Benjamin David Gillies, is best known as Ben Gillies, the drummer of Australian rock band Silverchair.



Born in Merewether, a suburb of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, he started as a quad drummer in the band The Marching Koalas, before forming the band Innocent Criminals at the age of 12 with friends Daniel Johns and Chris Joannou.



Playing originally to school and other venues in the Newcastle area, Ben Gillies and his group came to attention after a weekend music workshop at the Tanilba Bay Progress Hall funded through the Arts Council of New South Wales in March 1994. By October 1994, under their new name Silverchair, their first EP Tomorrow had reached #1 on the ARIA Charts.



In 2002, Ben Gillies formed the band Tambalane while Silverchair was in hiatus following Johns' illness, releasing a self-titled album featuring the singles Little Miss Liar and Free before the band folded in 2005. Ben Gillies then returned to work with Silverchair.