Ric Parnell Video | Celebrity Interview and Paparazzi

Richard "Ric" J. Parnell (born 13 August 1951, London) is an English rock drummer. Although notable for his work in the band Atomic Rooster, he probably best known for his role as the ill-fated drummer Mick Shrimpton in the film This is Spinal Tap. Parnell has a long family history of musical ambition. His grandfather Russ Carr was a music hall artist and his father Jack Parnell was a jazz drummer and bandleader. He has two brothers, Will and Marc, who are also drummers. His two sisters decided not to enter the music business. In 1970 he was a member of the short-lived hard rock band... MORE

Richard "Ric" J. Parnell (born 13 August 1951, London) is an English rock drummer. Although notable for his work in the band Atomic Rooster, he probably best known for his role as the ill-fated drummer Mick Shrimpton in the film This is Spinal Tap. Parnell has a long family history of musical ambition. His grandfather Russ Carr was a music hall artist and his father Jack Parnell was a jazz drummer and bandleader. He has two brothers, Will and Marc, who are also drummers. His two sisters decided not to enter the music business. In 1970 he was a member of the short-lived hard rock band Horse, who recorded one album before breaking up. Shortly after, he briefly joined the progressive rock band Atomic Rooster, leaving after just two months with the band. In April 1971 he formed his own progressive rock group, Matchstick Men, whose sole single was much more pop-oriented than the band's genre of choice. By the end of the year he had been invited to rejoin Atomic Rooster, this time staying long enough to play on the band's last two albums. He continued to play for various other bands and artists throughout the 1970s and 1980s including Nova and Italian-based Ibis, as well as providing the LESS