Dave Mattacks
Encyclopedia
Dave Mattacks is a rock
and folk
drummer
. Best known for his work with Fairport Convention
, Mattacks has also worked both as a session musician
, and as a performance artist. He was with George Harrison
when the news of John Lennon
's murder came through.
He began as a trainee piano
tuner before taking up the drum
s. He played with several jazz
bands
before joining the electric folk
band, Fairport Convention
, in August 1969.
, who had died on 12 May 1969 in a road accident, on the M1 motorway
. He left Fairport Convention in early 1972 to join The Albion Country Band, He returned to Fairport to help complete the 1973 album Rosie
with a revamped line up of the band.
(1974), but left halfway through the making of the follow-up Rising for the Moon
following an altercation with engineer Glyn Johns
.
. Mattacks would remain with Fairport until 1997.
In 1998 "DM", as he is known, moved to Marblehead
, Massachusetts
, United States, where he is a sought-after studio musician, record producer
, and member of the band, Super Genius
, although he still tours the UK
, Europe
and Australia
regularly with various acts.
He has toured and recorded with:
He has toured with
He has recorded with
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
and folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
. Best known for his work with Fairport Convention
Fairport Convention
Fairport Convention are an English folk rock and later electric folk band, formed in 1967 who are still recording and touring today. They are widely regarded as the most important single group in the English folk rock movement...
, Mattacks has also worked both as a session musician
Session musician
Session musicians are instrumental and vocal performers, musicians, who are available to work with others at live performances or recording sessions. Usually such musicians are not permanent members of a musical ensemble and often do not achieve fame in their own right as soloists or bandleaders...
, and as a performance artist. He was with George Harrison
George Harrison
George Harrison, MBE was an English musician, guitarist, singer-songwriter, actor and film producer who achieved international fame as lead guitarist of The Beatles. Often referred to as "the quiet Beatle", Harrison became over time an admirer of Indian mysticism, and introduced it to the other...
when the news of John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
's murder came through.
He began as a trainee piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
tuner before taking up the drum
Drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
s. He played with several jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
bands
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
before joining the electric folk
Electric folk
Electric folk is the name given to the form of folk rock pioneered in England from the late 1960s, and most significant in the 1970s, which then was taken up and developed in the surrounding Celtic cultures of Brittany, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and the Isle of Man, to produce Celtic rock and its...
band, Fairport Convention
Fairport Convention
Fairport Convention are an English folk rock and later electric folk band, formed in 1967 who are still recording and touring today. They are widely regarded as the most important single group in the English folk rock movement...
, in August 1969.
First Fairport stint
He replaced Martin LambleMartin Lamble
Martin Francis Lamble was the drummer for British electric folk band, Fairport Convention, from just after their formation in 1967, until his death in the Fairport Convention van crash in 1969...
, who had died on 12 May 1969 in a road accident, on the M1 motorway
M1 motorway
The M1 is a north–south motorway in England primarily connecting London to Leeds, where it joins the A1 near Aberford. While the M1 is considered to be the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the United Kingdom, the first road to be built to motorway standard in the country was the...
. He left Fairport Convention in early 1972 to join The Albion Country Band, He returned to Fairport to help complete the 1973 album Rosie
Rosie
-People:* Rosie, nickname of Sierra Casady, , American musician, band member of CocoRosie* Rosie, the first Malayalam actress, , acted in the first Malayalam movie , Vigathakumaran...
with a revamped line up of the band.
Second Fairport stint
Mattacks also played on NineNine (Fairport Convention album)
Nine is the ninth album by the British folk rock group Fairport Convention and, according to Allmusic, is their most uneven.-Side one:#"The Hexhamshire Lass" – 2:31...
(1974), but left halfway through the making of the follow-up Rising for the Moon
Rising for the Moon
Rising for the Moon is a Fairport Convention album. It reached number 52 in the UK albums charts. This was the last Fairport album to feature Sandy Denny....
following an altercation with engineer Glyn Johns
Glyn Johns
Glyn Johns is a musician, recording engineer and record producer.-Career:He has worked with such artists as Bob Dylan, The Beatles, The Easybeats, The Band, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Led Zeppelin, Eagles, Eric Clapton, The Clash, The Steve Miller Band, Small Faces, Spooky Tooth, The Ozark...
