David Virgin

David Virgin
Background information
Origin Dublin, Ireland
Genres Industrial Music, Classic Rock, Alt-Country, Psychedelic, Punk
Years active 1978–Present
Labels Beardfire Music
Website
Members David Virgin
Rohan Healy
Alex "Al Quiff" Healy

David Virgin (born 14 January 1962) is an Irish born musician, songwriter, author and music producer who emigrated to Australia with his family as a child. He found musical success initially during the 1980s in Sydney's punk scene with the industrial noise group SPK,[1] and later with post-punk band Sekret Sekret.[2] He remained active through the 1990s and 2000s touring Europe and Australia solo as well as performing and recording with a number of other bands. He has released eleven albums, mostly on his own label Beardfire Music.

History

Early career

David Virgin was born in North Dublin on 14 January 1962. At the age of 7 he emigrated to Australia with his family. In 1978, at the age of 16, Virgin formed his first band The Broken Toys as bass player and main songwriter. He was joined by Peter Mullany (of Johnny Dole & The Scabs) on lead guitar, Andrew Campbell on rhythm guitar and vocals and Virgin's brother John on drums, who was later replaced by Paul Cosgrove.[2] The Broken Toys played 60's pop inspired melodic punk in the style of The Buzzcocks and performed regularly at the Grand Hotel, Broadway, Sydney.[3] In 1979 Virgin joined Graeme Revell, Neil Hill and guitarist Dan Rumour as bassist for the industrial noise group SPK,[4] where he co-wrote and recorded the early 7" records "No More" and "Mekano".[5][6]

The Broken Toys disbanded in '79 and shortly after that Virgin formed The Ugly Mirrors with Dan Rumour, Des Devlin and Peter McGregor. The Ugly Mirrors quickly became Sekret Sekret with the final line up including Colin Ellis on drums and Peter Mullany on second guitar who came over from Johnny Dole & The Scabs. Sekret Sekret performed and recorded for six years earning 5 number one singles on the Australian independent charts including the "noted underground classic New King Jack".[4] Sekret Sekret's final line up included Ken Gormley (The Cruel Sea) on bass and James Elliot (The Cruel Sea) on Drums with Des Devlin moving to share the lead guitar duties with Dan Rumour. In 1985 Sekret Sekret released their last single "Just to Love You", disbanding shortly after. Three of the members of Sekret Sekret went on to form Australian rock band The Cruel Sea with singer Tex Perkins.[7]

Solo career to present

In 1984 Virgin recorded and released a split single with Leonard Samperi titled "Possession/Give It Up" through Waterfront Records.[8] The single was co-produced and engineered by Clive Shakespeare of Australian pop, rock group Sherbet who also engineered a number of Sekret Sekret singles including "Girl With a White Stick/Chimes" and "Just To Love You/Waterbirds".

In 1991 Virgin reunited with SPK and Sekret Sekret band-mate Dan Rumour to record the David Virgin solo album "Landlord Green"[9] before touring Europe in 1992. Since then Virgin has maintained a presence on the underground music scenes of Europe and Australia recording five more solo albums; "No Fun Sessions", "Dublin 7", "Rock N Roll Meditations", "Posing As A Sodomite," and "International Treasure". He also recorded a second album with Dan Rumour in 2004 titled "Virgin & Rumour". Over his live career Virgin has shared the stage with musicians and acts such as Nick Cave, John Cooper Clark, Jonathan Richman, Mary Black, INXS, The Church, The Triffids, The Go Betweens, Cat Power, Lloyd Cole, Billy Bragg and Tim Freedman.[10]

In 2012 David Virgin released a book titled "Potato Mashi: The Underground Non-Dualist Sensation".[11]

David Virgin now lives in Dublin, Ireland and continues to write, record and perform music solo and with his two sons Rohan Healy and Alex "Al Quiff" Healy, of The Dublin City Rounders,[12] in the vintage, western swing and blues act David Virgin & The Stanley Knife Brothers. In November 2013 David Virgin released a 23 song best-of album titled "Three Decades of David Virgin" through Beardfire Music and in January 2014 Virgin released solo album "Boots 'N' Tooths".[13]

