Former frontman with The Alarm, Dave Sharp, is heading for Chester to play a free gig at Telford’s Warehouse on Thursday, April 14.
1989 saw the US release coast-to-coast hit album Change and the single Sold Me Down the River from British rock band The Alarm.
Sadly, 1991 saw the surprise departure of the band’s lead singer Dave Sharp. The co-founder of The Alarm had that previous year enlisted the help of maverick record producer Bob Johnston (Dylan, Willie Nelson and Leonard Cohen) to help cut his first solo record.
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It was a determined young man who walked through the doors at The Hit Factory NYC in December 1990 and in under a week Sharp’s album Hard Travlin’ had been recorded, mixed and delivered for release to IRS.
A relentless two-year period of Stateside touring followed including appearances at Farm Aid concerts and Earth Day celebrations before Sharp returned to New York City in 1992 to perform for an audience of 25,000 gathered in Central Park to celebrate the 80th birthday of folk legend Woody Guthrie.
It was a seminal event for Dave Sharp who performed alongside Pete Seeger, Arlo Guthrie and Billy Bragg and shared the stage with The Right Reverend Jessie Jackson.
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In 1996 Sharp once again teamed up with producer Bob Johnston entering Credence Clearwater Revival’s studio in San Francisco to record and release his second solo album, Downtown America.
Two underground hits followed The Ghost of Preacher Casey and Give Me Back My Job which both received healthy rotation across the board at American radio and led to television appearances on country music’s Nashville.
Sharp returned to the UK in 2002 to record his third solo album, The Power of Soul, released on Manchester’s Townsend Records, successfully re-introducing him to British audiences and earning him solo recognition across the UK with British music critics.
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Dave Sharp’s solo albums have received positive critical recognition on both sides of the Atlantic and over the past decade and a half Sharp has been fortunate to work alongside many of the artists he has long respected. Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash have appeared on his recordings. He has performed alongside Kris Kristofferson, Bill Munroe and Porter Wagoner.
Entry to his Chester gig is free. Call 01244 390 090 or visit www.telfordswarehouse.com for details.
