Spinetti was born in Cwm, near Ebbw Vale, Monmouthshire, Wales. His first band, aged about 121⁄2 or 13, was The Toby Four (named after Toby beer), which rehearsed in the Ambray Hotel and played songs by The Shadows, amongst others. He then joined another group called The Choice from Tredegar, with a guitarist influenced by Jimi Hendrix. After this he got into a group in Cardiff called The Clockwork Motion, which played as far afield as Newcastle and Birmingham, with Spinetti playing a Premier Black Pearl drum kit. He then secured an audition for a London band Floribunda Rose. He travelled to London, with his drums, on the train, and went to the band's flat in Earls Court; he played four or five numbers and got the job. The band became Scrugg and went to the Top 10 Club in Hamburg.^[2]

Spinetti began his recording career with Scrugg, which recorded on the Pye label. Band members included fellow Welshman Jack Russell, Christos Demetriou and the South African singer-songwriter, John Kongos. In the early 1970s, Spinetti appeared with Kongos on BBC Television's Top of the Pops performing Kongos' chart hit single, "He's Gonna Step on You Again".^[3] After leaving Scrugg, Spinetti's early work included spells with The Herd and Judas Jump, who were the opening act at the Isle of Wight Festival 1970.^[4] The line-up of The Herd and Judas Jump included Andy Bown, who later joined Status Quo. He was a member of the UK band Hustler which released two albums—High Street (1974) and Play Loud (1975), the latter of which was produced by Roy Thomas Baker.

Spinetti played on eight of the ten tracks on Gerry Rafferty's album City to City (including the hit "Baker Street"),^[2] and also played in the 2002 memorial concert for George Harrison, "The Concert For George".^[5] In 2011 Spinetti recorded with Andy Bown again, playing drums on Bown's solo album "Unfinished Business". Spinetti was a member of Eric Clapton's touring band in the 2010s.

Spinetti's recording credits include the following:

He is the younger brother of actor Victor Spinetti (1929–2012).^[6] He married Susan Styles in Coventry, Warwickshire, England in 2004.^{[citation needed]}.

• Work with Procol Harum & Gary Brooker
• The Musician's Olympus
• Henry Spinetti discography at Discogs