Rufus Tiger Taylor

Rufus Tiger Taylor (born 8 March 1991) is an English musician, best known as the drummer for The Darkness since May 2015, and as a touring drummer for the Queen + Adam Lambert stage show. He is the son of Queen drummer Roger Taylor.

Early life

Taylor was born on 8 March 1991 in London,^[2] to Queen drummer Roger Taylor and his longtime girlfriend Debbie Leng. According to his father, Rufus' unusual middle name "Tiger" was chosen by the late Queen lead singer Freddie Mercury. Taylor claims that growing up with drums made him decide that he wanted to follow in his father's footsteps, as he was uninterested academically, dropping out of school at the age of 16 in favour of a ski instruction course with Formula One driver Damon Hill.^[3]

Career

2008–15: Session drummer, Queen + Adam Lambert

Taylor (second from left) on the 2014–15 Queen + Adam Lambert Tour

Taylor's first notable appearance was the 2008 Royal Variety Performance, where he played drums for Kerry Ellis and his father Roger Taylor's Queen partner Brian May to an audience including Charles, Prince of Wales and his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall. In 2009, he played with famed Queen touring musician Spike Edney as part of his SAS (Spike's All-Stars) band.^[4] He then toured with the Queen musical stage show, We Will Rock You, and worked again alongside Brian May as well as his father with Kerry Ellis on her album Anthems, contributing some drum tracks.^[5]

In 2011, Taylor would perform alongside his father, when he joined the Queen + Adam Lambert collaboration as a touring musician, providing drums and percussion for the stage show. Some of his notable moments on the tour were his "drum battles" with his father, and taking over as lead drummer on Queen classics such as "Tie Your Mother Down", or on "A Kind of Magic" while his father left the kit to provide lead vocals. Taylor has toured with Queen + Adam Lambert from 2011 to 2016, for both of their world tours.

2015–present: The Darkness

In May 2015, following the departure of Emily Dolan Davies, Taylor became the drummer for English rock band The Darkness, with guitarist Dan Hawkins confirming the news on a UK radio show.^[6] Taylor has toured with the band on their "Blast Of Our Kind" world tour, which will continue in October 2015. Until then, Taylor is touring with Queen + Adam Lambert on their South American tour, including their performance at 2015's Rock in Rio festival.^[7]

Personal life

As well as his famous father, he has two older half-siblings from his father's first wife Dominique Beyrand: Felix Luther Taylor, who recorded the song "Woman You're So Beautiful" as part of the duo Felix & Arty with their father; and Rory Eleanor Taylor, a medical doctor.^[8] He also has two younger sisters from his mother and father: Tiger Lily (sometimes styled "Tigerlily") Taylor (born 1994), a fashion model,^[9] and Lola Daisy May Taylor (born 2000). In 2011, it was reported that Taylor was dating horse breeder Kymberley Dody, who he met at his father's wedding to his latest wife Sarina Potgieter.^[10]

References