Adieu to Ginger Baker

Ginger Baker, drummer for Cream and other groups and archetypal force of nature, has passed away at eighty years of age:

He gained early fame as a member of the Graham Bond Organisation alongside bassist Jack Bruce - but it was their partnership with Eric Clapton in Cream that made all three superstars.

One of rock's first "supergroups", they fused blues and psychedelia to dazzling effect on songs like Strange Brew, Sunshine of Your Love, Badge and I Feel Free. They sold more than 35 million albums and were awarded the world's first ever platinum disc for their LP Wheels of Fire.

One of his most interesting performances was for the song "We're Going Wrong" with soft mallets: