{{Short description|British drummer (1951–2019)}} {{other people|Andy Anderson}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2015}} {{Use British English|date=July 2015}} {{Infobox musical artist | name = Andy Anderson | image = | caption = | image_size = | birth_name = Clifford Leon Anderson | alias = | birth_date = {{Birth date|1951|1|30|df=y}} | death_date = {{death date and age|2019|2|26|1951|1|30|df=y}} | death_place = [[Chelmsford, Essex]], England | origin = [[West Ham]], [[Essex]]<!-- Do not change to London, West Ham was in Essex in 1951 -->, England | instrument = [[Drum kit|Drums]], [[percussion]] | genre = [[Progressive rock]], [[funk rock]], [[space rock]], [[gothic rock]], [[post-punk]], [[punk rock]], [[alternative rock]] | occupation = Musician | years_active = 1978–2019 | label = | past_member_of = [[Steve Hillage]], [[The Cure]], [[The Glove]], [[Jimmy Somerville]], [[Jimmy Pursey]], [[Isaac Hayes]], [[Midge Ure]], [[Iggy Pop]], [[Hawkwind]], [[The Last Poets]], [[Jason Donovan]], The Rock & Roll Gypsies, [[Peter Gabriel]] | website = }} '''Clifford Leon "Andy" Anderson''' (30 January 1951 – 26 February 2019) was a British drummer, best known for his work with [[the Cure]] and [[Steve Hillage]], as well as a lengthy session career.
==Biography== Anderson was born to an [[Commonwealth Caribbean|Anglo-Caribbean]] family and was raised in [[London]]. His father was a part-time jazz drummer, and he first gained work as a drummer in recording sessions for television commercial jingles.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Price |first=Simon |title=Curepedia: An A-Z of The Cure |publisher=[[William Morrow and Company|William Morrow]] |year=2023 |isbn=978-0-06-306864-3 |location=New York |publication-date=2023 |pages=12–15}}</ref> He played live with a variety of [[space rock]] and [[progressive rock]] bands starting in the mid-1970s, and his first studio album appearance was on ''[[Xitintoday]]'' by [[Nik Turner|Nik Turner's Sphynx]] in 1978 (under the name Android Anderson).<ref>{{cite web |last1=Thompson |first1=Dave |title=Nik Turner: Xitintoday |url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/xitintoday-mw0000561619 |access-date=11 April 2014 |website=AllMusic}}</ref> That album was produced by [[Steve Hillage]], who invited Anderson to perform on two of his own albums in 1979: ''[[Live Herald]]'' and ''[[Open (Steve Hillage album)|Open]]''. Anderson also worked as a session drummer for [[Gong (band)|Mother Gong]] and [[Hawkwind]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Price |first=Simon |title=Curepedia: An A-Z of The Cure |publisher=[[William Morrow and Company|William Morrow]] |year=2023 |isbn=978-0-06-306864-3 |location=New York |publication-date=2023 |pages=12–15}}</ref>
In the early 1980s, Anderson expanded his palette by performing as a session and live drummer for a variety of [[New wave music|new wave]] and [[alternative rock]] acts, such as [[M (band)|M]] and [[Techno Twins]].<ref name=":0" /> In 1983 he was recruited by [[Robert Smith (musician)|Robert Smith]] and [[Steven Severin|Steve Severin]] to play on the album ''[[Blue Sunshine (album)|Blue Sunshine]]'' by their side project [[The Glove]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Aubrey |first=Elizabeth |date=2019-02-27 |title=The Cure and Iggy Pop pay tribute after death of ex-drummer Andy Anderson |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/former-cure-drummer-andy-anderson-reportedly-passed-away-aged-68-2454464 |access-date=2024-02-11 |website=NME |language=en-GB}}</ref> Smith's main band [[The Cure]] was in the midst of revamping its lineup, as incumbent drummer [[Lol Tolhurst]] had switched to keyboards. Smith invited Anderson to play on the Cure single "[[The Love Cats (song)|The Love Cats]]", after which he became a full-time member of the band.<ref>{{Cite news |year=2016 |editor-last=Uncut |title=The Cure |work=The Ultimate Music Guide |pages=53–57}}</ref> Anderson was the sole drummer on the 1984 album ''[[The Top (album)|The Top]]''.<ref name=":1" />
