"I had a teacher when I was fourteen, Lloyd Ryan, who tried desperately to teach me to read music, but somehow I couldn't concentrate on that. I was able to listen very well and I learnt all the rudiments, like flams, paradiddles, etc......"
Phil Collins

 

Lloyd's career began in 1960, when he purchased an Olympic snare drum (made by Premier) and eventually saved up for a full kit! Since then he's had his pick of drums from all the world's major manufacturers, and he's used most of them. But in his most important and discerning years Lloyd has gone full circle and now he is back on Premier.

As well as being regularly on tour, Lloyd has his own private pupils, and he also teaches at Ernest Bevin College, an educational centre very well respected in teaching circles, as head of percussion.

Many of Lloyd's pupils from his Chessington based school have achieved international stardom:

Phil Collins
John Coghlan (Status Quo)
Tim Burgess (T'Pau)
Mark Pinder (Paul Young)
Graham Broad (Tina Turner, Go West, Bucks Fizz)
James Hood (Pretenders)
Derrick McKenzie (Jamiroquai)
Nick Simms (Cornershop)
Kevin Wells (Huey Lewis And The News, Lorna Brannigan)

and many more........

One of the highlights of Lloyd's career to date was in supporting the legendary Buddy Rich at the 1986 Lewisham Jazz Festival. Lloyd has to date performed well over 400 drum clinics and master classes, and has been a regular writer for a number of music magazines.

Another high spot for Lloyd was performing the concerto for drum set and percussion by USA composer John Beck for the National Association of Percussion Teachers at Oxford with the Prince Consort Ensemble from London's Royal College of Music. He was invited to give a repeat performance at the international Percussive Arts Society inugural convention, which also featured artists such as Eric Delaney and Carl Palmer.

Currently, Lloyd is writing a series of articles for Drummer Magazine, called The Masters. The series is about the history of drumming and includes pieces about Joe Morello, Buddy Rich and other notable names from the world of drumming.