Barriemore Barlow, born on September 10, 1949, in Birmingham, England, grew up in “Brum” and later Blackpool, where he met Ian Anderson and John Evans as teenagers in the beat group The Blades. Trained as an apprentice Plastic Mould Tool Fitter, Barlow abandoned a Maths exam to join Anderson and Evan for a gig in Nottingham, marking the start of his professional music career. Before music, he briefly appeared as an extra on the TV series Coronation Street alongside Anderson’s then-girlfriend, actress Yvonne. After leaving The Blades (later the John Evan Band), Barlow joined the Blackpool-based All Jump Kangaroo Band, led by Andy Truman, who later became Jethro Tull’s production manager in 1995.

In 1971, following Clive Bunker’s departure, Barlow auditioned at the Nun’s Home in Lytham St. Annes and joined Jethro Tull, debuting on the EP Life’s a Long Song and embarking on a tumultuous first gig at Denver’s Red Rocks Amphitheatre, where police tear-gassed the audience, forcing the band to flee in a station wagon. Barlow, hidden under a blanket, humorously asked Anderson if such chaos was typical, to which Anderson quipped it occurred “only on Tuesdays and Thursdays.” As part of a stable Tull lineup with Anderson, Evans, Martin Barre, and Jeffrey Hammond-Hammond, Barlow played on iconic albums including Thick as a Brick (1972), A Passion Play (1973), WarChild (1974), Minstrel in the Gallery (1975), Too Old to Rock ‘n’ Roll: Too Young to Die! (1976), Songs from the Wood (1977), Heavy Horses (1978), and Stormwatch (1979).

Devastated by the death of close friend and Tull bassist John Glascock in 1979, and frustrated by the announcement that Anderson’s solo project would become a Tull album, Barlow left Jethro Tull after Stormwatch in 1980. He formed Tandoori Cassette and played on albums like Robert Plant’s The Principle of Moments (1983), Jimmy Page’s Outrider (1988), and works by Richard Digance, John Miles, Kerry Livgren, and Yngwie Malmsteen. In the 1980s and 1990s, Barlow shifted focus to management and record production but continued drumming occasionally, notably reuniting with Tull for a 2008 performance at London’s Royal Festival Hall. In 2023 Barrie wrote, recorded and released the album FLOW in collaboration with Paul Gibbon and George Williams. His powerful, dynamic drumming style and theatrical stage presence remain a significant part of Jethro Tull’s legacy.