While touring with the Cure in France in 1984, Anderson was accosted by a security guard in a racially motivated incident, and then destroyed a hotel room out of frustration. His behavior became increasingly erratic as the world tour progressed, culminating in an altercation with his bandmates and their road crew after a show in Japan. Anderson was fired from the Cure in October 1984.<ref name=":0" />
Anderson then returned to session drumming and enjoyed a successful career as an in-demand collaborator for acts including [[Iggy Pop]], [[Peter Gabriel]], [[Edwyn Collins]], [[Isaac Hayes]], and [[Mike Oldfield]].<ref name=":1" /> He also explored electronic music in a project called Prime Data, and another called Front and Centre.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.apinkdream.org/viewtopic.php?t=15338 |title=Voir le sujet - Interview Andy Anderson |website=Apinkdream.org |access-date=1 October 2011}}</ref> In 2012, he was briefly a member of [[The Cureheads]], a tribute band to The Cure<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://craigjparker.blogspot.com/2012/09/andy-anderson-joins-cureheads.html|title=Chain Of Flowers: Andy Anderson joins The Cureheads|website=Craigparker.blogspot.com|date=22 September 2012}}</ref>, and also made a guest appearance with [[Levinhurst]], fronted by his former Cure bandmate Lol Tolhurst. <ref name=":0" />
Anderson died from cancer at the age of 68 on 26 February 2019,<ref name=":1">{{cite magazine |url= https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/andy-anderson-the-cure-iggy-pop-drummer-dead-at-68-800587/ |title= Andy Anderson, Drummer for the Cure, Iggy Pop, Dead at 68 |magazine= [[Rolling Stone]] |author= Jon Blistein |date= 26 February 2019|access-date= 27 February 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/andy-anderson-death-cause-age-cure-drummer-iggy-pop-cancer-tributes-a8798761.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220507/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/andy-anderson-death-cause-age-cure-drummer-iggy-pop-cancer-tributes-a8798761.html |archive-date=7 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title= Andy Anderson death: Former drummer for The Cure and Iggy Pop dies, aged 68 |work= The Independent |author= Roisin O'Connor |date= 27 February 2019 |access-date= 28 February 2019}}{{cbignore}}</ref> after which he received many accolades from former bandmates and collaborators.<ref name=":2" />
==Partial discography== '''Nik Turner's Sphynx''' *''[[Xitintoday]]'' (1978)
'''[[Steve Hillage]]''' *''[[Live Herald]]'' (1979) *''[[Open (Steve Hillage album)|Open]]'' (1979) *''[[Green (Steve Hillage album)|Green]]'' (2007 edition, appears on two bonus tracks)
'''The Glove''' * ''[[Blue Sunshine (album)|Blue Sunshine]]'' (1983)
'''The Cure''' * ''[[Japanese Whispers]]'' (1983) * ''[[The Top (album)|The Top]]'' (1984) * ''[[Concert (album)|Concert]]'' (1984) * ''[[The Cure Live In Japan]]'' (1984) <small>VHS</small> * ''[[Standing on a Beach]]'' (1986) * ''[[Greatest Hits (The Cure album)|Greatest Hits]]'' (2001)
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{TheCure}} {{The Glove}} {{Steve Hillage}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Andy}} [[Category:1951 births]] [[Category:2019 deaths]] [[Category:Deaths from cancer in England]] [[Category:Hawkwind members]] [[Category:People from West Ham]] [[Category:The Cure members]] [[Category:The Glove members]] [[Category:Black British rock musicians]] [[Category:New wave drummers]]