Premier Percussion Explained

Premier Music International Ltd.
Type:Private
Industry:Musical instruments
Founder:Albert Della Porta and George Smith
Location City:Kibworth Harcourt
Location Country:England
Area Served:Worldwide
Products:Drum kits
Homepage:premier-percussion.com

Premier Music International Limited is an English musical instruments manufacturing company based in Kibworth. The company, founded in 1922, currently produces drum kits, sticks and accessories.[1]

History

Premier was established in 1922 when a drummer, Albert Della Porta, partnered with George Smith to establish a company. They set up on Berwick Street in London, and were soon joined by Albert's brother Fred, who eventually became the first sales manager of the recently created company.In the beginning, they manufactured drums for other companies like John E. Dallas (with the "Jedson" trademark), then starting with "Premier" instruments. Early drum kits consisted of a bass drum, a snare, a stand, a cymbal, and sometimes a small tom-tom. The company grew to two factories, ending up in West London's Park Royal. By 1938 they were also producing brass instruments, as well as supplying drums to the armed forces. The company even built a guitar called "Premier Vox", in the early 1930s.[2]

During World War II, the Government forced Premier to manufacture gun sights and electrical plugs and sockets for radar equipment. After the West London factory was bombed in 1940, the company moved to the Leicestershire town of South Wigston, where they occupied three small factories.[3]

By 1986, Premier was one of the biggest factories in South Wigston, with 100,000 square feet covered and 180 employees. The company also exported its products to 120 countries.[4] However, in 2005 after 65 years of activity, Premier finally closed the factory and the entire site was eventually demolished in 2017.[5] Once established in its new home in Kibworth Harcourt, Leicestershire, the brand was purchased by the online retailer Gear4music on 21 June 2021.[6]

Artists

Drum lines

Snare drums

Hardware

Other

External links

Notes and References

  1. https://web.archive.org/web/20140606204446/http://thedrummersjournal.com/TDJ-Issue-Four.pdf#page=48/ Interview With Keith Keough from Premier Percussion
  2. https://web.archive.org/web/20150214225417/http://www.mikedolbear.com/story.asp?StoryID=3499 Vintage (Over) View - Premier
  3. http://drummagazine.com/the-rocky-history-of-premier-drums/ The Rocky History Of Premier Drums
  4. https://web.archive.org/web/20170901165841/http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/domesday/dblock/GB-456000-297000/page/8 Premier Drum. South Wigston
  5. Web site: Premier Drum Factory . wigstonhistoricalsociety.co.uk . 2017-10-05 . GWHS . 2022-10-08 .
  6. Web site: Gear4music Regulatory News. Live G4M RNS. Regulatory News Articles for Gear4music (Holdings) PLC . lse.co.uk . Gear4music (Holdings) PLC . 2022-10-08.
  7. Web site: Premier Music International Ltd. . drumset.premier-percussion.com . Premier Percussion . 12 May 2016 .
  8. Web site: Artists . drumset.premier-percussion.com . Premier Percussion . 14 May 2016.
  9. Web site: Mike Dolbear DRUMS Interview with Clem Burke . mikedolbear.com . 12 May 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160603120059/http://mikedolbear.com/story.asp?StoryID=1711&Source=Search&txtSearch=Rci . 3 June 2016 . dead.
  10. Web site: Phil Collins - Modern Drummer Magazine. dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20190518162421/https://www.moderndrummer.com/article/november-1983-phil-collins/ . 18 May 2019 .
  11. Web site: Nick Mason's Drum Gear . sparebricks.fika.org . Spare Bricks . 2022-10-08 .
  12. Web site: Nicko McBrain celebrates 20 years with Premier Drums . musicradar.com . 30 January 2013 . Future Publishing Limited . 13 May 2016 .
  13. Web site: Premier drums to return to UK manufacture by 2012 (in time to celebrate its 90th anniversary!) . 28 December 2011 . drumcool.com . Drumcool . 12 May 2016 .
  14. Web site: 1967–1968 Pictures of Lily kit Keith Moon's Drumkits Whotabs . thewho.net . Whotabs . 14 May 2016 .
  15. Web site: Phil Selway's Rig . thekingofgear.com . The King of Gear . 2022-10-08 .
  16. Web site: History . drumset.premier-percussion.com . Premier Percussion . 2022-10-08 .
  17. Web site: Premier . Youell . Andy . drumarchive.com . 13 May 2016 .
  18. Web site: News – Premier launches British-made Modern Classic drum set . Ltd . Eazytiger . drumset.premier-percussion.com . 13 May 2016.
  19. Web site: Vintage Olympic - a unique online history of Olympic drums . vintageolympic.co.uk . Vintage Olympic . 2022-10-08 .
  20. Web site: Olympic . drumset.premier-percussion.com . Premier Percussion . 2022-10-08 .
  21. Web site: Miscellaneous | Keith Moon's Drumkits | Whotabs . thewho.net . 2021-01-09 . Whotabs . 2022-10-08 .

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