Dave Howard Singers

Maybe, if you're old enough, you might remember a group called the Dave Howard Singers. Maybe you saw one of their many live appearances, or their performance on The Tube, or read an interview in Melody Maker. Maybe you even bought one of their records.

I remember them well. I was a fan. I even tracked down Dave Howard and interviewed him a few years back.

Well now you can relive all those glorious Ace Tone-abusing slices of indie-punk-electro-balladry in super remastered digital sound via the compilation "What Your Girlfriend Threw Out, Or Your Friend Never Returned" which collects all the essential EPs and singles from 85-87, available directly from Mr. Howard himself via his extremely clever website (and while you're there take a peak at all the other fun stuff like video streams, press cuttings and the evolution of 'Max' the beatbox).

'Retrieved from eBay Nov. 2004', it says in the booklet. This is true, and I should know because I played a part in reuniting Dave with his master tapes.

The story went something like this: some woman (I think it was Dave's ex-manager's ex-girlfriend) found all the original Dave Howard Singers master tapes and sleeve art in a cupboard in her house, and promptly put the lot up for auction on eBay. Someone spotted this and alerted me to the fact, and I in turn alerted Dave. He immediately contacted the lady in question, struck some sort of financial deal, and within a few days his recorded legacy was being shipped safely back into his possession. He then set about getting the tapes professionally remastered and compiled to CD, and the results are now available to anyone with a paypal account. This might possibly be the single most useful contribution to the world of recorded music I've ever made, and I'm quite proud of my role as ,erm, 'facilitator' in this escapade.

Rock On!!

Those essential links:
DHS Website
DHS on Myspace