Chris Dreja, co-founder of influential English rock band the Yardbirds and co-writer on many of the band’s memorable songs, died at 79. His death was announced by his former bandmate Jimmy Page.
“I heard today of the passing of musician Chris Dreja, who passionately played with the iconic Yardbirds, on rhythm guitar and then the bass,” Page wrote on Instagram. “I hadn’t seen him in a while, and I wish I had. RIP Chris.”
The news was confirmed by Dreja’s sister-in-law Muriel Levy, who wrote on Threads, “This is with a deep sadness that I have to announce that my brother-in-law Chris Dreja, former member of legendary band the Yardbirds, rhythm guitarist and also bass player has passed away after years of health problems… I share the pain with my sister Kate who took care of him during all those years and his daughter Jackie… May he RIP.”
Born Christopher Walenty Dreja on Nov. 11, 1945, Dreja was raised in Kingston upon Thames, England, and gravitated to music early on. His brother attended a pre-college art program with original Yardbirds lead guitarist Anthony “Top” Topham. Dreja and Topham began collaborating soon after. In 1963, still teenagers, they joined forces with singer Keith Relf, bassist Paul Samwell-Smith, and drummer Jim McCarty as the Metropolitan Blues Quartet, eventually renaming themselves the Yardbirds.
Topham left the group not long after, but Dreja continued the Yardbirds. Eric Clapton joined in Topham’s place and later in 1963, the band took over the Rolling Stones’ residency at London’s Crawdaddy club. The following year, the Yardbirds released a live album, Five Live Yardbirds, recorded at London’d Marquee Club, via Columbia Records. In 1965, Clapton departed and was replaced by Jeff Beck. With the new lineup, the Yardbirds released multiple singles, including “Heart Full of Soul,” “Shapes of Things,” “Evil Hearted You,” and a memorable cover of Bo Diddley’s “I’m a Man.”
The Yardbirds toured the U.S. and Europe in 1965 and 1966, and in 1966, they released one of their most notable singles, “Shapes of Things,” dubbed the “first psychedelic rock classic.” The group released their self-titled album the same year. Samwell-Smith left in mid-1966 and Page initially joined the band on bass. Dreja eventually switched instruments and the Yardbirds featured a short-lived lineup of the band that featured Beck and Page on dueling lead guitars. The group recorded “Stroll On,” a reworking of “Train Kept A-Rollin’,” for Michelangelo Antonioni’s film Blow-Up, which included an appearance from the musicians.
Beck left the Yardbirds in 1966, and the group carried on with Page as the sole guitarist and Dreja on bass. They released an album, Little Games, in 1967, and toured together for several years. The group disbanded in 1968 after performing their final shows in the U.S. and Page split off to form the New Yardbirds, which became Led Zeppelin.
Dreja declined Page’s offer to continue playing together and began pursuing his interest in photography in earnest. He photographed artists like Andy Warhol, Bob Dylan, the Righteous Brothers, Ike and Tina Turner, and Led Zeppelin over the years. He returned to music in the ’80s with his former bandmates as Box of Frogs before launching a Yardbirds revival in the ’90s. Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inducted Dreja as part of the Yardbirds in 1992. The group released an album, Birdland, in 2002, featuring guest appearances from Brian May and Slash.
“At art school I had got involved with photography,” Dreja recounted in an interview with Classic Rock Radio. “I obviously had no idea that Led Zeppelin was going to be as huge as it was. I had made the decision that I was going to be in control of my own life when I woke up in the morning… I could see it was going to be a solid outfit, but by that time I must be honest the love I had for music had transferred itself to photography. I don’t regret it. The next 32 years were spent organizing my own life.”
In 2012 and 2013, Dreja suffered a series of strokes. In 2013, he officially departed the Yardbirds and was replaced by Topham. In an interview with Classic Bands, Dreja expressed contentment for his career overall. “I personally have done the two things I love the most, which was both music and photography,” he said. “I have no regrets, I must be honest. The passion, the love for the art form did provide me with a living and that’s all you need really.”
