Dave Sharman (born 10 September, West Midlands, England) is an English guitarist, singer-songwriter, whose primary genre is rock and metal. He is also a multi-instrumentalist and record producer.
Sharman was given his musical break by rock DJ Tommy Vance who invited him to perform a session on the BBC Radio 1Friday Rock Show,[2] which Vance used to host. Vance had listened to a 4 track demo tape that the teenage Sharman had sent him. The Rock Show was for many years the UK's top source for rock and heavy metal, each week the show had a studio session or live performance and had featured artists such as Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Uriah Heep, Rush and Genesis to name but a few.
The session was recorded at the BBC's Maida Vale Studios in London and a band featuring Don Airey (ex-Rainbow, Ozzy Osbourne, Whitesnake and Deep Purple keyboardist), drummer Neil Huxtable and bassist Martin Connolly was assembled to back Sharman's guitar work.
The session was broadcast in 1989 with four original instrumental tracks: "Pandora's Box", "Flight 212", "Spellbinder" and "Torch The Tower", all written by the teenage Sharman. During the airing of the session Tommy Vance sounded out record labels for the prodigy.[3]
Two of Sharman's instrumental tracks, "Trucker" and "Frantic", were used for a number of years by the Friday Rock Show as its official chart countdown and news music.[4]
1990 and the instrumental years (1990–1992)
A record deal with then-major metal label Noise Records[5] followed on the back of the BBC session and Sharman's debut instrumental guitar album 1990 was recorded over a two-week period at Berlin's Skytrak studios in Germany and released worldwide.
All eight tracks were written by Sharman, in addition to which he played guitars, bass and keyboards.[6]
As part of its marketing strategy the record label put stickers on the LPs, which read "Europe's Answer to Joe Satriani". The album 1990 received significant critical acclaim from the mainstream music press including: Kerrang Magazine,[7]Metal Hammer,[8]Guitar for the Practicing Musician[9] and Raw Magazine[10] among others.[11][12][13][14] Sharman was nominated for Guitar for the Practicing Musicians: 'Guitar God in waiting'.
Sharman's guitar work also caught the attention of Deep Purple frontman Ian Gillan,[15] who at the time was working on a solo album. Sharman was recruited by Gillan to lay down the guitar parts on a number of tracks on his solo project.
Exit Within– initial transition to song-based work (1992–1994)
Sharman's second studio album saw a move away from pure instrumental guitar work and began to take a more song-based approach. The ten-track album featured four vocal tracks: Man, Home, Cos You're A Woman and Attitude, once again all the material was written by Sharman.[17]
German Thomas Brache was recruited by Sharman to take on lead vocals[18] with Sharman providing the backing vocals. Sharman invited Neil Murray[19][20] who had previously played with Black Sabbath, Whitesnake and Brian May to play bass on Exit Within.
Once again Sharman's work received significant critical acclaim from the music press, with Sean Tyler from Kerrang magazine saying Sharman had done well to avoid the pitfalls that so often befall the guitar based artist and that with a concerted effort he may yet rewrite the rulebook.
Here 'n Now– further transition to song-based work (1994)
On his third album Sharman retained Thomas Brache on lead vocals with production duties handed to Kit Woolven, who had produced classic acts such as Thin Lizzy and UFO.[21]
The album also saw Sharman further transition to song-based work, the ten-track album, all written by Sharman, however, did include three instrumentals as a throwback to his instrumental days.
Wave– taking on vocals (1996–2000)
Dave Sharman at a London gig
Thomas Brache and Sharman parted ways after the production of Here 'n Now and Sharman who had always featured on backing vocals took on the role of lead vocals[22] alongside guitar and production. Sharman along with his band became the power trio Wave and toured the UK extensively.
The music took on more of a grunge-based influence.
The Wave album was never officially released[24] as Sharman always considered the album to be a collection of demos.[25][26]
Reinvention and return (2011)
Sharman features in Hal Leonard Publishing's Legends of Rock Guitar– The Essential Reference of Rock's Greatest Guitarists[27] as being England's sole shred champ, who released a killer guitar album called 1990. The publication, authored by Pete Prown and H.P. Newquist, is a virtual encyclopedia of great electric-guitar players with 35 chapters examining over 300 major figures in every style across the decades.
After years under various management and labels, and trying to find a balance between his guitar playing alongside his songwriting and vocals, Sharman is under new management, has a new label, and is now a guitarist, singer-songwriter.[28][29]
New studio album–Evolution Machine (2013)
Sharman's fourth studio album, Evolution Machine was released on 18 March 2013,[30][31][32][33] on which he is the singer-songwriter and also playing all instruments alongside guitar. The album is also self-produced.
One of Dave Sharman's checkerboard Jackson soloist custom guitars
Sharman has been an endorser and continues to play Jackson Guitars and the checkerboard-finish guitars that the company custom built for him early on in his career remain his signature guitars. He continues to feature as a Jackson Guitars Artist[37] alongside other British guitarists such as Iron Maiden's Adrian Smith and Def Leppard's Rick Savage.
He also has been an official endorser and continues to use DiMarzio pickups.[38]
Sharman is an official Rotosound Strings[39] endorser.
In the past he has also endorsed Hohner.[40] & Washburn Guitars.
Rust in Peace is the fourth studio album by American thrash metal band Megadeth, released on September 24, 1990, by Capitol Records. It was the first Megadeth album to feature guitarist Marty Friedman and drummer Nick Menza. The songs "Hangar 18" and "Holy Wars... The Punishment Due" were released as singles. A remixed and remastered version of the album featuring four bonus tracks was released in 2004.
