Dave Sharp

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Dave Sharp
Dave Sharp
Background information
Birth name	David Kitchingman [1]
Born	28 January 1959 (1959-01-28) (age 50)
Origin	Salford, England
Genres	Rock, punk rock
Instruments	Guitar
Years active	1981-present
Associated acts	Seventeen (1979-1980) The Alarm (c.1980-1991) The Soul Company The Hard Travelers AOR - Spirit of The Alarm
Website	Official website

Dave Sharp, (born David Kitchingman,^[1] 28 January 1959, Kersal, Salford, Lancashire) is an English guitarist most noted for co-founding, along with Mike Peters, The Alarm.

Early career

Sharp began playing with the band Seventeen in the 1970s and made his recording debut on their "Don't Let Go" / "Bank Holiday Weekend" single. After Seventeen disbanded in 1980, the band reformed as The Alarm, eventually recording hit records such as "68 Guns" and "The Spirit of '76".

Solo career

In 1991, Sharp recorded his first solo album, Hard Travellin' with record producer, Bob Johnston. After tours in the UK and North America, he moved to the United States, touring and recording with artists, such as Johnny Cash, Larry Crane, Dave Grissolm (The John Cougar Mellencamp band), Willie Nelson, George Porter (The Neville Brothers), Chris Solberg (Santana), and Stiff Little Fingers.

In 1996, he recorded the album Downtown America. Then Sharp moved to New Orleans where he became a regular performer at Irish pub on Decatur Street called The Kerry.

In 2002, Sharp returned to the UK club scene where he played at The Cavern Club, The Underworld and King Tut's. While there he formed The Soul Company band with bass player, Keith Ashcroft (Chris Farlowe), 10cc drummer Paul Burgess, Dr. Feelgood guitarist Mo Witham and guitar player Jim Holmes.

Hard Travelers

Towards the end of 2007 Sharp, having spent most of his recent time playing solo acoustic, was ready to form a new band again. He was put in touch with Henry McCullough and, after a few days together in Ireland, the nucleus of The Hard Travelers was formed. The concept of the band's music was the intention to bring the songs of Woodie Guthrie to a new public. To complete the lineup, Sharp and McCullough brought in Zoot Money on keyboards; Gary Fletcher on bass; and Colin Allen on drums.

Their debut gig, following a recording session, was on 22 January 2008 in Portsmouth at The Cellars. The following booked gigs had to be postponed for a while due to various difficulties and their next performance was at The Black Horse Festival, Hastings where they headlined on 24 May 2008.

AOR - The Spirit of The Alarm

In April 2008 Sharp launched his own version of The Alarm, AOR - Spirit of The Alarm, to showcase the band's American setlists from the late 1980s.

Together with North West musicians Wayne Parry, Dave Black, Tom Szakaly and Si Smith, AOR played their debut gig at Glasgow Rockers on 18 April, later supporting The Damned at Heywood Civic Centre in support of the Sophie Lancaster Foundation on 26 November 2008.

In the studio AOR are preparing to release an album in 2009, including their own cover version of "With a Little Help from My Friends".

References

External links

• Dave Sharp's website
• Hard Travelers website
• AOR at MySpace
• AOR - The Spirit Of The Alarm