IT was one of those moments when Neil Mackie felt life couldn't get much better.

Not only was he playing drums for Bristol group the X-Certs when they supported The Clash, but the legendary punk band's lead singer, the late Joe Strummer, was operating the sound system for them.

"We'd got to the gig and the people who were running the PA had said we'd have to pay them to use it, as they were only being paid for The Clash," says Neil.

"We didn't have enough money. Joe Strummer came up and asked what the problem was, and he was amazing. He went on the desk, so while we were playing he was doing our sound."

This was one of the highlights of Neil's career as a drummer in various groups, playing in punk, reggae, rock and soul.

However, despite appearing on the same bill as The Clash, and getting a recording contract when he was in another Bristol group called Crazy Trains, Neil never made the big time.

He ended up working in bars and claiming the dole in between playing gigs. It seemed his drumming career was coming to an end – but then he discovered Japanese taiko drumming.

Now he is enjoying greater success than he could ever have imagined after becoming one of the first Westerners to master the ancient art.

Next week his group Mugenkyo Taiko Drummers, will be bringing the thundering rhythms and athletic energy of this style of oriental drumming to Bristol's Tobacco Factory as part of a UK tour called The Way of the Drum.

"It's been a long journey," says Neil, 48, who grew up in Easton and Eastville, and attended Whitefield Fishponds School.

"Taiko drumming changed my life. As well as touring and doing more than 100 performances a year, we do a lot of teaching at the purpose-built drumming centre we set up on a farm we bought six years ago in South Lanarkshire, in Scotland."

Neil discovered taiko drumming when he went to Japan to see his half-Japanese girlfriend Miyuki Williams after she was offered a post teaching English there for about a year.

"It's such a powerful form of music. It's quite incredible because you get the whole group of drummers playing together. And they're not just playing drums – it's all very highly choreographed and incredibly energetic."

Neil met a taiko master called Masaaki Kurumaya Sensei, who agreed to teach him. "I spent a year learning with him. He took me under his wing and took me to his classes.

"As far as I know I was the first Westerner to get a cultural visa to stay in Japan and learn taiko drumming.

"As it got more technical, Miyuki had to come along to translate. She decided that if she was going to do that, then she might as well learn drumming as well."

Neil and Miyuki returned to the UK after about a year and a half of studying. They decided to set up their own taiko drumming group in 1994, and called it Mugenkyo Taiko Drummers, as "mugenkyo" means limitless reverberation in Japapense.

"When we started it was difficult to get bookings for performances as people here had never heard of taiko drumming. But we began building up a reputation and our bookings increased – all sorts of things from playing concerts to playing at the FA cup final between Manchester United and Liverpool at the Millennium Stadium.

"Most drummers peak when they're in their 20s, but it's worked in reverse for me because of taiko drumming. I'm in my 40s and my drumming career is still going."

The Way of the Drum will be performed by the Mugenkyo Taiko Drummers at the Tobacco Factory in Southville, Bristol, on Tuesday, May 26, and Wednesday, May 27, at 8pm. Tickets are priced between £8 and £12.

There will also be a drumming workshop suitable for children aged seven to 11, on Wednesday, May 27, from 2pm to 4pm. Tickets £10.

To book tickets, call 0117 902 0344.