Linn LM-1

The Linn LM-1 Drum Computer is a drum machine released by Linn Electronics in 1980. It was the first drum machine to include sampled drum sounds stored in memory chips, the technology of which was still in development at the time. And also offered full programmability, with drum sounds such as kick, snare, claps, hi-hat, tom-toms, rimshot, cabassa etc. It was used by the likes of Prince, Stevie Wonder, Paul McCartney, Heaven 17, Human League, Steve Winwood, Michael Jackson and many more.

Both Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford took advantage of the new drum machine. So did Peter Gabriel.

'Note: The Linn LM-1 is commonly erroneously referred to as the "LinnDrum" or the "Linn Drum", which confuses it with its successor which bears that particular name. Both drum machines are easily distinguishable by their sounds and different character. It is unclear how the widespread reference "Linn Drum" evolved, but is thought to have derived as a shorthand for its full name the "Linn LM-1 Drum Computer".'

Mike Rutherford's Linn LM-1
As per Phil in a promotional interview for Abacab, Mike Rutherford received a new Linn LM-1 drum machine in 1981 alongside Tony Banks.

Mike used the Linn to a minor extent on his second solo album Acting Very Strange (1982) - it provides all the drums on "Couldn't Get Arrested" and "A Day To Remember". Pete Phipps was previously thought to have programmed the Linn (based on what turned out to be a slight misconception of the layout of the credits), but has said otherwise in a private email conversation. The album credits are written in a way to imply that "The Linn" receives a standalone credit for the drums on the album, alongside real drums from Pete Phipps and Stewart Copeland (The Police fame).

On the Genesis album, Mike programmed the signature drum beat for "Mama" using the Linn. The sound that opens the record was a result of feeding the Linn through an AMS RMX-16 digital reverb and a Yamaha amp (or Fender depending on the source) on the edge of distortion - described as a terrible but beautiful sound by some. The amp signal was blended with the direct signal from the Linn to give the sound some character. It was mainly for click tracks alongside Phil's Movement drum computer - some Linn percussion sounds were kept on "Taking It All Too Hard" as well.

Mike's Linn LM-1 was sold in 2001 with other Genesis gear from the farm.

Tony Banks' Linn LM-1
As per Phil in a promotional interview for Abacab, Tony Banks received his then-new Linn LM-1 drum computer as early as 1981 alongside Mike Rutherford.

On the Genesis album, Tony Banks brought over his Linn LM-1 for triggering synths (pre-MIDI), probably via Kepex noise gates. For "Mama", Mike's Linn was probably connected to Tony's Linn, which he used to trigger the ARP Quadra's pulses using a cowbell which isn't heard in the mix. He previously used this triggering technique on The Fugitive. While the Linn was pivotal to the writing stage (replacing the Roland CR-78 CompuRhythm), only very few Linn parts were kept on the record. It appears on "Thirty Three's", for example.

Tony Banks' Linn LM-1 was sold off in 2001 with other gear from The Farm.

Tony Banks quotes on the Linn LM-1
"'I've got an eight track system set up at home, the Brenell, with all the keyboards set up and the Linn [LM-1] drum machine, which means that I can just pop in and play over a few ideas whenever I like. Everything is triggered through the Linn so that I can control the rhythmic element from a musical direction - the ideas for the reggae side (especially on 'Fugitive') came from that, using the double beat as a basis for the chord patterns. But I wouldn't like to use the pulses too much - you end up with a sound that is all a bit 'spot on' and electronic. There seems to be little emotion in there. I know a lot of young bands are using microcomposers in this way, but you get to the point where even non-electronic things start to sound electronic. (Electronics & Music Maker, November 1983)"

Peter Gabriel's Linn LM-1
Peter Gabriel was known for being one of the early adopters of the Linn LM-1 drum machine. It played a major role in the making of his fourth album (a.k.a. Security) during 1981-82. He initially erased the stock patterns of the drum machine, and programmed his own rhythms (in the form of drum loops) to build songs around. Early on in the album's recording, he did some of the Linn programming at co-producer David Lord's Crescent Studios in Bath, where the Linn patterns were played through the PA and recorded back to tape.

With the Linn especially, it gave Peter more control over the rhythm parts, having once been a drummer. Previously, he had a PAiA Programmable Drum Set, which was a precursor to the Linn in terms of programmability and did not have the sampled drums technology yet. The resulting songs are often a mix of Linn patterns and real drums from Jerry Marotta, as opposed to the Linn replacing the drummer or vice versa.

In footage from the South Bank Show TV Special, Peter Gabriel's LM-1 says "Speed" rather than "Tempo", meaning it's a very early Linn. He probably had access to it via Syco Systems company, which was the UK distributor of the Fairlight CMI sampling synthesizer of which Peter Gabriel was an advocate. He went on to purchase the LinnDrum and later the Linn 9000.

Later appearances of the Linn LM-1 are "Floating Dogs" on the Birdy soundtrack, for some of the percussion sounds. His last use of the LM-1 was "Don't Give Up" on So (1986).

Quotes on the Linn LM-1
"'My Linn [LM-1] has also altered the way I write. Part of the writing process on the last two albums bas been that of rhythm first. Drum computers have offered me the ability to take my hands off the instrument and still have a great feel to carry on. I like to find new rhythms, I think a lot of rock rhythms are getting boring. Half of the rhythms on the new album are in a more traditional style with different emphases and the unusual patterns that were taken from a rhythm 'library' that I had built up with about 40 ideas. I might use some of the remainder in the future' (International Musician & Recording World, June 1983)"

Steve Hackett and the Linn LM-1
The Linn LM-1 was used on Steve Hackett's Cured (1981) and Highly Strung (1983) albums, programmed by keyboardist Nick Magnus.

Of the two albums, Cured features a Linn LM-1 on virtually all the songs. According to Steve, the Linn had recently come out and "seemed like a short answer to an awful lot of financial problems" which he was experiencing at the time. The Linn offered full programmability and stored real drum sounds on its chips, so it turned out to be the appropriate alternative to hiring session drummers to keep within budget. Also, the Linn didn't have any cymbal sound chips, so the cymbals on the album were overdubbed afterwards by hand.