Biography

Ronnie has been playing percussion since he was a toddler when he used to jam along on tambourine to the likes of The Average White Band and Weather Report with his bongo-playing Dad, and started playing drum kit at 11 . For several years he had weekly lessons from former Tubby Hayes/Stan Tracey/Georgie Fame drummer Bill Eyden whilst at High School in Greenford in West London. Ronnie started to take music more seriously after joining Ealing Youth Orchestra at 16, which saw him perform with soloists from English National Opera and take part in several tours to France, where the orchestra performed to hundreds of people, including at St Malo Cathedral.

Although he was studying History, Ronnie immersed himself into music whilst at University; performing with the University Big Band on drums and Latin percussion, as well as the University symphony orchestra and Wind Band. He also joined - and later became President of - the university's Jazz Funk Association. It was through the association that Ronnie met and started playing with the band Planet Janet on Latin percussion (and picked up the nickname 'Bongo Ron'). The band played nearly every week, most often at Cardiff's Toucan Club, which was always packed with hundreds of funk fans.By 18, Ronnie's weekend job was gigging with a funk quartet and depping with various pit orchestras, symphony orchestras and brass bands across West London (including helping the The Hanwell Band to the national brass band finals). But it wasn't until he left for Cardiff University in 1996 that Ronnie first started playing jazz.