Beware of Mr Baker

I recently watched Jay Bulger's excellent documentary Beware of Mr Baker about Cream drummer Ginger Baker. I was impressed by the way Bulger made the film out of nothing. He tracked the notoriously difficult Ginger down and approached him directly, gaining his trust and giving him an extensive interview that covers the complete Ginger Baker life story and forms the base of the doc.

Things eventually turn sour as is often the way with Ginger. When he finds out that Bulger intends to interview key figures from his life he turns aggressive and smacks him in the head with his cane, gifting the director with an explosive opening scene to the film that sums up it's subject right from the off.

Baker is a true maverick. I knew very little about him before I watched the film but came away with the feeling that he could be the world's greatest living drummer if it wasn't for his prickly personality, lifelong drug abuse and tendency to run away and start his life over every time things get too much for him.

I love this clip of Ginger in action for The Graham Bond Organization taken from the obscure 1965 British sci-fi musical fantasy Gonks Go Beat.

Harmonica// The Graham Bond Organization