Early years Hopkins was born in
Dublin and was brought up in
Clane,
County Kildare in a musical family (his father, Des being a jazz drummer). He was surrounded by music from an early age and began playing the drums at approximately four or five years old. In 1993, he left school to join
My Little Funhouse, a band from
County Kilkenny. The band had already released their debut album
Standunder on
Geffen Records, when Graham joined. The band toured for about a year in support of the album, mainly in the United States. Tours included support to
Guns N' Roses and the
Ramones amongst others. The band then lived in
Los Angeles and recorded a second album for Geffen before imploding.
Notable appearances Therapy? Hopkins moved on, joining the popular
Northern Irish band
Therapy? in 1996, recording three studio albums –
Semi-Detached,
Suicide Pact – You First,
Shameless – and also recorded new songs with the band for
So Much for the Ten Year Plan: A Retrospective 1990-2000. His first public appearance with Therapy? was at the IRMA Awards, Dublin on 29 March 1996. Hopkins played his first full gig with Therapy? at a fan-club members only show at The Attic, Dublin on 10 April 1996. His last show was at the Ambassador Theatre, Dublin on 8 December 2001.
Gemma Hayes After leaving Therapy? in December 2001 Hopkins was asked to tour with Irish singer/songwriter
Gemma Hayes. He toured with Hayes for over a year – supporting her
Mercury Music Prize-
nominated album
Night on My Side.
Halite Hopkins then went on to record two albums with his own band Halite. Halite began as a solo project for Graham, who debuted with the critically acclaimed first album "Head On" with
Warner Bros. Records in 2003. Head On was an off-kilter melodic pop/rock album. He played most instruments on the record but needed musicians to help out for playing live. He asked his friends Binzer Brennan, Keith Farrell and Derren Dempsey if they would tour with him. Halite then grew into a fully formed band. They soon went on to record and independently release their second album "Courses" in 2004. Halite played numerous shows over the following two years, including opening the
Slane Concert in 2003 for
Red Hot Chili Peppers and
Foo Fighters. In early 2005, due to commitments with others projects from each member, the band was put on hold.
Boss Volenti Hopkins was a member of Dublin band
Boss Volenti for three years. He drummed on their self-titled debut album released in 2006 but left the band immediately after their appearance at
Electric Picnic 2008.
The Cake Sale Hopkins appeared as part of the band on the 2006
Oxfam charity album,
The Cake Sale.
Snow Patrol Hopkins spent the early part of 2007 stepping in as drummer for
Snow Patrol on their
European, Australian, New Zealand and American tours.
Dolores O'Riordan He drummed on
Dolores O'Riordan's debut solo album,
Are You Listening? in 2007 before embarking on a worldwide tour with her.
Once and The Swell season Hopkins also played on the soundtrack to the Irish
Oscar-
winning musical film Once which was written and directed by
John Carney. He drummed on a few of the songs with
Glen Hansard of
The Frames and
Markéta Irglová. Hopkins toured with
The Swell Season, which features
Glen Hansard,
Markéta Irglová and members of
The Frames.
The Swell Season released their second album,
Strict Joy, in September 2009.
Others Hopkins has played drums on numerous albums, both Irish and internationally, including with
The Frames,
The Swell Season,
David Kitt,
Mundy,
The Reindeer Section,
Josh Ritter,
Jape,
The Pale and
Pugwash amongst many others. Hopkins plays
Zildjian cymbals,
Aquarian drumheads, uses
Vic Firth sticks and
Drum Workshop drums,
drum hardware and
pedals. == Short selected discography ==