Dave King (Irish singer)

Dave King (born 11 December 1961 from Limerick) is an Irish singer, musician and songwriter. He is currently a member of the band Flogging Molly, of which he is a founding member. He first gained notability as the original lead singer of hard rock band Fastway in the 1980s.

This article is about the Irish musician. For the Minneapolis-based drummer, see David King (drummer).
Dave King
Dave King in 2018
Background information
Born (1961-12-11) 11 December 1961
Limerick, Ireland
OriginDublin, Ireland
GenresPunk, Celtic punk, Hard rock, Heavy metal
Occupation(s)Singer, guitarist, writer
InstrumentsVocals, guitar, bodhrán, banjo, spoons

Roots and early life

King grew up in a small two-room flat in Beggars Bush, Dublin tenement that had once been part of Beggars Bush Barracks. When he was around the age of six or seven his parents bought him a guitar. King remembers being called inside by his mother to watch David Bowie perform "Starman" on television, which he cites as one of many influences along with Luke Kelly, Joe Strummer, Johnny Cash, and Freddie Mercury to name a few. King's father died when he was 10 years old. He left Dublin in his twenties, briefly residing in London and then on to Los Angeles where he first joined Fastway and later formed Flogging Molly with Ted Hutt, Jeff Peters, and Bridget Regan.[1]

After emigrating to the United States, he was without a "green card" for eight years. King was not able to visit his home or family in Ireland during this time for fear that immigration laws would prevent his return to the United States. This separation from his homeland and his mother is thought to be a contributing factor in many of Flogging Molly's early song lyrics, with many of the songs alluding to King's time in "exile".

Career

King's professional career began in the early 1980s when he was hired as the vocalist for Fastway, an English hard rock band formed by ex-Motörhead guitarist "Fast" Eddie Clarke and ex-UFO bassist Pete Way in 1983.[2] They recorded their first four records with King on vocals, as well as a live record.

When Fastway was ostensibly disbanded (Eddie carried on the name with all new members), King formed Katmandu with Mandy Meyer (former member of the band Krokus) and Mike Alonso, (former member of the Detroit-based band Speedball), who released one self-titled album. The band had a couple of minor hits but later disbanded.[3]

King retained a record deal with Epic records, who wanted him to sing for Jeff Beck, but he declined. He started working with forming the band Flogging Molly, with new material that had a distinct Irish sound, but still retaining the hard driving, loud and fast musical style. He asked to be let out of his Epic contract because "they wouldn't know what to do with the new music anyways..." Since then, Flogging Molly has reached position No. 4 on the Billboard charts top 200 and a No. 1 on the Billboard Indie Chart.[4]

Personal life

King is married to fellow musician and bandmate Bridget Regan. After years together, the two married in a private ceremony in Tokyo, Japan while on tour in 2008.

King is an avid supporter of Manchester United, and even has the club's logo tattooed on his chest.

References
  1. Friction magazine, by George B. Sanchez, 5 November 2002
  2. Steve Goldby. "The Official On-Line Tribute to Fast Eddie Clarke". Fasteddieclarke.com. Archived from the original on 22 January 2013. Retrieved 14 December 2012.
  3. "Katmandu". Sleaze Roxx. Archived from the original on 16 January 2013. Retrieved 14 December 2012.
  4. Daniel McConnell (16 March 2008). "Band at top of US chart unknown at home". Independent.ie. Retrieved 10 December 2015.

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