Robert Henrit

• Born: May 02, 1946, Boxbourne, Herts, England
• Genres: Rock
• Instrument: Drums

Biography

Robert Henrit is a British drummer whose four-decade-plus career has carried him through membership in several top U.K. and international pop/rock bands, including Argent and the Kinks. Born in Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, his first group affiliation was with Buster Meikle & the Daybreakers, which was where he first played with guitarist Russ Ballard. He and Ballard were both later members of the Roulettes, who first achieved fame as the backing band to singer Adam Faith before stepping out on their own and enjoying some intermittent commercial success. He and Ballard were both later closely associated -- first as session musicians and later as actual members -- of Unit 4+2, a pop/rock outfit with a strong folk influence. In late 1968, Henrit joined Ballard, ex-Zombies keyboard-player Rod Argent, and bassist Jim Rodford in Argent, a pop/rock supergroup of sorts, who enjoyed world-wide attention for much of their eight-year history. He also occasionally played for other artists, including Colin Blunstone, Duncan Browne, and Leo Sayer during this period. Following Argent's breakup, he did session work for Roger Daltrey and Dave Davies, and passed through a number of different groups over the next eight years, including the jazz-rock band Charlie. In 1984, he joined the Kinks, replacing their longtime drummer Mick Avory. Henrit's work was well-known to the band by then, from his 1960s group associations, his session work for Dave Davies, and also his time as a member of Charlie, which had opened for the Kinks on several occasions; additionally, his longtime Argent bandmate Jim Rodford was now the Kinks bassist. Henrit remained with the band for a dozen years, until their official retirement in 1996, and was also present on Ray Davies' soundtrack recording Return to Waterloo. ~ Bruce Eder, All Music Guide