BIO

Ralph’s signature groove and ability to cross musical boundaries has made him the studio and live drummer of choice for artists, producers, composers and orchestras worldwide. He has regularly ranked top ten in Rhythm Magazine Readers Polls, has won the Studio Drummer Category at mikedolbear.com and best drummer category at the British Jazz awards. A first-call studio musician all his life, Ralph has played on countless albums, TV shows and on the soundtracks to over 180 movies, including titles from the Harry Potter, Lord of The Rings, Mission Impossible and James Bond film series. He can often be found in the studio with composers Alexandre Desplat, Hans Zimmer, Anne Dudley and Lorne Balfe amongst others.

Ralph has performed or recorded with Paul McCartney, Bjork, George Martin, Quincy Jones, Aretha Franklin, Elton John, Dionne Warwick, Tori Amos, Burt Bacharach, Tom Jones, Elvis Costello, Diana Ross and Keith Emerson. Orchestrally he has recorded with Bryn Terfel, Renee Fleming, John Williams, James Galway, Robert Kraft and Kiri Te Kanawa. Ralph toured the world in Van Morrison’s band from 1995-1999 and 2005-6, recording four albums with him. In 2011 he joined celtic rockers The Waterboys and was a member of the band for ten years.

 Ralph’s love of jazz has led to work with some of the legends of the art form that include The Count Basie Orchestra, Wynton Marsalis, Art Farmer, Jon Hendricks, John Lewis of The Modern Jazz Quartet, Joe Lovano, James Moody, Annie Ross, Kurt Elling, Jimmy Witherspoon, John Dankworth, Cleo Laine and Joe Williams. 

In 2012 Ralph acted as consultant for Danny Boyle’s London Olympic Opening Ceremony, coordinating, auditioning and training the 1,000 Pandemonium drummers with whom he performed to an audience of over a billion. He has a lifelong passion for recording and is recognised for his expertise in recording drums in particular. Ralph shared his studio, The Bunker, for many years with ex-Abbey Road chief engineer and producer Haydn Bendall where they worked together on many projects.

A deeply committed educator, Ralph first taught at The Royal College of Music 30 years ago at the age of 27. He has never stopped and he is proud that his former students are now trail-blazers in their own right populating many of the best orchestras, bands and ensembles around the world. In 2021 he was awarded a Fellowship of The Royal College of Music. He continues to be in-demand as a clinician and lecturer, having recently featured at the RCM Festival of Percussion and Abbey Road Institute Paris & London.