.
Third Fairport stint
When Fairport Convention reformed in 1985 after a six-year absence, Mattacks was recruited as drummer. He had already been playing with them again at annual reunions at the fledgling Cropredy FestivalCropredy Festival
Fairport's Cropredy Convention is an annual festival of folk and rock music held on the edge of the village of Cropredy in Oxfordshire, England. It has taken place in August since 1976....
. Mattacks would remain with Fairport until 1997.
In 1998 "DM", as he is known, moved to Marblehead
Marblehead, Massachusetts
Marblehead is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 19,808 at the 2010 census. It is home to the Marblehead Neck Wildlife Sanctuary and Devereux Beach...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, United States, where he is a sought-after studio musician, record producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, and member of the band, Super Genius
Super Genius
Super Genius is an album of rock music released by the band Circus Lupus in 1992. The CD was released on Dischord Records in Washington DC and is available at the label's website...
, although he still tours the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
regularly with various acts.
He has toured and recorded with:
- Fairport ConventionFairport ConventionFairport Convention are an English folk rock and later electric folk band, formed in 1967 who are still recording and touring today. They are widely regarded as the most important single group in the English folk rock movement...
- Kate and Anna McGarrigleKate and Anna McGarrigleKate and Anna McGarrigle, were a pair of Canadian singer-songwriters from Quebec, who performed as a duo until Kate McGarrigle's death on January 18, 2010.-Profile:...
- Chris ReaChris ReaChris Rea is an English singer-songwriter, recognisable for his distinctive, husky voice and slide guitar playing. The British Hit Singles & Albums stated that Rea was "one of the most popular UK singer-songwriters of the late 1980s. He was already a major European star by the time he finally...
- Ralph McTellRalph McTellRalph McTell is an English singer-songwriter and acoustic guitar player who has been an influential figure on the UK folk music scene since the 1960s....
- The ChillsThe ChillsThe Chills are a guitar and keyboard-based rock band from Dunedin, New Zealand. In the 1980s and 1990s, they were one of the proponents of the Dunedin Sound.- History :...
- Mickey JuppMickey JuppMichael 'Mickey' Jupp is an English musician and songwriter, mainly associated with the Southend music scene....
- Everything but the GirlEverything but the GirlEverything but the Girl was a two-person English band, formed in Hull during 1981, consisting of lead singer and occasional guitarist Tracey Thorn and guitarist, keyboardist, and singer Ben Watt . They are currently inactive although vocalist Tracey Thorn hinted that they may reform someday...
- Richard Thompson
- Georgie FameGeorgie FameGeorgie Fame is a British rhythm and blues and jazz singer and keyboard player. The one-time rock and roll tour musician, who had a string of 1960s hits, is still a popular performer, often working with contemporaries such as Van Morrison and Bill Wyman.-Early life:Fame took piano lessons from the...
- Jethro TullJethro Tull (band)Jethro Tull are a British rock group formed in 1967. Their music is characterised by the vocals, acoustic guitar, and flute playing of Ian Anderson, who has led the band since its founding, and the guitar work of Martin Barre, who has been with the band since 1969.Initially playing blues rock with...
- Ashley HutchingsAshley HutchingsAshley Stephen Hutchings is an English bassist, vocalist, songwriter, arranger, band leader, writer and record producer. He was a founder member of three of the most noteworthy English folk-rock bands in the history of the genre; Fairport Convention, Steeleye Span and The Albion Band...
- Steeleye SpanSteeleye SpanSteeleye Span are an English folk-rock band, formed in 1969 and remaining active today. Along with Fairport Convention they are amongst the best known acts of the British folk revival, and were among the most commercially successful, thanks to their hit singles "Gaudete" and "All Around My Hat"....