Fistful of Metal is the debut studio album by American heavy metal band Anthrax, released in January 1984 by Megaforce Records and Music for Nations internationally. The album includes a cover of Alice Cooper's "I'm Eighteen". This is the band's only album to feature original frontman Neil Turbin and original bassist Dan Lilker, who were replaced by Matt Fallon and Frank Bello, respectively. Former original guitarist Greg Walls claims that Anthrax "ripped him off" as he claims he wrote the material on the album.
Blue Murder were an English rock band led by guitarist-vocalist John Sykes. The group was formed in 1987 following Sykes's dismissal from Whitesnake. The initial line-up was rounded out by bassist Tony Franklin and drummer Carmine Appice. In its nascent stage, vocalist Ray Gillen and drummer Cozy Powell were attached to the project. In 1989, Blue Murder released their self-titled debut album, which cracked the Billboard 200 chart and spawned a minor hit with "Jelly Roll". By the early 1990s, however, Blue Murder's music had fallen out of fashion with the popularity of grunge. Franklin and Appice left the band, while Sykes put together a new line-up and released Nothin' But Trouble in 1993. After a live album the following year, Blue Murder were dropped by their record label and broke-up. Since then there have been numerous attempts to reunite the band to no avail.
Thomas Eugene Stinson is an American rock musician. He came to prominence in the 1980s as the bass guitarist for The Replacements, one of the definitive American alternative rock groups. After their breakup in 1991, Stinson formed Bash & Pop, acting as lead vocalist, guitarist and frontman. In the mid-1990s he was the singer and guitarist for the rock band Perfect, and eventually joined the hard rock band Guns N' Roses in 1998.
Haunting the Chapel is an extended play (EP) released by American thrash metal band Slayer in 1984 through Metal Blade and Enigma Records. Slayer's debut album Show No Mercy became Metal Blade's highest-selling, leading to producer Brian Slagel wanting to release an EP. Recorded in Hollywood, the recording process proved difficult when recording drums in a studio without carpet, although it resulted in drummer Dave Lombardo meeting Gene Hoglan who was to become an influence in his drumming style and speed. It was during the recording of this session that Lombardo first had the double bass added to his kit. Hoglan, working for Slayer at the time, sat at the kit and played a double bass for the first time. Lombardo was impressed and although Hoglan never gave him lessons, he did give him tips regarding the use of the double kick drum.
"Heaven and Hell" is the title track of Black Sabbath's ninth studio album. The music was written mainly by guitarist Tony Iommi, but – as with almost all Sabbath albums – credit is given to the entire band. The lyrics were written entirely by newcomer Ronnie James Dio.
Impellitteri is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles formed and led by guitarist Chris Impellitteri, singer Rob Rock, and bassist James Amelio Pulli. The band has sold millions of albums worldwide.
David Thomas Donato was an American singer known for his involvement in Black Sabbath. He recorded several demos with the band and rehearsed throughout 1984 and 1985.
Halestorm is an American rock band from Red Lion, Pennsylvania, consisting of lead vocalist and guitarist Elizabeth "Lzzy" Hale, drummer Arejay Hale, guitarist Joe Hottinger, and bassist Josh Smith.
Tigertailz are a Welsh glam metal band from Cardiff. Their 1990 album Bezerk made the Top 40 on the UK Albums Chart and contained the hit singles "Love Bomb Baby" and "Heaven". The band reformed in 2005.
History of a Time to Come is the debut full-length album by the British thrash metal band Sabbat.
The Opening Ritual is an EP by the British heavy metal band Cloven Hoof, and their debut release. The track in this EP, "The Gates Of Gehenna" was re-recorded by the same band for their self-titled first full-length studio album. There exists a bootleg split album of this EP and the band's live album Fighting Back.
HellsBelles is a heavy metal band from England active from 1984 to 1987 and 1998 to present, considered part of the latter stages of the new wave of British heavy metal (NWOBHM).
Guitarist Mario Parga, born in Lytham, Lancashire, England on August 7, 1969, came into the spotlight during the late 1980s when he began appearing in numerous guitar and rock magazines such as Guitar Player, Metal Hammer, Kerrang, Metal Forces and played a live guitar solo on MTV's 'Metal Hammer' show.
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The Dead Lay Waiting were an English metalcore band from Swindon, Wiltshire, formed in 2007 by the means of a local rock school. The group included Lucy Lucas (vocals), Ben Connett, Steve Franklin, Sam Sara and Tom Shrimpton (drums).
Loathe are an English heavy metal band from Liverpool. Formed in 2014, the group consists of lead vocalist Kadeem France, guitarist and second vocalist Erik Bickerstaffe, drummer Sean Radcliffe and bassist Feisal El-Khazragi.
Refugee is the seventh studio album by British hard rock/heavy metal band Samson, released in 1990 by Communiqué Records. It was the only album with English singer Peter Scallan, who replaced previous singer Nicky Moore. Originally released in 1990, it was reissued by Thunderbolt Records with the studio outtake "Don't Tell Me It's Over". It was also reissued in 2018 by Cherry Red Records as part of a 3-CD box set Look to the Future, Refugee & P.S..., remastered from the original production tape, and includes four bonus tracks from the 1989 Tommy Vance BBC Friday Rock Show session.
References
↑ Interview in June edition of Roadie Crew magazine
↑ Guitar Club Magazine Interview April 2013 Edition
↑ Roadie Crew Interview with Steve Rosen June 2013
↑ P. Prown, H. P. Newquist, J. F. Eiche (1997). Legends of Rock Guitar– The Essential Reference of Rock's Greatest Guitarists. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 202.
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