David McAlmont
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David McAlmont (born David Irving McAlmont, 2 May 1967, Croydon, England[1]) is an English vocalist noted for his high vocal range.
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[edit] Early life and career
He was born to a Guyanese State Registered Nurse mother and a Nigerian Law Student father. He lived in Wales in the early 1970s and then Norfolk,[2] before the family moved to Guyana in 1978.
McAlmont remained in South America for nine years, during which time his talents and his three-and-a-half-octave vocal range was honed in the choir of the local Pentecostal Church.
In 1987, and back in Croydon, McAlmont earned a living doing several jobs, which included working for an insurance company.[1]
He met his first musical collaborator by answering an advertisement in the Melody Maker and forming the duo Thieves with Saul Freeman, basing the name on a single by Prince.
The group's first single was called "Through The Door" and was released in December 1992. It attracted critical acclaim and Melody Maker made it the 'single of the week'. Then followed their second, more successful final single "Unworthy". The pair split just as they had finished work on their debut album. With all the tracks completed, and McAlmont's voice on all of them, the album was eventually released under the name McAlmont in 1994.
[edit] Success
McAlmont began a solo career, which included providing support for Morrissey on tour, until he was approached by ex-Suede guitarist Bernard Butler. The collaboration produced The Sound of McAlmont and Butler, an album of songs, including the anthemic and defiant "Yes" (1995) which reached number 8 in the UK Singles Chart.
McAlmont and Butler did not tour and made only two public performances; one small show at the Hanover Grand and one appearance on BBC Television's Top of the Pops. They also performed "Yes" on the BBC TV show Later with Jools Holland. Another single, "You Do", was released later that year, and peaked at number 17. Shortly after McAlmont and Butler went their separate ways in an acrimonious split, which was the subject of much music press coverage and speculation.
The producer David Arnold then worked with him on a version of "Diamonds Are Forever", for which McAlmont appeared in a camp video, dressed in a white cat-suit trimmed with fur and feathers. They went on to work together on McAlmont's first true solo album A Little Communication (1998).
In the years that followed McAlmont worked occasionally with Ultramarine and Craig Armstrong, and prepared his second solo album Be. Although hailed by The Guardian[3] as "Britain's first Zen Pop album" it was shelved by his record label, Hut Records, which also chose to drop McAlmont from its artist roster. Although the album has yet to be released, some demo discs occasionally change hands at premium prices.[citation needed]
In 2001 Bernard Butler found himself writing songs that suggested the voice of McAlmont. They got back together, were signed by EMI[4] and created the album Bring It Back (2002) which spawned two single releases, "Falling" and "Bring it Back". This time they were more conventional in their approach to the music industry, and took part in interviews, and completed a series of public performances throughout 2002.[1]
[edit] Present times
The duo worked during 2003 to record a follow-up album, and even showcased some tunes at low key appearances[5] in North London. Butler was then approached by his former Suede songwriting partner Brett Anderson to reform under the name The Tears. As a result, the McAlmont and Butler project was put on hold.
As of 2004 McAlmont chose to spend the next three years creating and performing a series of 49 classics, simply called The Sets. Beginning with Set One, "You Go To My Head" was released in June 2005 on McAlmont's own record label, Canice Records. A wider release followed towards the end of the year.
He performed backing vocals on two tracks from Duffy's album, Rockferry, specifically on "Rockferry" and "Serious" (both written by Duffy and Bernard Butler).
