Hairy Bikers’ Si King reveals how he used to drive Dave Myers ‘mad’ with hidden talent
Si's keen for fans to see this other side of himself.
Si King is best known as one half of double act The Hairy Bikers but now he’s ready to show the world his hidden talent that ‘nobody really knows about’.
Long before he became a beloved TV chef with best friend Dave Myers, Si had begun touring and playing the drums for various bands.
As food took priority, music continued to be a huge part of the 58-year-old star’s life behind the scenes – with his constant drumming habits getting on his mate’s nerves.
‘Oh he loved it,’ laughed Si as he spoke to Metro. ‘I used to drive him mad, he’d go: “For god sake man, will you stop tapping? Can we just listen to the track? Do you have to sing it as well?”
‘I’d go “Alright, fair enough” and then do it anyway. He’d just put up with it.’
Dave, who died last year at age 66, was ‘really supportive’ of Si’s second career in bands like Groovetrain, who he is set to perform with this weekend.
He’s performing with Groovetrain this weekend (Picture: Mike Marsland/WireImage)Si recalled: ‘He used to come to the festivals that we used to do, get p***ed and jump up and down by the side of the stage. It was great! He was just lush.’
Music has been ‘enormously’ influential in Si’s grieving process, with the chef sharing he ‘couldn’t live without it’.
‘It really tough,’ he shared, choking up slightly as he spoke. ‘It’s a different type of grief because it’s not family, but it is family, and it’s just different.
‘There’s a schism to it. It’s hard to verbalise.’
In his current tour, Si has included a moving tribute to his friend of 30 years by covering Angel From Montgomery by John Prine and Bonnie Raitt.
Dave Myers would always support his best mate’s music career (Picture: Geoffrey Swaine/REX/Shutterstock)He explained: ‘Dave and I used to listen to it and remember the people and the places that we’d left. Not left behind, but we certainly had left and now had different life experiences to most of the people that we grew up with, and it was always very evocative that track so, that’s why I play it because it reminds me of my best mate.
‘Even though he’s passed, he doesn’t stop being your best mate. People forget that, I think, sometimes.’
Now the Hairy Bikers has come to an end, Si is using the time to embrace his musical side more and actually let people know about it.
Groovetrain are set to perform at London’s The Water Rats on Saturday, March 29, a venue which has played host to legends like Jimi Hendrix and Roxy Music.
The Northern band’s setlist feature covers and original music, bringing a funk and soul sound that he hopes will get everyone dancing.
Tickets are on sale now through Skiddle, and the star is eager for fans to see him like they’ve never seen him before – even singing a few tracks.
‘I mean, granted, most of the nation’s seen me take my clothes off, jump into freezing cold pools, get slapped with birch twigs, all that sort of stuff -but never on stage,’ Si joked.
Groovetrain will also take to the stage at Carfest later this summer as part of their festival run, although there’s no Glastonbury slot in the works.
‘If me and the boys could go to Glastonbury and play that, we’d be over the moon,’ he said.
Si agreed with Metro that the band would be perfect for an afternoon set on Worthy Farm’s Park Stage, ‘just having great craic with everybody’.
Si would love to play Glastonbury (Picture: groovetrain/youtube)‘I’ll just be shameless and say if anybody wants to invite us, we’re cheap,’ he added.
‘That’s the whole thing about me being a musician, I haven’t worked out how to make any money out of it. It’s only ever cost me money!’
Rebranding as a drummer almost 20 years into your career might seem like an odd choice, but for Si, food and music have always been ‘indivisible’.
‘I think any human being that’s creative when you get to this point in your life, there’s more than two sides,’ he explained. ‘There’s the music, there’s travel, there’s food, there’s life experience, there’s a bit of wisdom.
‘Only a fool thinks they’re a wise man, but it’s just about a lived experience, and I’m very pleased to say that I’ve had a very, very privileged life, in the sense that I’ve done many, many things and been in many places.’
He worked out that together, he and Dave had travelled over 650,000 miles – a ‘mental’ distance that equates to reaching the moon and back.
Si has been playing drums longer than he’s been a famous chef (Picture: REX/Shutterstock)‘Music is appropriate to what’s on your plate,’ Si added. ‘It’s another area of cultural recognition.’
As for what Si wants on his plate while touring, the Hairy Bikers legend laughed again and shared he’s always keen for a bacon sandwich and a cup of tea.
The simple dish has always been his answer for a death row meal, which he joked highlighted the difference between the two bikers.
‘Dave would be like: “I want a 25 course tasting menu”, he shared. ‘I’d say he’d never get through it. He’d be like, “Well, I don’t wanna die straight away, can make that last at least two days.”
‘What’s the point? I just want to scran it and then get me ‘ead chopped off or whatever they’re gonna do. That’s the difference between us, just hilarious.’
Si and Groovetrain will perform at The Water Rats, London on Saturday, March 29.
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us [email protected], calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.
