Royal Blood drummer Ben Thatcher has announced the birth of his first child, a baby boy, with his long-term partner Becca McGinty. The percussionist shared the news with his Instagram followers on Wednesday afternoon, confirming that McGinty had given birth to their son at East Surrey Hospital.
Sharing a photo of the newborn baby, Thatcher, a BRIT Award winner with his Worthing-based band, praised his girlfriend for carrying their child and revealed their son's distinctive first and middle names. He wrote: 'Introducing my little boy, Phoenix Rue Thatcher. He has stolen my heart. @beccamcginty_ thank you for growing this little miracle. I love you, you’re already the greatest mum to our wee lad. And thank you to @nhssurreysussex for delivering our little boy safely into the world.'
Celebrity friends were quick to congratulate the drummer, among them The 1975 bass guitarist Ross MacDonald, who wrote: 'Congratulations to both of you! What a stunner.' Radio 1 presenter Jack Saunders added: 'Congratulations to you both. What a gorgeous boy.' YouTube influencer Joe Sugg, who recently welcomed his first child with partner Dianne Buswell, wrote: 'Congrats to you both!'
Royal Blood's Journey
Thatcher joined Royal Blood after replacing founding member Matt Swan on drums. Signed by Warner Bros. Records in 2013, the band—now a two-piece featuring percussionist Thatcher and singer and bassist Mike Kerr—have released four albums and toured the world. They have also shared the stage with rock legends Muse and Foo Fighters after both bands requested they support them on tour.
'Muse are a fantastic band for us to open up for because our fans kind of have the same DNA,' Thatcher told The Sun in 2023. 'So, for us to go out into those stadiums is like playing to a lot of our fans really, but in places where we wouldn’t be able to play normally. Like the Stade de France in Paris, which was amazing.' He added: 'You forget how many hits Muse or Coldplay have. They’re both made for stadium shows. Muse really is an unbelievable band.'
On-Stage Controversy
In 2023, the band came under fire after a bizarre on-stage meltdown at BBC Radio One's Big Weekend in Dundee, during which they openly swore and mocked 'pathetic fans'. After being sandwiched between mainstream pop acts Niall Horan and Lewis Capaldi, an aggrieved Kerr began mocking the audience and suggested they didn't know who the band were.
'Well I guess we should introduce ourselves considering no one knows who we actually are,' he began. 'We're called Royal Blood and this is rock music. Who likes rock music? Nine people... brilliant.' Introducing his bandmates, he added: 'This is Ben Thatcher and he plays drums... everybody say hi to Ben please. We're having to clap ourselves because that was so pathetic. Well done Ben.' Pointing to the cameraman on stage he then snapped: 'Will you clap for us? Will you clap? No you're busy. Oh yes even he's clapping. What does that say about you?' As the set came to a close, Kerr then slammed his guitar on stage and walked off with his middle fingers in the air to the audience.
