Alan Davey (musician)
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| Alan Davey | |
|---|---|
| Genres | Space rock, hard rock, heavy metal, proto-punk, acid rock, progressive rock, psychedelic rock, black metal |
| Instruments | Bass, vocals, synth |
Alan Davey (born 11 September 1963, Ipswich, Suffolk) is best known as the former bassist with Hawkwind. He is now the bass player and vocalist for Gunslinger as well as Hawklords, Meads of Asphodel, and Thunor.
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[edit] Early musical career
Davey formed his first band, Gunslinger, in 1979 with his cousin Nigel Potter. Influenced by Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Motörhead and Hawkwind, amongst others, they quickly gained a reputation for playing loud and built a solid following. They recorded a demo tape and a recording contract was promised, but the deal was never signed.
[edit] With Hawkwind
A long-time fan of Hawkwind, Davey had sent a tape of his playing to Dave Brock, and in 1984 Brock invited him to join the band, moving Harvey Bainbridge from bass to keyboards in order to accommodate him.[1] During this first tenure with Hawkwind they released seven studio albums and four live offerings. However by 1996 Davey was unhappy with the musical direction of the band, and left to form his own Middle-Eastern flavoured hard-rock group Bedouin, and a Motörhead tribute act named Ace of Spades.[1]
In October 2000, Davey was reunited with Hawkwind for the Hawkestra 30th anniversary event at the Brixton Academy,[1] and in 2001 he rejoined Hawkwind. They released three live and two studio albums before Davey left the band again in June 2007 to perform and record with the re-formed Gunslinger and Meads of Asphodel.
[edit] Other projects
Davey has now released an album of Arabic-flavoured material with former Hawkwind vocalist Bridget Wishart.[2] available from his site, www.alandaveymusic.com.
March 2008 saw the release of the début album by Gunslinger entitled Earthquake in E Minor. The album featured some of the material that had been written between 1979 and 1982 during the band's first inception. Gunslinger are currently touring on an increasingly busy schedule, through the UK and mainland Europe. The band have in particular built a following in Belgium, Holland, Germany and France. In September 2011, Gunslinger will embark upon their first US tour.
On 18 May 2009, Davey released the solo album entitled Eclectic Devils, on his own record label Earthquake Records. It featured contributions from former Hawkwind violinist/keyboardist Simon House, Josh Dreamspirit, Nigel Potter, James Hodkinson, Louis Davey and Isobel from Bruise.
Davey uses the 4000-series Rickenbacker basses.
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Ian, Abrahams. Hawkwind: Sonic Assassins. SAF Publishing, c2004. p. 155,214,237. ISBN 0-306-80897-8.
- ^ "Alan Davey Interview - September 2008". Live Music Scene. http://www.live-music-scene.co.uk/interviews-content.asp?id=24. Retrieved 21 November 2010.
