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Dave
started playing live gigs at the age of 15 after studying the "Blert
Wheedown" school of guitar at the Discworld guild of music. Early
influences were the Shads and Duane Eddy (obviously). He quickly
discovered the Who but was not old enough at the time to take on their
management so he spent time instead standing in front of the speaker
trying desperately to get a Rosseti Airstream guitar to feedback at
about 5 watts in front of a cannibalised old valve radio that he was
using as a practice amp. This was just before something went bang in the
radio and the entire three story block of flats was plunged into
darkness. To this day Dave reckons that this was just a strange
coincidence and nothing to do with the earthing plug that he dropped on
the live chassis, depositing gray powdered metal dust from the melted
plug when it exploded in his face :-)
Undeterred, things moved on.... to gigs in real pubs and a regular spot
in a non-alcoholic night club in East Ham in the 60s called the
"Full Moon" club. There was an attempt at writing some
original music and - in common with many musicians of the 60s - a
recording session in Regent Sound in Denmark St. Rumour has it that he
has still got the original direct cut discs from these early recordings
but he will not admit to it or let anyone hear them (wonder why?).
Then there was thirty odd years (odd being the operative word) of
gigging in the usual pubs and working men's clubs - interspersed with
more original writings and recordings and being turned down by A & R
people up and down the country.
Main influences over time are Eric (Clapton and not the dart thrower)
and Pete and long time friend John B. Dave also admits to nicking ideas
from all over the place as and when he can.
Dave has also admitted being a member of the following bands at one time
or another: The Crusaders, West Block, Plane of Existence, Magenta,
Contraband, Counter Strike, The Phantoms, Mirage, Shanghai Express,
Breaking the Rules, Right Back Again and finally Still Burning Flame....
there are others that he is keeping quiet about....
Dave's crowning moment on stage was at the Crayford British Legion club
at New Year's Eve gig in the eighties when a clearly inebriated women
had decided that Dave would be better off on the dance floor rather than
the stage and had tried to pull him off stage by his Peckham (that's his
tie by the way) . [cautionary warning here to musicians not to include
the use of Peckhams in band uniforms]. Dave being the consummate
professional, refused to join in with this idea and managed to continue
singing and playing the rest of the set with his feet lodged in the edge
of the stage and the woman hanging on for dear life... In recognition
for Dave's brave effort she finally rewarded him by dumping the contents
of a nearby waste paper bin into his orange juice. A truly helpful
gesture which Dave thanked her for with a few well chosen words of his
own before launching off into another set.
Likes:
motorcycles; wine; my kids
Dislikes:
speed limits; political correctness; WORK..
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