- Feast of Fiddles
- Jimmy PageJimmy PageJames 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...
(Death Wish IIDeath Wish II (album)1999 Compact disc editionSame track listing and order as the vinyl release.-Album:-Personnel:*Jimmy Page – acoustic guitars, electric guitars, guitar synthesizer, synthesizer, theremin, bass, producer*Gordon Edwards – vocals, electric piano, piano...
) - Judith OwenJudith OwenJudith Owen is a Welsh singer-songwriter. Her first North American album, Emotions on a Postcard, was released in 1996, and has since been followed by five additional releases...
He has toured with
- Nick HeywardNick HeywardNick Heyward is an English singer, songwriter and guitarist. He is best known for being the frontman of the early 1980s band Haircut One Hundred, and also had a briefly successful solo career after he left the band in 1983.-Haircut One Hundred:Nick Heyward formed Haircut One Hundred after the...
- Andy Fairweather-LowAndy Fairweather-LowAndrew Fairweather Low is a Welsh guitarist, songwriter and vocalist. He was a founding member of 1960s British pop band, Amen Corner, and in recent years has toured extensively with Roger Waters, Eric Clapton and Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings.-Early career:Fairweather Low first found fame as a...
- Grey DeLisleGrey DeLisleGrey DeLisle is an American voice actress, singer-songwriter, and comedienne. To date, she has released four solo albums and has featured on the tribute album Anchored in Love: A Tribute to June Carter Cash and film soundtrack of Loggerheads...
- Rosanne CashRosanne CashRosanne Cash is an American singer-songwriter and author. She is the eldest daughter of the late country music singer Johnny Cash and his first wife, Vivian Liberto Cash Distin....
He has recorded with
- Mike HeronMike HeronMike Heron is a Scottish singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, best known for his work in the Incredible String Band in the 1960s and 1970s.-Career:...
- Incredible String BandIncredible String BandThe Incredible String Band were a psychedelic folk band formed in Scotland in 1966. The band built a considerable following, especially within British counterculture, before splitting up in 1974...
- Elton JohnElton JohnSir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
- XTCXTCXTC were a New Wave band from Swindon, England, active between 1976 and 2005. The band enjoyed some chart success, including the UK and Canadian hits "Making Plans for Nigel" and "Senses Working Overtime" , but are perhaps even better known for their long-standing critical success.- Early years:...
- Paul McCartneyPaul McCartneySir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
- George HarrisonGeorge HarrisonGeorge Harrison, MBE was an English musician, guitarist, singer-songwriter, actor and film producer who achieved international fame as lead guitarist of The Beatles. Often referred to as "the quiet Beatle", Harrison became over time an admirer of Indian mysticism, and introduced it to the other...
- Cat StevensCat StevensYusuf Islam , commonly known by his former stage name Cat Stevens, is an English singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, educator, philanthropist, and prominent convert to Islam....
- Loudon Wainwright IIILoudon Wainwright IIILoudon Snowden Wainwright III is a Grammy Award-winning American songwriter, folk singer, humorist, and actor. He is the father of musicians Rufus Wainwright, Martha Wainwright and Lucy Wainwright Roche, brother of Sloan Wainwright, and the former husband of the late folk singer Kate McGarrigle.To...
- Mary Chapin CarpenterMary Chapin CarpenterMary Chapin Carpenter is an American folk and country music artist. Carpenter spent several years singing in Washington, D.C. clubs before signing in the late 1980s with Columbia Records, who marketed her as a country singer...
- Brian EnoBrian EnoBrian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno or simply as Eno , is an English musician, composer, record producer, singer and visual artist, known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.Eno studied at Colchester Institute art school in Essex,...
- Alison MoyetAlison MoyetAlison Moyet , is an English singer, songwriter and performer noted for her bluesy voice.Her UK album sales have reached a certified 2.3 million, with 800,000 singles sold, all in the UK, where all seven of her studio albums and three compilation albums have charted in the Top 40 UK Album Chart,...
