He was a nine-year old asthmatic, but playing the drums seemed to be the medication that made him feel good.George Faber was supposed to be the drummer for The Flames but he withdrew before their first gig. Ricky had been playing around with the drumkit and seemed to be a natural. So he was persuaded to take up drumming more seriously and so became the groups full-time drummer.As young as he was he displayed natural ability that he was soon recognised as one of the best drummers in Natal. By the age of 11 he had won the title of Best Rock Drummer at The Battle Of The Bands contest.He remained a member of The Flames until the band disbanded in 1970. With Blondie Chaplin he became a member of the Beach Boys touring and recording with them from March 1972 until 1974.In 1978 Ricky starred in the “mockumentary” based on the Beatles, All You Need Is Cash. He played the character Stigs O’Hara in the band called The Rutles. The character was based on George Harrison.Ricky worked as a session musician and record producer. In 1973 he had success as a producer with Reae Geyer’s hit Say I Love You, which also featured Blondie.In 1978 he migrated to Australia where he had success producing artists such as Crowded House, Wendy Mathews, Kate Cebrano among others. He also played drums on a number of recordings including Marc Hunter’s solo album; Marc raved about his drumming.Ricky also produced music for a number of Australian Films including Spotswood and Les Patterson.When he returned to America where he was invited to join Bonnie Raitt’s band. He has continued his association with Bonnie.More on Ricky can be found on The Flames Page