THE sound of drums came to Lowestoft as a former rock star went rockin' all over the town.Former Status Quo drummer Jeff Rich brought his percussion workshop to a number of schools in the region this week, delighting hundreds of the town's children with his enthralling show.

THE sound of drums came to Lowestoft as a former rock star went rockin' all over the town.

Former Status Quo drummer Jeff Rich brought his percussion workshop to a number of schools in the region this week, delighting hundreds of the town's children with his enthralling show.

There was laughter, clapping, cheering and of course the loud beat of drums as Jeff gave 90-minute workshops to children at Harris Middle, Roman Hill Middle, Gisleham Middle, Kirkley Middle and Denes High schools, before moving south towards schools in the Ipswich area.

In the first half of the show he taught the children about a wide variety of drums, covering the history of a number of the percussion instruments. This was followed by an exciting five minute solo from him and an opportunity for all of the children to play a percussion instrument.

Roman Hill Middle school headteacher Paul Herod said: 'The children are so excited and so affected by it, they are really impressed by him. There is a real educational aspect to it. He's not just here to perform, this a real workshop for them to learn from.'

Jeff Rich performed with Status Quo from 1986 to 2000. During this time he began touring schools across the UK, and today continues to do this, while also performing with a rhythm and blues band.

'I have been to around 5,000 schools,' he said. 'I hope the children get inspired to take up any instrument, not just the drums.'