- Martin Phillipps
- Joan ArmatradingJoan ArmatradingJoan Anita Barbara Armatrading, MBE is a British singer, songwriter and guitarist. Armatrading is a three-time Grammy Award-nominee and has been nominated twice for BRIT Awards as Best Female Artist...
- Jimmy PageJimmy PageJames 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...
- The ProclaimersThe ProclaimersThe Proclaimers are a Scottish band composed of identical twin brothers, Charlie and Craig Reid . They are probably best known for the songs "Letter from America", "I'm On My Way" and "I'm Gonna Be ". The band tours extensively throughout Europe and other continents...
- Gary BrookerGary BrookerGary Brooker, MBE, is an English singer, songwriter, pianist and founder of the rock band Procol Harum. Brooker was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire in the Queen's Birthday Honours on 14 June 2003, in recognition of his charitable services.-Early life:Brooker was born in...
- Elkie BrooksElkie BrooksElkie Brooks is an English singer, formerly a vocalist with Vinegar Joe, and later a solo artist. Elkie has been nominated twice for Brit Awards' top female singer. She is known for her powerful husky voice...
- Nick DrakeNick DrakeNicholas Rodney "Nick" Drake was an English singer-songwriter and musician. Though he is best known for his sombre guitar based songs, Drake was also proficient at piano, clarinet and saxophone...
- Liane CarrollLiane CarrollLiane Carroll is an English pianist/vocalist who grew up in a musical family. She has played professionally since she was 15....
- Sandy DennySandy DennySandy Denny , born Alexandra Elene Maclean Denny, was an English singer and songwriter, perhaps best known as the lead singer for the folk rock band Fairport Convention...
- Super GeniusSuper GeniusSuper Genius is an album of rock music released by the band Circus Lupus in 1992. The CD was released on Dischord Records in Washington DC and is available at the label's website...
- Four Piece Suit
- Barbara DicksonBarbara DicksonBarbara Ruth Dickson, OBE is a Scottish singer whose hits include "I Know Him So Well" and "January February"...
- The Happy Kenneths
- Sebastian Santa MariaSebastian Santa MariaSebastian Santa Maria was born in 1959 in Santiago, Chile, but settled in Lausanne, Switzerland at age 17.He played the piano in several clubs in Lausanne until beginning a fertile career as a composer, composing a number of songs including some made for Catherine Lara, Bernard Lavilliers and...
- Shelagh McDonaldShelagh McDonaldShelagh McDonald is a Scottish folk singer, song-writer and guitarist who released two albums before her abrupt and mysterious disappearance in 1971...
- Shirley CollinsShirley CollinsShirley Elizabeth Collins MBE is a British folksinger who was a significant contributor to the English Folk Revival of the 1960s and 1970s...
- KajagoogooKajagoogooKajagoogoo are a British pop band, best known for their hit single, "Too Shy", which reached No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart and No. 5 on the U.S...
- SpirogyraSpirogyra (band)This article refers to the British folk band. For the American jazz fusion band, see Spyro Gyra.Spirogyra are a British folk/prog band that recorded three albums between 1971 and 1973, with further original albums in 2009 and 2011.-History:...
- Bill NelsonBill Nelson (musician)Bill Nelson is an English guitarist, songwriter, producer, painter and experimental musician...
- Brooks WilliamsBrooks WilliamsBrooks Williams is an American acoustic guitarist and singer/songwriter. His style combines roots, jazz, blues, classical, and folk...
- AyuoAyuoAyuo is a Japanese-American composer, poet, lyricist, singer and performer of plucked string instruments including guitar, bouzouki, Irish harp, Chinese zheng, Japanese koto,and medieval European psaltery...
- Debra Cowan
- Michael Wang
- Elaine O'Rourke
- The Dream AcademyThe Dream AcademyThe Dream Academy was a folk rock band from England, comprising singer/guitarist Nick Laird-Clowes; multi-instrumentalist Kate St John; plus keyboardist Gilbert Gabriel. They are most noted for their hit single, "Life in a Northern Town".-History:Laird-Clowes and Gabriel met each other in the late...