Dave Cairns
Encyclopedia
Dave Cairns is an English rock guitarist and songwriter, best known for his role in the 1970s/1980s band Secret Affair
. The writer of the band's biggest hits, he was known for his intense guitar style.
GP
, Cairns was first inspired to take up the guitar after an enounter at a local nightclub with BBC Radio 1
DJ John Peel
, who recommended the teenager listen to a Lynyrd Skynyrd
album. He was also inspired by a live performance by The Who
at Charlton Athletic
's football ground in 1976 and while at sixth form teamed up with singer Ian Page
, forming power pop
/punk
band New Hearts. The band signed to CBS Records
in 1977, releasing two singles and touring with The Jam
, before being released from their recording contract
in mid-1978, although their un-released album,'New Hearts,A Secret Affair, The CBS Sessions was finally released on Cherry Red Records, October 2009.
. The two songwriters spent the second half of 1978 writing songs that would form the basis of the first two Secret Affair albums. In a period of a little over two years, the band posted five releases in the UK Singles Chart
, and released three albums. The debut single "Time For Action" sold 198,000 copies and reached number 13 in the UK chart in 1979, putting them at the forefront of the mod revival
movement. More chart success followed with "Let Your Heart Dance", "My World" and "Sound Of Confusion". Although Cairns and Page would often write together, three of the band's biggest chart hits ("Time For Action", "My World" and "Sound Of Confusion") were written by Cairns alone.
/CBS
in the U.S. Relocating to Los Angeles
for a year, the band toured supporting A Flock of Seagulls
and released the U.S. only album, Flag.
Cairns subsequently teamed up with Scottish singer Alan King in Walk on Fire
, writing the majority of the band's material and playing keyboards on their live tours. Signing to MCA
in the U.S., they released the album Blind Faith in 1990 and toured supporting Foreigner
, Nils Lofgren
, and the Dan Reed Network
.
In 1992 he moved away from playing and joined Gibson Guitars
as Special Projects & Events manager, promoting Gibson shows around the world; in particular UK charity events promoted by Harvey Goldsmith
in aid of The Prince's Trust
, and developing new custom guitar models for artists such as Jimmy Page
and Noel Gallagher
.
s in the UK, including a performance at London's Shepherds Bush Empire
. They returned in June the following year, playing at The Scala in London to promote the release of Time For Action: The Anthology (Sanctuary), a major CD retrospective of hits, rarities and previously unreleased tracks. The concert was filmed and released on DVD.
In 2005 Page and Cairns attempted to mend their sometimes fractious relationship and started work on a fourth Secret Affair album, recording five new songs. The album remains unfinished and unreleased . In the meantime Cairns has started to make occasional solo appearances, playing at the 2006 and 2007 Small Faces Conventions and playing at charity events in aid of Cancer Research
and the British Thyroid Foundation. He performed again with Secret Affair at The Isle of Wight Scooter Rally, on 22 August, The Astoria 2, London, on 13 September 2008 and The Small Faces Convention, Islington Academy, 21 September 2008.
Dave Cairns continues to perform regularly with Secret Affair
from 2009 to the current day playing UK dates and shows in Dublin, Madrid
& Moscow
& Tokyo
.
In the past Cairns has written and produced music for TV commercials, including Lee Cooper, Toyota, Ford, and Raymond Weil
.
Secret Affair
Secret Affair were a mod revival band, formed in 1978 and disbanded in 1982. They reformed to perform and record in the 2000s.-Career:In a period of a little over two years, Secret Affair posted five releases in the UK Singles Chart and released three albums...
. The writer of the band's biggest hits, he was known for his intense guitar style.
Background and early career
The son of an Epping ForestEpping Forest
Epping Forest is an area of ancient woodland in south-east England, straddling the border between north-east Greater London and Essex. It is a former royal forest, and is managed by the City of London Corporation....
GP
General practitioner
A general practitioner is a medical practitioner who treats acute and chronic illnesses and provides preventive care and health education for all ages and both sexes. They have particular skills in treating people with multiple health issues and comorbidities...
, Cairns was first inspired to take up the guitar after an enounter at a local nightclub with BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
DJ John Peel
John Peel
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...
