Date/Time Sun 05 Nov 2023 8:00 PM
Price Online - £10 + £1 fees; On The Door - £12
Website: https://www.daveandboo.com/
Dave Ellis & Boo Howard are back with more great songs served by imaginative and stylish arrangements, performed by two seasoned, wholly in tune musicians.
Their story began in the 70s when a very young Dave left Liverpool and headed to London with his guitar. He released a solo album in 1973, which was perceived as a classic acoustic guitar record of its time. This led to touring with his hero Bert Jansch as well as achieving national exposure on shows such as The Old Grey Whistle Test and In Concert.
Dave became a regular solo performer at well-known London venues such as the Marquee, the Roundhouse and the Lyceum. He was even listed as “one of the 6 best guitarists in the world” by Melody Maker and opened for many big names of the day including The Edgar Broughton Band at the Rainbow and Rod Stewart and Status Quo at Reading Festival.
Mixing with this kind of musician attracted Dave to a new adventure… to form an electric band called The Reactors. Boo joined on bass and vocals and the two became a solid songwriting team. They were signed to The Police’s management company and they recorded with various name producers, and at one time even Jermaine Jackson (Michael’s brother) took an active interest in them in the States.
In the early 2000s Dave and Boo developed an acoustic act which returned them to their folk club roots. Their debut album as a duo, Maybe I Might Fall, was critically acclaimed and featured a simple acoustic performance. Several albums have been recorded since then, from 2002’s Amber through to Facebook Friend in 2015. The songs are intelligently constructed, elegantly articulated and never less than entertaining, drawing on influences from both the folk world and the rock scene they were involved in for so long. Their latest album is last year’s Time.
Melanie Crew and Ross Palmer have been making music together for years, but began releasing material as a duo during that strange spring of 2020. Melanie has released three solo EPs, receiving radio play from BBC 6 Music and BBC Kent, as well as numerous local stations. Ross has released three EPs and a digital-only single, playing sessions on BBC Essex and BBC Kent, and gaining airplay on a host of local and independent stations.
Following their 2020 debut EP as a duo, Away from the City, Melanie and Ross released their first full-length album, Quiet After Midnight in March 2023. Self-produced and recorded in their South London home across 2022, Quiet After Midnight also features instrumental contributions from Adam Beattie, Nick Frater, and Ross’s Watertown Carps bandmate Yo Zushi.