Virgin an album titled "The Beautiful Album" in September 2017. “The Beautiful Album” is a selection of mainly duets by David Virgin featuring Leslie Dowdall (of In Tua Nua), Leila Jane, Kate Dineen, Klara McDonnell and Elga Fox. The songs on the album were backed instrumentally by the Dublin City Rounders, Rohan Healy on guitar, Al Quiff on double bass, Adam Byrne on drums and Caoimhe O’Farrell on Irish harp.[14] Virgin is also involved with the Dublin City Rounders as co-songwriter, producer and additional performer on their recordings.

Discography

Albums

  • Landlord Green (1992)
  • Virgin & Rumour (2004)
  • Dublin 7 (2006)
  • Sekret Sekret – Happy Town Sounds (Singles, Live & Rare) (2008)
  • Rock N Roll Meditations (2008)
  • Posing As A Sodomite (2009)
  • International Treasure (2012)
  • No Fun Sessions (2013)
  • Three Decades of David Virgin (2013)
  • David Virgin & The Stanley Knife Brothers – Party Like It's 1899 (2014)
  • Boots 'N' Tooths (2014)
  • The Beautiful Album (2017)

Compilations

  • Tales From The Australian Underground Vol. 1 (2003)
  • Tales From The Australian Underground Vol. 2 (2006)
  • The Beardfire Music Cafe Mix Tape (2013)

Collaborations

  • The Dublin City Rounders - On Track (2014) (writer/arranger/producer/performer)
  • The Dublin City Rounders - Dis Am The Dublin City Rounders (2014) (writer/arranger/producer/performer)
  • The Dublin City Rounders - Decent Folk (2014) (writer/arranger/producer/performer)
  • The Dublin City Rounders - The Work of Two Men (2014) (writer/arranger/producer/performer)
  • The Dublin City Rounders - It Used to Be About the Money (2016) (writer/arranger/producer)

Singles

  • Charity (1980)
  • New King Jack (1981)
  • Girl with a White Stick (1984)
  • Give It Up (1984)
  • Just To Love You (1985)
  • Landlord Green (1992)
  • Rock N Roll Man (2008)
  • White Trash (2009)
  • International Treasure (2012)
  • At The Waning of the Moon (2014)
  • Notre Dame (2014)
  • The Weir (feat. Leslie Dowdall) (2017)
  • Everything I Ever Wantedt (feat.Leila Jane) (2017)

References

  1. ↑ McFarlane, Ian (1999). "Encyclopedia entry for 'SPK'". whammo.com.au. Archived from the original on 6 August 2004. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
  2. 1 2 "Australian Music Database entry: Sekret Sekret". australianmusicdatabase.com. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
  3. ↑ Virgin, David. "David Virgin: Sekret Sekret, Broken Toys, SPK & the Sydney Underground 1978–85". www.i94bar.com. Archived from the original on 7 August 2011.
  4. 1 2 Pittman, Tim. "Sekret Sekret – Happy Town Sounds (Singles, Live & Rare)". Feel Presents. Archived from the original on 19 August 2014.
  5. ↑ "PRS Release 2617 – No More". discogs.com.
  6. ↑ "PRS Release 2655 – Mekano". discogs.com.
  7. ↑ McFarlane, Ian. "Encyclopedia entry for 'The Cruel Sea'". Archived from the original on 3 August 2004.
  8. ↑ "Possession/Give It Up". www.discogs.com.
  9. ↑ Walker, Clinton. "Recorded Works of Sekret Sekret". Inner City Sound.
  10. ↑ "David Virgin Official History". David Virgin Music.
  11. ↑ David, Virgin (2012). Potato Mashi: The Underground Non-Dualist Sensation. Beardfire Publishing. p. 63.
  12. ↑ Healy, Rohan. "The Dublin City Rounders". Beardfire Music.
  13. ↑ "Beardfire Artist: David Virgin". Beardfire.
  14. ↑ "SPK founder David Virgin launches new album with duets". Side Line Magazine.
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