Cue Christopher Walken "More Tom Tom"

Interesting perspective my friend; let me throw in some related views. "Back in the Day", British drummers traveled some interesting avenues of musical styles. Bands like the "Beatles" and "Rolling Stones" would have been classified as "Bar Bands" by American standards. In their original setting, they played simple music to entertain night club and pub patrons. They traveled where ever their following would pay to see them. That geographically included England and some Western European countries. Once they evolved enough to record, they were introduced to a different standard of musical levels, and history was made.

Experimenting with music (and different sounds) in a recording studio became a new world. Keep in mind they did not have the technology that modern recording studios have available to them today. They invented new technology and styles to meet their needs. A good example of that is the Moog/Snythesizer. That alone opened new doors for a lot of different musical styles.

Drummer/Percussionists were no different. It was unheard of a drummer utilizing a gong or timpani drums in a song prior to that era. In a lot of cases, they tried to inject "odd" meters as "fills" (different, but not always successful).

One mechanical thing British drummers introduced was the concept of the double bass drum, and the style of drumming it created. Keith Moon is probably the best example; the "Who" were categorized as part of the "Mod" movement, their music was primarily created in the studio, and then played on stage. "Led Zeplen" started out as studio musicians who brought their music to the next level. "Queen" followed a different path, but did the same thing.

Regarding the use of pharmaceuticals and other substances; the primary thing they do is ruin one's sense of time and timing. Not a good thing for any musician.