Dave Stewart (musician)
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- For the Eurythmics member, see David A. Stewart
David Lloyd Stewart (born Waterloo, London, 30 December 1950) is a musician currently recording with singer Barbara Gaskin. He has worked as a magazine columnist, has written books on music theory, and has played keyboards in various Canterbury scene progressive rock bands: Uriel, Egg, Arzachel, Khan, Hatfield and the North, Gong, National Health, Bruford and Rapid Eye Movement. He has contributed music to several Victor Lewis-Smith TV and radio projects.
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[edit] History
Stewart's career began playing keyboards in Uriel with Mont Campbell (bass, vocals), Steve Hillage (guitars) and Clive Brooks (drums). The band toured, but never secured a recording contract. After Hillage left, the other three formed Egg, although the quartet briefly reunited to record an album under the name Arzachel. In 1972, Stewart also guested on Khan's first album, Khan being Hillage's new band.
In 1973, Stewart joined Hatfield and the North. He left in 1975 and, after a tour with Gong, he founded National Health in 1975 with keyboardist Alan Gowen. The initial National Health drummer was Bill Bruford and Stewart helped out on Bill Bruford's debut solo album Feels Good to Me (1977) and subsequent fusion band project Bruford.
From 1980 to 1981, Stewart led Rapid Eye Movement with Rick Biddulph (bass, vocals), who had been a roadie and live sound engineer for Hatfield and National Health, Pip Pyle (drums), also formerly of Hatfield and National Health, and Jakko Jakszyk (guitar).
His first hit single under his own name was with The Zombies-founder and vocalist Colin Blunstone. A cover version of Jimmy Ruffin's Motown soul classic "What Becomes of the Brokenhearted", it made #13 in the UK charts. For the follow-up, Stewart recruited friend and former Hatfield backing singer Barbara Gaskin to record a cover of "It's My Party" (#1 in the UK and Germany, 1981). He also took part in a brief National Health reunion in 1981. The pair have continued working together ever since, although Stewart has also guested on various other projects, including helping to produce the first album by Bill Bruford's Earthworks jazz band.
He created the title music to the (then revamped) BBC Television AOR show The Old Grey Whistle Test in the mid 1980s.
[edit] Books
- Inside the Music (1999, Miller Freeman Books, 0879305711)
- The Musician's Guide to Reading and Writing Music (Second Edition, 1999, Miller Freeman Books, 0879305703)
- The Musician's Guide to Reading and Writing Music (1st Edition, 1993, Backbeat Books, 0879302739)
- Introducting the Dots (Later rewritten as The Musicians Guide)
[edit] Discography
[edit] Singles
- "What Becomes of the Broken Hearted"/"There Is No Reward", Broken 1, 1981 (Colin Blunstone, guest vocalist)
- "It's My Party (And I'll Cry If I Want To)"/"Waiting in the Wings" (12" single), Broken 2, 1981
- "Johnny Rocco"/"The Hamburger Song", Broken 3, 1982
- "Siamese Cat Song"/"The Emperor's New Guitar", Broken 4, 1983
- "Busy Doing Nothing"/"The World Spins So Slow" (picture disc), Broken 5, 1983
- "Leipzig"/"Rich For A Day", Broken 6, 1983
- "I'm In A Different World"/"A World of Difference"/"Henry and James" (12" single), Broken 7, 1984
- "I'm In A Different World"/"Henry and James" (12" single), Quality QDC-304 (Canada), 1984
- "The Locomotion"/"Make Me Promises" (picture disc), Broken 8, 1986
- "Walking The Dog" (remix)/"The Cloths of Heaven"/"The Locomotion" (CD single), Line (Germany), 1992
[edit] Albums
- Disappear, unissued
- Neil's Heavy Concept Album, East West 4509-94852-2, 1984
- Up From The Dark, Rykodisc RCD 10011, 1986
- Broken Records - The Singles, MIDI Records (Japan), 1987
- As Far As Dreams Can Go, MIDI Records (Japan), 1988
- The Big Idea, Rykodisc RCD 20172, 1989
- Spin, Rykodisc RCD 20213, 1991
- Selected Tracks, Musidisc (France) & Disky (Holland), 1993
See also National Health, Hatfield and the North, Egg, Steve Hillage, Bruford, Gong, Arzachel and Khan.
