Robbie France

Robbie France ( born December 5, 1959 in Sheffield, England; † January 14, 2012 in Mazarrón, Spain) was a British drummer who was active among others in the band Diamond Head, UFO, Wishbone Ash, Skunk Anansie and Alphaville.

Biography

France, who had spent his youth in Australia and played there in several bands, the NWOBHM band Diamond Head joined after his return to England. He played a few songs on the album Canterbury after the former drummer Duncan Scott had left the band during the recording of the album. A year later he left Diamond Head and joined for a few months the band UFO. After previous engagements in the following years, he was finally a member of Wishbone Ash, with whom he toured in the fall of 1990 and on the album Strange Affair recorded the drum tracks for three songs.

1994 Richard Keith Lewis contacted him to form a new band. This project eventually became the band Skunk Anansie and France played on the debut album Paranoid And Sunburnt. A short time later he moved to Alphaville, with whom he toured and recorded music. On 22 June 1996 he injured himself while rejoicing over the semi-finals of the English national team at the European Football Championship in 1996 at the Achilles tendon and had to due to serious complications after surgery following his career as a professional musician quit.

In 2011 his first novel, Six Degrees South appeared. France died on 14 January 2012.

Discography

Selection; only studio albums