The Drifters were formed in 1953 by the late George Treadwell. To this day, the group is still owned by the Treadwell Family.

A second Drifters LP, Rockin' & Driftin', was released in late 1958, comprised entirely of single tracks recorded by the 1955-58 lineup. Ironically, in all their 19-year history with Atlantic Records, The Drifters, in any incarnation, never recorded an actual "album" session; every one of their LPs was compiled from existing single tracks and B-sides and all have a mix-and-match feel due to the inclusion of different line-ups and singers.

The group still had a recording contract with Atlantic Records and the hits kept coming including “There Goes My Baby, "Dance With Me," "This Magic Moment," "I Count the Tears," and "Save the Last Dance for Me," followed. Ben E King was replaced by Johnny Williams, who exited suddenly in late 1960 but was replaced by Rudy Lewis, who took the lead on "Some Kind of Wonderful," "Up on the Roof" and "On Broadway" among others.

Lewis, tragically, was not the longest serving of the group's lead vocalists but his time with The Drifters, following King's, arguably constituted the second golden age in their history. Success followed in the 1960’s notably in 1964 with a song by composers Art Resnick and Kenny Young, called "Under the Boardwalk." In 1964. Tragically, just hours before a recording session began, Rudy Lewis was found dead in his apartment under circumstances that are still in dispute.

The death of George Treadwell in 1967 proved to be yet another stumbling block for The Drifters' continuation as a going concern. George’s wife Faye Treadwell took over the reins and took the group to England, where they nurtured a relationship of a further 15 years under the Bell Arista label. Releases included "Come on Over to My Place" "Like Sister And Brother", "Kissing In The Back Row Of The Movies", "There Goes My First Love", "Your More Than A Number In My Little Red Book", "Saturday Night At The Movies" and many more.

The Drifters became a dance-disco outfit for a time during the late '70s, focussing on stage presentation and fabulous showmanship and eventually developed their act to cover all eras of their glittering career. Thereafter, the band earned a reputation as one of the finest live acts in the world and even Ben E. King returned to the line-up for a tour in the late '80s.

Several successful tours followed for many years under the guidance of Faye Treadwell and the succession of line up changes that had become synonymous with the name from the very beginning continued. In 2003 'The Definitive Drifters' album was released in the UK and went gold in three weeks and was in the album charts for over four months illustrating the bands timeless appeal.

Over the last few years, management company Prism Music Group has rebranded The Drifters and the group is now very much back at the forefront of the contemporary music industry.

In 2008, The Drifters signed to world leading agency Marshall Arts putting them in the same artistic stable as Lionel Richie, Pink and Paul McCartney. In 2009, The Drifters played a prestigious show at the O2 in London,promoted by Kennedy Street Enterprises, featuring 'The Drifters Legends' - former members of the Drifters line up from the different era's of the groups success. Lifetime achievement awards were presented to Drifters Legends Joe Blunt and Butch Leake in recognition of the success of the group during the 1970's on the Bell Arista label. Also in 2009, The Drifters released Five Decades and Moore featuring several of the groups biggest hits as well as four new tracks recorded by the current line up. The album was released in memory of the much loved Johnny Moore.

2010 was another incredible year for The Drifters, who performed a UK arena tour along with The Temptations, The Four Tops and The Three Degrees. In 2010, The Drifters performed to over 100,000 people in the UK alone. Now, in 2011 The Drifters are back on tour in the UK to coincide with the release of the group's Greatest Hits album The Drifters 'Up On The Roof' -released on Sony Music.

Billed as the 'Icons' tour, The Drifters perform the group's greatest hits and new material featured on the new album, paying special homage to some of the most prestigious former recording artists of this group including icons Clyde McPhatter, Rudy Lewis, Ben E King, Bill Frederikse & Johnny Moore. The show highlights the numerous musical reincarnations of this group from early Doo Wop to early pop/rock 'n roll hits to pop and disco as well as the groups' new material following the recent reinvention of the group - contemporary new material that has evolved out of the group's diverse historical musical genres and that is enhanced by the authentic Drifters signature harmonies and sound.

With the exception of the much loved icon Johnny Moore, the current line up is the only line up in the group's history to have recorded on both of the group's historic labels – Atlantic Records with the release in 2009 of Five Decades & Moore and now, in 2011 on Sony Music.

Today, The Drifters are one of the longest running pop groups in history and are still, to this day owned by The Treadwell Family and managed worldwide by UK based company Prism Music Group Ltd. The group has collated a huge catalogue of over 50 hits, selling over 214 million singles and 114 million albums across the world. The Drifters continue to go from strength to strength in this new exciting chapter of the group's history.....

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