to discuss the latest young up-and-coming drummers – Andy sharing who he’d seen at Ronnie Scott’s that week, and Tom what he’d found via his internet searches.
Travel, friendships and family
Tom’s love of travel meant that he and Raewyn journeyed extensively almost every year and sometimes twice a year, especially to the UK for his dental check-ups and to keep in touch with his musician mates: the late Ken Baker (pianist), and of course Andy Pook, Alan Grindell, Fred Shawcross and his favourite act, Bill, John and Al of The Three Squires.
Of course, when grandson Daniel was born, that was yet another very good reason to get back to the UK every year to watch him grow and turn into the fine young man and wonderful father that he is today.
After Tom retired, his heart was torn between London’s West End and New York’s Broadway when it came to musical production shows, so he travelled to the States many times too.
On 10 March 2026, Tom passed away due to a severe complication, unrelated to the surgery he had earlier that month.
He’ll never be forgotten. Rest in peace.
Tom joined the MU in 1958. This tribute has been provided by his wife, Raewyn, and his colleague and dear friend, Andy Pook.