ArtistInfo

Robert Hagger

dr, *1948
Musician of Rock
A.k.a. Robert William Hagger

Robert William Hagger (also known as Bob Hagger) was born on 30 April 1948. He grew up in Hadley Wood near Barnet, Hertfordshire. He did not come from a musical family. At the age of 12, he became interested in drumming after watching an unknown group in a holiday camp and being glued on the drummer; watching how his rhythmic beats were driving the rest of the music. At the age of 16, Hagger secured a set of Premier drums and began frequenting London's Marquee Club. One of the groups he saw there was the Syn, which featured bassist Chris Squire and guitarist Peter Banks. Hagger later auditioned to be drummer in the Syn. Prior to this, he attended an audition, at a cafe in Finsbury Park, for the group So Rare; dragging his drum kit down a circular staircase to the basement. So Rare took Hagger on, playing church halls and youth clubs. The group's biggest claim to fame was that their second guitarist, Paul Kossoff went on to get legend status with the rock band Free. So Rare later changed their name to the Crash and eventually Hagger became more ambitious and got itchy feet. It was in 1967 that Hagger auditioned for the Syn, following a meeting with Chris Squire in Soho. Hagger, Squire, Peter Banks and organist Andrew Jackman had a session in Kentish Town, but the Syn were going through issues and ended up breaking up before Hagger ever played for them. Around this time, Hagger met guitarist, singer and songwriter Clive Bayley in a pub on Fleet Street. The pair got on well and Hagger moved into his attic, in Kingston, for a while. They met bassist Paul Rutledge, an art school student, and formed Mabel Greer’s Toyshop. Mabel Greer’s Toyshop played Bayley's original material and occasional covers. They jammed together for a few months and played in a school hall near Bayley's house, finding their niche as a psychedelic trio. In autumn of 1967, Rutledge decided to leave the band and return to art school. Hagger called Chris Squire because the Syn had not reformed. They met up and played music that Bayley had been writing. Squire brought in Peter Banks and Mabel Greer’s Toyshop became a quartet. The quartet played shows at the Marquee Club and Middle Earth. In spring 1968, they recorded five Bayley-Squire compositions at White City Studios for Disc JockeyJohn Peel's "Night Ride" radio show. Hagger played his last show with the group on 18 May at St. Joseph's Hall in Highgate. It was at this show that Jon Anderson (then John Anderson) sang with the band on stage. Shortly after the show, Banks quit, so Bayley returned to the role of lead guitarist and Anderson joined as lead singer. Not long later, in early June 1968, Hagger decided to leaveMabel Greer’s Toyshop. He was tired of all the rehearsing and accepted an offer from a group called Heaven who could offer more live work. Hagger was replaced by drummer Bill Bruford. By early August 1968, organist Tony Kaye had joined the group, Clive Bayley had left, Peter Banks had rejoined the group and the name was changed to Yes. In 1969, they released their first album, "Yes", which included twoMabel Greer’s Toyshop songs that Hagger had played with the group; "Beyond and Before" and "Sweetness". Shortly after this, Hagger stopped playing music and didn't touch a drum stick for ten years. He had a brief drumming sojourn after he was invited to pick up the sticks at a local club which later triggered the purchase of an electronic drum kit. Hagger became a successful business man and spent a while living in Boston, Massachusetts before settling in France. He married Caroline and had three children; Julian, James and Joanna. In 2013, Hagger was on a flight to Johannesburg when he read of the death of Peter Banks. He got off the plane and contacted Clive Bayley. After swapping a couple of emails, the pair met up in Nice, France for dinner with their wives. During dinner, they decided to hire a room and play together again. They teamed up with bassist Hugo Barré, a friend of Hagger's son, James, and began playing Mabel Greer’s Toyshop songs from 1967/68 as well as new Bayley compositions. This led to the 2015Mabel Greer’s Toyshop debut album "New Way of Life", which was produced by Billy Sherwood and also featured former July 1968 member Tony on Hammond Organ. 2016 saw a line-up change, with Max Hunt replacing Kaye. The new line-up of Bayley, Hagger, Barré and Hunt recorded the album "the Secret", which also featured a posthumous appearance by Peter Banks.

Instruments

• Drums
• Percussion

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Acknowledgements

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