Background
Shirley was born in Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire, and began playing drums for the band Apostolic Intervention at an early age.
Shirley was born in Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire, and began playing drums for the band Apostolic Intervention at an early age.
He is also known for his work with Fastway, Joey Molland from Badfinger, David Gilmour, Alexis Korner, Billy Nicholls, Syd Barrett, John Entwistle, Sammy Hagar and Benny Mardones. He was later recruited by Steve Marriott to join the then newly-formed rock band Humble Pie, when he was seventeen years old. Shirley remained as Humble Pie"s drummer for the majority of the group"s history.
Shirley co-wrote Fastway"s biggest hit, "Say What You Will".
After leaving Fastway, Shirley joined the line up of Waysted and reformed Humble Pie in the United States, with Charlie Huhn as vocalist. Shirley was the only original group member and they were billed as Humble Pie Featuring Jerry Shirley.
They performed with a fluid lineup for ten years before disbanding. During this period, Shirley also worked as a disc jockey at WNCX, a classic rock station in Cleveland, Ohio.
Shirley returned to the United Kingdom in 1999.
In 2000 he reformed Humble Pie with their original bassist Greg Ridley and another former band member, guitarist and vocalist Bobby Tench. They recorded Humble Pie"s eleventh studio album Back on Track (2002) and he also appeared in a memorial concert for former Humble Pie bandmate Steve Marriott. More recently he has performed with the Deborah Bonham Band.