Robert Henrit is a British drummer whose four-decade-plus career has carried him through membership in several top U.K. and international pop/rock bands, including
Argent and
the Kinks. Born in Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, his first group affiliation was with Buster Meikle & the Daybreakers, which was where he first played with guitarist
Russ Ballard. He and
Ballard were both later members of
the Roulettes, who first achieved fame as the backing band to singer
Adam Faith before stepping out on their own and enjoying some intermittent commercial success. He and
Ballard were both later closely associated -- first as session musicians and later as actual members -- of
Unit 4+2, a pop/rock outfit with a strong folk influence. In late 1968,
Henrit joined
Ballard, ex-
Zombies keyboard-player
Rod Argent, and bassist
Jim Rodford in
Argent, a pop/rock supergroup of sorts, who enjoyed world-wide attention for much of their eight-year history. He also occasionally played for other artists, including
Colin Blunstone,
Duncan Browne, and
Leo Sayer during this period. Following
Argent's breakup, he did session work for
Roger Daltrey and
Dave Davies, and passed through a number of different groups over the next eight years, including the jazz-rock band
Charlie. In 1984, he joined
the Kinks, replacing their longtime drummer
Mick Avory.
Henrit's work was well-known to the band by then, from his 1960s group associations, his session work for
Dave Davies, and also his time as a member of
Charlie, which had opened for
the Kinks on several occasions; additionally, his longtime
Argent bandmate
Jim Rodford was now the
Kinks bassist.
Henrit remained with the band for a dozen years, until their official retirement in 1996, and was also present on
Ray Davies' soundtrack recording
Return to Waterloo.
–
Bruce Eder, Rovi