Facts: - instrument: drums - years active: 1960s -- 2004 - birth name: melvyn paul pritchard - origin: oldham , lancashire , england - death date: 28 january 2004 - genre: rock classic rock progressive rock - birth date: 20 january 1948 - name: mel pritchard - background: non_vocal_instrumentalist - label: harvest , polydor - death place: greenfield , greater manchester - associated acts: barclay james harvest - occupation: musician , drummer Based on these bullet points, write a short biography describing the life of mel pritchard .
The answer to this question is:
mel pritchard -lrb- 20 january 1948 -- 28 january 2004 -rrb- was the former drummer with the british progressive rock band , barclay james harvest .