The Dawn Parade
Encyclopedia
The Dawn Parade were a British
rock
band from Bury St Edmunds formed in 2000. Greg McDonald
was the main songwriter, and also provided vocals and guitar.
The band performed 200 gigs in the UK and received critical acclaim from Rolling Stone
and John Peel
, for the latter of whom the band performed a number of live sessions.
, Greg McDonald, Nick Morley, Tom Weller and Ben Jennings formed a band, The Hip Down. The band played a small festival as their debut performance and later recorded a ten track demo at Meadowside Studios in Wisbech
. Shortly into 1999 Weller departed to University, leaving the band without a permanent bassist. In late 1999, singer-songwriter Seymour Glass briefly joined on bass before leaving to front another local band, Miss Black America
.
Auditioning many bass players and managing to win a local band competition covering "Bohemian Rhapsody
", they formed a new incarnation of the band in 2001, with Rob Brown (guitar) and Dave Jago (bass) under the new name The Dawn Parade. The band's name came from McDonald's term for his walk back to his village on a Monday morning as the sun came up, having spent the money needed for a taxi home in bars the previous night. The new band played several shows and recorded a self-funded, self-titled debut EP, which the band distributed themselves. Shortly before the release of the EP, Jago left to concentrate on his own project, grindcore
band Becky Jago, and was replaced by the longstanding permanent bassist Barney Wade.
Several months later the band made an appearance on an early form of internet television station 'MP3TV' which led them to finally releasing their first official single, "Good Luck Olivia", under the station's show host Susan Hyatt's Not Your Common Records. Then came their second, "Hole in my Heart", in 2002 via the Cambridge
based independent record label
, Repeat Records
, leading the band to tour extensively around the UK for six weeks. Soon after this the band recorded its first Peel Session. The second took place in March 2003, live with a studio audience at BBC Maida Vale (MV4). The band further gigged extensively across the country until July 2003, when Morley, Jennings and Wade decided to leave.
The band re-formed with a new line-up of McDonald on guitar and vocals, Jeremy Jones (lead guitar), Neil Rayson (bass guitar), Mark Sewell (drums, vocals) and Claire Pruden (backing vocals). Rayson was soon replaced by Steve McLoughlin. The first single of this lineup was "The Fortune Line". The band changed its name to The Visions in late 2005, shortly after finishing recording their debut album in Wales
with producer Chris Brown. By August 2006 the band split and finally released their debut album in November 2006 on Repeat Records
under their original name The Dawn Parade.
Following the Dawn Parade's split, McDonald continued as a solo artist; he has, to date, recorded two full-length solo albums, partly in collaboration with former Hip Down/Dawn Parade members Jeremy Jones, Nick Morley and Seymour Glass (credited as Seymour Patrick) and continues to play live throughout 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...
rock
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...
band from Bury St Edmunds formed in 2000. Greg McDonald
Greg McDonald
Greg McDonald is a British singer-songwriter who announced the forthcoming release of his debut solo album in 2008. He was the frontman of The Dawn Parade, a Bury St Edmunds based British indie band....
was the main songwriter, and also provided vocals and guitar.
The band performed 200 gigs in the UK and received critical acclaim from Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
and 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...
, for the latter of whom the band performed a number of live sessions.
Biography
In 1998 friends from Thurston Community CollegeThurston Community College
Thurston Community College is an upper school in Thurston, Suffolk in the United Kingdom. It is also the largest school in west Suffolk. It has the second largest Sixth form on its premises and many facilities such as different sports areas and equipment which can be used by the public; it also...
, Greg McDonald, Nick Morley, Tom Weller and Ben Jennings formed a band, The Hip Down. The band played a small festival as their debut performance and later recorded a ten track demo at Meadowside Studios in Wisbech
Wisbech
Wisbech is a market town, inland port and civil parish with a population of 20,200 in the Fens of Cambridgeshire. The tidal River Nene runs through the centre of the town and is spanned by two bridges...
. Shortly into 1999 Weller departed to University, leaving the band without a permanent bassist. In late 1999, singer-songwriter Seymour Glass briefly joined on bass before leaving to front another local band, Miss Black America
Miss Black America (band)
Miss Black America were a punk-influenced rock band based in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England. Its original line-up consisted of Seymour Glass , Mike Smith and Neil Baldwin .-History:...
.
Auditioning many bass players and managing to win a local band competition covering "Bohemian Rhapsody
Bohemian Rhapsody
"Bohemian Rhapsody" is a song by the British rock band Queen. It was written by Freddie Mercury for the band's 1975 album A Night at the Opera...
", they formed a new incarnation of the band in 2001, with Rob Brown (guitar) and Dave Jago (bass) under the new name The Dawn Parade. The band's name came from McDonald's term for his walk back to his village on a Monday morning as the sun came up, having spent the money needed for a taxi home in bars the previous night. The new band played several shows and recorded a self-funded, self-titled debut EP, which the band distributed themselves. Shortly before the release of the EP, Jago left to concentrate on his own project, grindcore
Grindcore
Grindcore is an extreme genre of music that started in the early- to mid-1980s. It draws inspiration from some of the most abrasive music genres – including death metal, industrial music, noise and the more extreme varieties of hardcore punk....
band Becky Jago, and was replaced by the longstanding permanent bassist Barney Wade.
Several months later the band made an appearance on an early form of internet television station 'MP3TV' which led them to finally releasing their first official single, "Good Luck Olivia", under the station's show host Susan Hyatt's Not Your Common Records. Then came their second, "Hole in my Heart", in 2002 via the Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
based independent record label
Independent record label
An independent record label is a record label operating without the funding of or outside the organizations of the major record labels. A great number of bands and musical acts begin on independent labels.-Overview:...
, Repeat Records
Repeat Records
Repeat Records is an independent record label, fanzine and music promoter based in Cambridge, UK.R*E*P*E*A*T fanzine was started in 1994 by Cambridge schoolteacher Richard Rose...
, leading the band to tour extensively around the UK for six weeks. Soon after this the band recorded its first Peel Session. The second took place in March 2003, live with a studio audience at BBC Maida Vale (MV4). The band further gigged extensively across the country until July 2003, when Morley, Jennings and Wade decided to leave.
The band re-formed with a new line-up of McDonald on guitar and vocals, Jeremy Jones (lead guitar), Neil Rayson (bass guitar), Mark Sewell (drums, vocals) and Claire Pruden (backing vocals). Rayson was soon replaced by Steve McLoughlin. The first single of this lineup was "The Fortune Line". The band changed its name to The Visions in late 2005, shortly after finishing recording their debut album in Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
with producer Chris Brown. By August 2006 the band split and finally released their debut album in November 2006 on Repeat Records
Repeat Records
Repeat Records is an independent record label, fanzine and music promoter based in Cambridge, UK.R*E*P*E*A*T fanzine was started in 1994 by Cambridge schoolteacher Richard Rose...
under their original name The Dawn Parade.
Following the Dawn Parade's split, McDonald continued as a solo artist; he has, to date, recorded two full-length solo albums, partly in collaboration with former Hip Down/Dawn Parade members Jeremy Jones, Nick Morley and Seymour Glass (credited as Seymour Patrick) and continues to play live throughout the UK.
Singles / EPs
- "The Dawn Parade EP" (2001)
- "Good Luck Olivia" (2001)
- "Electric Fence Your Gentleness EP" (2002)
- "Caffeine Row" (January 2003)
- "Strung Out On Nowhere" (August 2003)
- "The Underground" (November 2004)