Famous British Rock Musicians

English musician, singer, and songwriter, Ringo Starr, gained international fame as the drummer for the rock band, the Beatles. Raised by a single mother, he had a difficult childhood. He sought solace in music and it became his vocation. After finding success with the Beatles, he embarked on a solo career as well.

Keith Richards is a musician and songwriter. He is credited with co-founding one of the most popular rock bands ever, The Rolling Stones. Also a guitarist, he was ranked fourth on Rolling Stone magazine's 100 best guitarists list in 2011. Richards' look and characterization inspired the character of Captain Teague who appears in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series.

Brian Jones was an English musician credited with founding the world-renowned rock band, The Rolling Stones. He was also considered the original leader of the band before his fellow band members, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, took over the musical direction of the band. Jones became the first member of the infamous 27 Club, when he died at age 27.

Grammy-winning English singer Damon Albarn has previously been part of two major bands, Blur and Gorillaz, as their lead vocalist and primary songwriter. He has also performed as part of the supergroup The Good, the Bad & the Queen. His solo album Everyday Robots was nominated for a Mercury Award.

Ronnie Wood is a musician and songwriter. Over the years, Wood has been an important member of popular rock bands like the Rolling Stones, Jeff Beck Group, and Faces. He is one of the few musicians to be inducted twice into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. A cancer survivor, Wood serves as an inspiration to those fighting cancer.

English drummer, Charlie Watts, was best known as a member of the band Rolling Stones. He was associated with the group for almost 60 years. He began his career as a graphic designer for an advertising company and played with bands in his leisure time. He eventually started drumming full time with Rolling Stones.

Donovan is a Scottish guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is best known for developing and popularizing a distinctive and eclectic style that blended many genres, such as folk, jazz, pop, calypso, and psychedelic rock. Donovan was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame, in 2012 and 2014, respectively.

Richard Wright was an English musician. He is credited with co-founding the popular band ,Pink Floyd, for which he also served as a vocalist and keyboardist. Wright contributed immensely to the success of Pink Floyd and his distinctive keyboard playing was a key component of the music produced by the band.

Tinged with themes of female sexuality, the lyrics of PJ Harvey have redefined the place women occupy in rock music. While she was initially part of a musical trio named after herself, she later charted her own path as a solo musician. She is only artist to have earned the Mercury Prize twice.

One of the most popular rock keyboardists of the progressive rock genre, Rick Wakeman soared to fame as part of the band Yes and later had an equally successful solo career. He had ditched his initial dream of becoming a pianist to start his career as a session musician.

Best known for his hit album-length conceptual piece Tubular Bells, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Mike Oldfield experimented with a whole range of musical genres, such as progressive rock, folk, and new-age rock. His music was also featured in the cult horror film of the 1970s The Exorcist.

Pete Doherty is an English musician, artist, actor, writer, and songwriter. He is credited with forming the popular rock band, The Libertines, for which he also serves as the co-frontman. Pete Doherty has been struggling with drug addiction for many years now. He has also been arrested on several occasions for offences arising from drug use.

English singer-songwriter Sandy Denny, considered a leading British folk-rock singer, performed as lead-singer of the famous folk-rock band Fairport Convention, and fronted it through many of its successful albums like What We Did on Our Holidays. Other notable works of Denny includes her solo-albums like Rendezvous; and her folk-duet The Battle of Evermore with Robert Plant for Led Zeppelin's album.

KT Tunstall is a Scottish musician and singer-songwriter. She came into prominence in 2004, when she performed Black Horse and the Cherry Tree in a music TV show called Later... with Jools Holland. KT Tunstall is the recipient of several prestigious awards, including the European Border Breakers Award, Ivor Novello Award, Scottish Style Award, and Brit Award.

Experimental musician John Cale is best known as the co-founder of the rock band The Velvet Underground. The son of a coal miner father, he later developed a love for music that earned him a scholarship to the University of London. Prescribed opiates for his bronchial issues, he later struggled with addiction.

British folk singer-songwriter Laura Marling is noted for albums like I Speak Because I Can and Song for Our Daughter, which garnered her nomination for Mercury Music Prize. The latter and her sixth album, Semper Femina also earned her Grammy Award nomination for Best Folk Album. She has won the Brit Award for Best British Female Solo Artist in 2011.

Dhani Harrison is an English musician, singer-songwriter, and composer. Best known as the son of George Harrison, Dhani started his career by assisting his father record his final album, Brainwashed. He then went on to form his own band called Thenewno2. Dhani Harrison also established himself as a composer, scoring music for TV shows like Good Girls Revolt and Outsiders.