Chris Dreja

Chris Dreja is a British musician, best known for being the former rhythm guitarist and bassist for The Yardbirds. In 1963, Dreja and guitarist Top Topham (who would eventually be replaced by Eric Clapton) became members of the Metropolitan Blues Quartet. The group, which featured Dreja, Topham, Keith Relf, Paul Samwell-Smith, and Jim McCarty, was eventually redubbed The Yardbirds. Dreja played rhythm guitar for the band until 1966, when founding bassist Paul Samwell-Smith left the group. Session guitarist Jimmy Page was brought in to play bass while Dreja learned how to play the bass guitar; once Dreja mastered the instrument, Page became the group’s co-lead guitarist. After The Yardbirds' breakup in 1968, Dreja declined to complete a contracted Scandinavia tour with Page, deciding instead to choose a career in photography. Dreja later became a member of the Yardbirds side project Box of Frogs from 1983 to 1986, and Dreja participated in the Yardbirds' reunion lineup as rhythm guitarist from 2002 until 2013, when a series of strokes had forced him to resign.