麻豆APP

Ricky Fataar at a concert with John Scofield, Treibhaus Innsbruck 2008 Photo by Svickova

Top 10 Fascinating Facts about Ricky Fataar

Ricky Fataar is a South African-English child multi-instrumentalist of Cape Malay descent, who has performed as both a drummer and a guitarist. He gained fame as an actor in The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash, a spoof on the actual history of the Beatles in which he also performed as a member of The Rutles.

He is also known for his stint as a member of The Beach Boys between 1971 and 1974. Fataar is also recognized for his contributions as a record producer, and has worked on projects scoring music to film and television.Let’s take a look at some of the most fascinating facts about him;

1.He started his career aged 9

Fataar’s first childhood band was The Flames, a band from his birthplace of Durban, South Africa that began in 1963. He joined the band at the age of nine. The band made several recordings as well as touring all over Southern Africa and before long they became quite popular in South Africa.

By the time he was twelve years old he had already won the honour of being voted as the “Best Rock Drummer in South Africa.”In 1968 the band moved to London and began touring in the United Kingdom.

2.He joined the Beach Boys when the Flames dissolved and released several songs with them

The Beach Boys Photo by Louise Palanker

The Flames dissolved in late 1970. Fataar and his fellow former Flame bandmate Blondie Chaplin were recruited by the Beach Boys, in 1971. Fataar was asked to play drums for the band after drummer Dennis Wilson suffered a debilitating hand accident.

The duo recorded two albums with the Beach Boys, and began touring with them in 1970. The 1972 Beach Boys album Carl and the Passions 鈥� “So Tough” featured musical and vocal contributions from Chaplin and Fataar. It also included two songs written by the duo, “Here She Comes” and “Hold On Dear Brother”.  

3.He also starred in mockumentary film known as “The Rutles”

In 1978, Fataar starred in All You Need Is Cash, a mockumentary film known more commonly as “The Rutles”, a spoof on the real life history of The Beatles, which had a follow up to a Saturday Night Live television sketch.

It is a popular comedy show in the United States. His character was Stig O鈥橦ara, the band鈥檚 guitarist, (analogous to George Harrison). He has no speaking part in the film, and indeed he is sent up as 鈥渢he quiet one鈥� in it.

4.Ricky also worked as a record producer

In 1973 he had success as a producer with Reae Geyer鈥檚 hit Say I Love You, which also featured Blondie.In 1978 he migrated to Australia where he had success producing artists such as Crowded House, Wendy Mathews, Kate Cebrano among others.

He also played drums on a number of recordings including Marc Hunter鈥檚 solo album; Marc raved about his drumming.Ricky also produced music for a number of Australian Films including Spotswood and Les Patterson. 

5.He has also worked on several other projects

Ricky Fataar at a concert with John Scofield, Treibhaus Innsbruck 2008 Photo by Svickova

Fataar has worked as a session musician, notably for Ian McLagan as well as other artists, as a drummer. Fataar emigrated to Australia in 1978 where he recorded with and co-produced albums for Tim Finn, played the drums on the Split Enz song “Message To My Girl”, and also worked with Crowded House, Jenny Morris, Peter Blakeley, and Wendy Matthews as well as various other artists.

In 1979 Fataar was introduced to Bonnie Raitt, and recorded on her Green Light album. In 1990, he joined up with Raitt, and has been a member of Raitt’s band. Fataar continued to work in between other projects as a sideman for many artists, also on Peter Cetera’s first album, usually as a drummer. 

6.He has collaborated with several artists on several projects

He has collaborated with several artists on several projects including; Bonnie Raitt (Dig In Deep), Tim Finn (Before & After), Peter Cetera (Peter Cetera), Etta James (Seven Year Itch), Ryan Adams (Love Is Hell) and Jennifer Warnes (Shot Through the Heart). 

Other include;Jennifer Warnes (Shot Through the Heart), Boz Scaggs (Out of the Blues), Phoebe Snow (Something Real), Robert Palmer (Heavy Nova), Elton John (Duets) and Steve Harley (Hobo with a Grin). 

7.He has also an actor and has appeared in several movies 

Fataar has also combined his talents as an actor and a musician, developing musical scores for both film and television. An example includes the composition of the score for an Australian film Spotswood. 

Working in his capacity as producer, Fataar has produced the music for various films that include High Tide, Les Patterson Saves the World, and The Coca-Cola Kid, in which he makes a cameo appearance as an actor as well.

8.He has won numerous awards in his career

Ricky Fataar at a concert with John Scofield, Treibhaus Innsbruck 2008 Photo by Svickova

He has won numerous awards in his career including; He was nominated for the Best Original Soundtrack, Cast or Show Album at the Aria Music Award in 1993( an award that recognizes excellency across all genres of Australian music). 

He also won Best Record Producer of the Year in 1983 and was nominated for Best Producer in 1984 at the Countdown Australian Music Awards (were a combination of popular-voted and peer-voted awards). 

9.He has been married twice in his life and has two daughters

He has been married twice in his life and has two daughters. First Ricky Fataar was married to the fashion model Penelope Tree with whom he had one child, Paloma Fataar. Later he married dancer Valerie Velardi, with whom he had a second daughter, Francesca Fataar.

He is one of the most loved artist in South Africa more so for lovers of the Rock bands and is one of the most loving people from South Africa. He loves both his daughters equally and continues to support them with both financial support and fatherly advice. 

10.His net worth is around $million

Ricky Fataar鈥檚 net worth or net income is estimated to be $15 million dollars. He has made such an amount of wealth from his primary career as a Musician.He also made his wealth as an actor and from commercial deals. 

He is one of the richest South African celebrities in the world and among the most sought after celebrities in South Africa. Fataar is also recognized for his contributions as a record producer, and has worked on projects scoring music to film and television.