, who recommended the teenager listen to a Lynyrd Skynyrd
Lynyrd Skynyrd
Lynyrd Skynyrd is an American rock band prominent in spreading Southern Rock during the 1970s.Originally formed as the "Noble Five" in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1964, the band rose to worldwide recognition on the basis of its driving live performances and signature tune, Freebird...
album. He was also inspired by a live performance by The Who
The Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
at Charlton Athletic
Charlton Athletic F.C.
Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, in the London Borough of Greenwich. They compete in Football League One, the third tier of English football. The club was founded on 9 June 1905, when a number of youth clubs in the southeast London area,...
's football ground in 1976 and while at sixth form teamed up with singer Ian Page
Ian Page
Ian Page is a British singer and author, achieving notoriety as singer in the band Secret Affair in the late 1970s.Teaming up with guitarist Dave Cairns while at school, Ian Page formed power pop/punk band New Hearts and signed to CBS Records in 1977, releasing two singles and touring with The Jam...
, forming power pop
Power pop
Power pop is a popular musical genre that draws its inspiration from 1960s British and American pop and rock music. It typically incorporates a combination of musical devices such as strong melodies, crisp vocal harmonies, economical arrangements, and prominent guitar riffs. Instrumental solos are...
/punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band New Hearts. The band signed to CBS Records
CBS Records
CBS Records is a record label founded by CBS Corporation in 2006 to take advantage of music from its entertainment properties owned by CBS Television Studios. The initial label roster consisted of only three artists; rock band Señor Happy and singer/songwriters Will Dailey and P.J...
in 1977, releasing two singles and touring with The Jam
The Jam
The Jam were an English punk rock/New Wave/mod revival band active during the late 1970s and early 1980s. They were formed in Woking, Surrey. While they shared the "angry young men" outlook and fast tempos of their punk rock contemporaries, The Jam wore smartly tailored suits rather than ripped...
, before being released from their recording contract
Recording contract
A recording contract is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist , where the artist makes a record for the label to sell and promote...
in mid-1978, although their un-released album,'New Hearts,A Secret Affair, The CBS Sessions was finally released on Cherry Red Records, October 2009.
Secret Affair
After the demise of the New Hearts, Cairns continued to work with Page, forming Secret AffairSecret Affair
Secret Affair were a mod revival band, formed in 1978 and disbanded in 1982. They reformed to perform and record in the 2000s.-Career:In a period of a little over two years, Secret Affair posted five releases in the UK Singles Chart and released three albums...
. The two songwriters spent the second half of 1978 writing songs that would form the basis of the first two Secret Affair albums. In a period of a little over two years, the band posted five releases in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
, and released three albums. The debut single "Time For Action" sold 198,000 copies and reached number 13 in the UK chart in 1979, putting them at the forefront of the mod revival
Mod Revival
The mod revival was a music genre and subculture that started in England in 1978 and later spread to other countries . The mod revival's mainstream popularity was relatively short, although its influence has lasted for decades...
movement. More chart success followed with "Let Your Heart Dance", "My World" and "Sound Of Confusion". Although Cairns and Page would often write together, three of the band's biggest chart hits ("Time For Action", "My World" and "Sound Of Confusion") were written by Cairns alone.
Later career
After the split of Secret Affair in 1982, Cairns formed The Flag with singer Archie Brown, signing to Scotti Brothers RecordsScotti Brothers Records
Scotti Brothers Records was a California-based record label founded by Tony and Ben Scotti in 1974. Their first success was releasing albums from teen pop star Leif Garrett. They later helped launch the careers of Felony, Survivor, and "Weird Al" Yankovic...
/CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
in the U.S. Relocating to Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
for a year, the band toured supporting A Flock of Seagulls
A Flock of Seagulls
A Flock of Seagulls are an English New Wave band originally formed by brothers Michael "Mike" Score and Alister "Ali" James Score , with Frank Maudsley , Michael Kuby , H.J...
and released the U.S. only album, Flag.
Cairns subsequently teamed up with Scottish singer Alan King in Walk on Fire
Walk on Fire
Walk on Fire was a British melodic rock band whose album Blind Faith yielded two minor hit singles: "Blind Faith" and "Wastelands"....
, writing the majority of the band's material and playing keyboards on their live tours. Signing to MCA
Music Corporation of America
MCA, Inc. was an American talent agency. Initially starting in the music business, they would next become a dominant force in the film business, and later expanded into the television business...
in the U.S., they released the album Blind Faith in 1990 and toured supporting Foreigner
Foreigner (band)
Foreigner is a British-American rock band, originally formed in 1976 by veteran English musicians Mick Jones and ex-King Crimson member Ian McDonald along with American vocalist Lou Gramm...
