Larry Mullins (musician)

Lawrence Edward Mullins, also known as Toby Dammit, (born 13 December 1966 in Knoxville, Tennessee) is an American musician, record producer, and composer. A multi-instrumentalist (primarily drums, percussion, and keyboards), Mullins is best known as a member of the bands Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and Swans, as well as a former member of The Stooges and other incarnations of Iggy Pop’s bands. He has also worked extensively in music for films and television, and had a performance role in the German cable series Babylon Berlin.

Music career

Mullins played drums in Iggy Pop’s band from 1990 to 1999, recording three albums and additional works created specifically for films. In 2011, he joined Iggy and The Stooges in England, and remained their live drummer until their final performance in 2013.

Mullins joined Swans in 1995 and continued working with Swans frontman Michael Gira in Angels of Light into 2001. He rejoined Swans in 2019 for the recording of their album Leaving Meaning, and remains a member as of 2024.

Mullins's percussion work appeared throughout the score for Johnny Depp's 1997 film The Brave, where he is credited as "Lawrence Mullins." His original composition for the theme of director Tom Tykwer's German cable series Babylon Berlin, in which he had a screen role as big band drummer Willy Schuricke, was published as sheet music in 2020. In 2021, Mullins performed on drums for Anna Calvi’s score for the 2022 Peaky Blinders cable series.

In 2015, Mullins began performing live with Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds as keyboardist, and continued performing with them during their world tour for the album Skeleton Tree. The tour for the album was documented in the film Distant Sky: Live in Copenhagen. In October, 2018, he switched from playing keyboards to playing drums for the band. Mullins drummed for the Ghosteen European tour in 2022, and afterwards joined Nick Cave and Warren Ellis for their Carnage tour of Australia.

Works (selected)

Solo

• Top Dollar (2001)

Film Scores

• Apple Jack (2006)

Collaborations

• Karny Sutra - with Luther Hawkins (2003)
• Morphosa Harmonia - with Thomas Wydler (2004)

As producer

• Bee and Flower - Last Sight Of Land (2007)
• James Eleganz - The Only One (2019)
• James Eleganz - Hotel Augusta (2022)
• Mell (French singer) - Western Spaghetti (2010)
• The Lightnin 3 - Morning, Noon & Night (2012)

As a featured musician

• Arno - Jus de box (2007)
• Meret Becker - Deins & Done (2014)
• Miguel Bosé - Amo (2014)
• Anna Calvi - Tommy (EP) (2022)
• Anna Calvi - Peaky Blinders Season 5 & 6 (original score) (2024)
• Nick Cave & Warren Ellis - Australian Carnage (Live At The Sydney Opera House) (2023)
• Stephan Eicher - Taxi Europa (2003)
• Stephan Eicher - Tour Taxi Europa (2004)
• Stephan Eicher - Eldorado Trio Live (2009)
• Stephan Eicher - L’Envolée (2012)
• Stephan Eicher - Eldorado (2007)
• Mick Harvey - Delirium Tremens (2016)
• Mick Harvey - Intoxicated Women (2017)
• Masatoshi Nagase - Vending Machine (1996)
• Paul Personne - Patchwork Electrique (2000)
• Iggy Pop - American Caesar (1993)
• Iggy Pop - Naughty Little Doggie (1996)
• Iggy Pop - Avenue B (1999)
• Iggy and The Stooges - Ready to Die (2013)
• The Ringling Sisters - 60 Watt Reality (1990)
• Raphael - Pacific 231 (2010)
• Raphael - Live Vu Par Jacques Audiard (2011)
• Raphael - Anticyclone (2017)
• Shakespears Sister - Ride Again (2019)
• Swans - Die Tür ist zu (1996)
• Swans - Soundtracks For The Blind (1996)
• Swans - Swans Are Dead (1997)
• Swans - Leaving Meaning (2019)
• Swans - The Beggar (2023)
• Rufus Wainwright - Release The Stars (2007)
• Zaz - Zaz (2010)

Soundtrack contributions

• Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991)
• Iggy Pop: Kiss My Blood: Live at The Olympia, Paris (1991)
• The Crow: City of Angels (1996)
• Les Zinzins de l'espace (1997)
• The Brave (1997)
• Dead Dogs Lie (2001)
• The Residents: Icky Flix (2001)
• Monsieur N. (2002)
• Coffee and Cigarettes (2003)
• School Of Rock (2003)
• Eierdiebe (2003)
• The Residents: Demons Dance Alone (2003)
• The Residents: The Residents Play Wormwood (2005)
• Die Unerzogenen (2007)
• Capitalism: A Love Story (2009)
• Im Alter von Ellen (2010)
• End of Watch (2012)
• Dead Man Down (2013)
• The Parisian Bitch, Princess of Hearts (2015)
• The Invaders (2016)
• Babylon Berlin (2018)
• Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds: Distant Sky: Live in Copenhagen (2018)
• Piercing (film) (2018)
• Lotte am Bauhaus (2019)
• Where Does a Body End? (2020)
• Peaky Blinders: (Season 6, 2022)

Publications

• 1001 Nights: Willy Schuricke's Legendary Drum Solo as Performed in "Babylon Berlin" (sheet music, 2020)

References

Further reading

• Open Up And Bleed, Paul Trynka (2007) ISBN 9780767923194
• Swans: Sacrifice And Transcendence, Nick Soulsby, (2018) ISBN 1911036394
• Tricatel Universalis, Philippe Manœuvre & Jean-Emmanuel Deluxe (2018, in French) ISBN 1911036394
• Babylon Berlin, Michael Töteberg (2018, in German) ISBN 978-3462052503

External links

• Official site
• Larry Mullins at Allmusic
• Audio interview with Mullins on the Mike Watt podcast The Watt from Pedro Show from 5 July 2011.
• Audio interview with Mullins by Todd Steed on Knoxville radio station WUOT from 27 March 2015.