Bev Bevan was born as Beverley Bevan on November 25th, 1944 in Birmingham as Beverly Bevan. His father Charles (nicknamed Bev) was a drummer in various dance halls, so nobody was surprised that his son emulated him.



Bev Bevan's music career began with Denny Laine and the diplomats in their hometown of Birmingham, England in 1963. In spite of opening shows for various artists such as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and Stevie Wonder and being signed to EMI Records, the group folded shortly after Denny left to form The Moody Blues. In 1965 Bev joined Carl Wayne and the vikings, touring the U.K. and Germany's club circuits.



The following year Bev Bevan became a co-founder of The Move, and over the next six years enjoyed huge success in Great Britain and Europe. The Move also built a reputation as one of the most respected and controvertial bands of the sixties, even being sued by the then Prime Minister, Harold Wilson. They often performed with the likes of Cream, The Who, The Rolling Stones, Joe Cocker, The Kinks and The Byrds, and in 1968 toured the U.K. with Jimi Hendrix and Pink floyd.



The band notched up 10 hit singles, including chart topper Blackberry Way and the first record ever to be played on BBC's Radio One Flowers in the rain.



In the early 70s Bev Bevan was co-founder of The Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), who went on to achieve phenominal success, selling millions of albums and singles.



ELO's tours were spectacular affairs and the legendary Out of the blue tour, featuring an enormous spaceship is still rated as one of the best tours in the history of rock and roll.



In 1983 Bev Bevan penned The ELO Story, one of the most refreshing and humerous books ever written about life as a rock musician.



In 1983 Bev Bevan was asked to join Black Sabbath, who for many define the term heavy metal. His powerful drumming earned him new respect on the heavy rock scene. Throughout 1983 and 1984 Black Sabbath extensively toured the U.S.A. and Europe, including topping the bill at The Reading Feastival in the U.K.



In 1990 Bev Bevan founded ELO Part 2, and they became one of the hardest working bands around, touring the U.K., North America, South America, Europe, Austrailia, New Zealand, Singapore etc. They also worked with some of the worlds leading orchestras, including The Moscow Symphony, The Royal Philharmonic, The New York Philharmonic, The Sydney Symphony and The Halle Orchestra.



Following ELO Part 2's sell out concert at Londons Royal Albert Hall in 1999, broadcast live by the BBC, Bev disbanded the group to move on to new challenges.



Between 2001 and 2006 he hosted Bev Bevan's Jukebox on Saga radio, and then hosted Bev Bevan's Seventies Sunday on Smooth Radio 105.7. For the past five years he has also written weekly cd reviews in his column Bevs Pick in the Sunday Mercury



Over the years Bev Bevan has also found time to play drums on a whos who of music talent, including Robert Plant, Paul Carrack, Jools Holland, Lisa Stansfield, Del Shannon, Jose Feliciano, Ian Gillan, The Animals, Mica Paris, Sam Brown, Olivia Newton John, Duane Eddy, The Everly Brothers, Beverly Craven, Rick Astley, Alex James, Chas Hodges, Phil Lynott, Bobby Womack and childhood pal Jasper Carrott (providing drums and bass vocals on his 1975 top 5 hit Funky Moped).



Following the tragic loss of Move lead vocalist Carl Wayne to cancer in 2004, Bev Bevan agreed to recreate the magic of The Move and bring the bands music to a new generation of fans.



The Move, featuring original members Trevor Burton and Bev Bevan (plus Neil Lockwood, Phil Tree and Gordon Healer) now regularly perform in the U.K. and Europe.



Bev Bevan is also the drummer with the very successful Brum Rocks Live show that tours the midlands every year.