, Nils Lofgren
Nils Lofgren
Nils Hilmer Lofgren is an American rock music recording artist, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist...
, and the Dan Reed Network
Dan Reed Network
The Dan Reed Network is a funk rock band formed by Dan Reed in Portland, Oregon, United States, in 1984. Dan Reed lended his vocals to a 1990 rap rock collaboration with the Portland Trail Blazers, "Bust a Bucket".-Breathless beginnings:...
.
In 1992 he moved away from playing and joined Gibson Guitars
Gibson Guitar Corporation
The Gibson Guitar Corporation, formerly of Kalamazoo, Michigan and currently of Nashville, Tennessee, manufactures guitars and other instruments which sell under a variety of brand names...
as Special Projects & Events manager, promoting Gibson shows around the world; in particular UK charity events promoted by Harvey Goldsmith
Harvey Goldsmith
Harvey Goldsmith CBE is a British performing arts promoter. He is best known as promoter of rock concerts, charity concerts, television broadcasts for the Prince's Trust and more recently the Teenage Cancer Trust shows at the Royal Albert Hall.During early 2007 he appeared on the Channel 4...
in aid of The Prince's Trust
The Prince's Trust
The Prince's Trust is a charity in the United Kingdom founded in 1976 by Charles, Prince of Wales to help young people. They run a range of training programmes, provide mentoring support and offer financial grants to build the confidence and motivation of disadvantaged young people...
, and developing new custom guitar models for artists such as Jimmy Page
Jimmy Page
James Patrick "Jimmy" Page, OBE is an English multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and record producer. He began his career as a studio session guitarist in London and was subsequently a member of The Yardbirds from 1966 to 1968, after which he founded the English rock band Led Zeppelin.Jimmy Page...
and Noel Gallagher
Noel Gallagher
Noel Thomas David Gallagher is an English musician and singer-songwriter, formerly the lead guitarist, backing vocalist and principal songwriter of the English rock band Oasis. He is currently fronting his solo project, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds.Raised in Burnage, Manchester with his...
.
Secret Affair reunion
In 2002 he once again teamed up with Page to reform Secret Affair, initially for three concertConcert
A concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...
s in the UK, including a performance at London's Shepherds Bush Empire
Shepherds Bush Empire
The O2 Shepherds Bush Empire is a music venue in Shepherd's Bush, London, England, run by the Academy Music Group. It was built in 1903, as a music hall, and in 1953 became the BBC Television Theatre...
. They returned in June the following year, playing at The Scala in London to promote the release of Time For Action: The Anthology (Sanctuary), a major CD retrospective of hits, rarities and previously unreleased tracks. The concert was filmed and released on DVD.
In 2005 Page and Cairns attempted to mend their sometimes fractious relationship and started work on a fourth Secret Affair album, recording five new songs. The album remains unfinished and unreleased . In the meantime Cairns has started to make occasional solo appearances, playing at the 2006 and 2007 Small Faces Conventions and playing at charity events in aid of Cancer Research
Cancer research
Cancer research is basic research into cancer in order to identify causes and develop strategies for prevention, diagnosis, treatments and cure....
and the British Thyroid Foundation. He performed again with Secret Affair at The Isle of Wight Scooter Rally, on 22 August, The Astoria 2, London, on 13 September 2008 and The Small Faces Convention, Islington Academy, 21 September 2008.
Dave Cairns continues to perform regularly with Secret Affair
Secret Affair
Secret Affair were a mod revival band, formed in 1978 and disbanded in 1982. They reformed to perform and record in the 2000s.-Career:In a period of a little over two years, Secret Affair posted five releases in the UK Singles Chart and released three albums...
from 2009 to the current day playing UK dates and shows in Dublin, Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
& Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
& Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
.
In the past Cairns has written and produced music for TV commercials, including Lee Cooper, Toyota, Ford, and Raymond Weil
Raymond Weil
Raymond Weil Genève is a Swiss watchmaker, founded in 1976 in Geneva, Switzerland. It is one of the last independent brands in the Swiss luxury watch industry.-History:The company was created by Raymond Weil, now Chairman...
.
External links
- Secret Affair Official band site