Dan Gillespie Sells
Encyclopedia
Daniel Giles Gillespie Sells ' onMouseout='HidePop("50645")' href="/topics/London">London
, UK) is a British
singer-songwriter
and guitarist
, best known as being the lead vocalist
and frontman for the pop
band, The Feeling
.
, being brought up dividing their time between their father's house and their mother's house after their parents split when he was three years old. His mother is the disability rights campaigner Katherine Gillespie Sells
. He was also parented by his mother's former partner Dilis, who he refers to as his other mother. Sells attended The Ashmole School
in London along with fellow students Amy Winehouse
and Rachel Stevens
(S Club 7
). He studied at the BRIT School
in which many new British groups originate from such as The Kooks
in Croydon
, and for a time was guitarist for Scottish
pop rock
band Speedway
before he embarked on a B.A.
in Commercial Music at the University of Westminster
.
In early 2007, Sells was seen in an advertising campaign for the Autograph range at Marks and Spencer.
In addition to his work with The Feeling
, he co-wrote several songs for Sophie Ellis-Bextor's
third solo album, Trip the Light Fantastic. However, only two of the songs actually made it onto the tracklisting, "Only One" and "Love Is Here". Both tracks also feature his vocals, and "Love Is Here" includes his bandmate Richard Jones
, Sophie Ellis-Bextor's husband, on bass guitar.
Dan is openly gay, and won the Stonewall Award
for Entertainer of the Year in 2007. In an April 20, 2007 interview with the site Chart Rigger, Sells said he's had a boyfriend since New Year's Eve, and that he had not told any journalist before "because no one ever asked directly. This is really pathetic, but it's probably the first proper boyfriend I've really ever had, because I've just totally scuttered around the whole thing for so many years."
Sells also revealed on a catch-up session on The Feeling's official website that he is to feature on the cover of an issue of Attitude
magazine in 2008, being the first cover shoot Sells has done. He appeared on the front cover of Attitude in March 2008, and was later on the front cover again on the September 2008 issue, alongside Alan Carr and Sir Ian McKellen. He also revealed that he had given input into a future issue of Gay Times
and that his middle name is Giles.
Sells co-wrote and co-performed (both with Ian Masterson) the theme tune to the 2008 BBC
comedy drama series Beautiful People
, an adaptation of the memoirs of Simon Doonan
. In addition, Sells also contributed another original track, entitled "Beautiful People", as well as a 2006 cover version of Hall & Oates's "She's Gone" with his The Feeling bandmates. All three tracks appeared on the Beautiful People soundtrack album released in October 2008.
Dan started a helicopter Private Pilot License
, at Panshanger Aerodrome, during April 2009. He talks about this in the July 2011 edition of Flaps Podcast
.
was "one of the greatest vocal technicians ever". He also cites Freddie Mercury
and Neil Young
as influences.
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, UK) is a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
and guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
, best known as being the lead vocalist
Lead vocalist
The lead vocalist is the member of a band who sings the main vocal portions of a song. They may also play one or more instruments. Lead vocalists are sometimes referred to as the frontman or frontwoman, and as such, are usually considered to be the "leader" of the groups they perform in, often the...
and frontman for the pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
band, The Feeling
The Feeling
The Feeling are a BRIT award-nominated English pop band from West Sussex and London. The band categorise their music as "pop".Following a limited release of their first single "Fill My Little World" in late 2005, the band entered the UK Singles Chart at #7 with their first full release "Sewn" in...
.
Biography
Sells and his brother were coparentedCoparenting
Coparenting or co-parenting describes a parenting situation where the parents are not in a marriage, cohabitation or romantic relationship with one another.-Post-separation coparenting:...
, being brought up dividing their time between their father's house and their mother's house after their parents split when he was three years old. His mother is the disability rights campaigner Katherine Gillespie Sells
Katherine Gillespie Sells
Katherine 'Kath' Gillespie Sells is a psychotherapist, writer, disability rights campaignger and LGBT rights campaigner from the United Kingdom...
. He was also parented by his mother's former partner Dilis, who he refers to as his other mother. Sells attended The Ashmole School
Ashmole School
Ashmole Academy is a comprehensive foundation school in Southgate, England in the London Borough of Barnet. Under the direction of the headteacher Derrick Brown, around 1,340 pupils are educated in ages 11–18....
in London along with fellow students Amy Winehouse
Amy Winehouse
Amy Jade Winehouse was an English singer-songwriter known for her powerful deep contralto vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres including R&B, soul and jazz. Winehouse's 2003 debut album, Frank, was critically successful in the UK and was nominated for the Mercury Prize...
and Rachel Stevens
Rachel Stevens
Rachel Lauren Stevens is an English singer-songwriter, actress, presenter, dancer, television personality and model. She is a former member of the successful pop group S Club, and launched a solo recording career in 2003, releasing seven singles and two albums in the UK between 2003 and 2005...
(S Club 7
S Club 7
S Club, formerly known as S Club 7, were a pop group created by former Spice Girls manager Simon Fuller, consisting of members Tina Barrett, Paul Cattermole, Jon Lee, Bradley McIntosh, de facto lead singer Jo O'Meara, Hannah Spearritt and Rachel Stevens. The group rose to fame by starring in their...
). He studied at the BRIT School
BRIT School
The London School for Performing Arts & Technology is a British school located in Selhurst, Croydon, in London, England, with a mandate to provide education and vocational training for the performing arts, media, art and design and the technologies that make performance possible...
in which many new British groups originate from such as The Kooks
The Kooks
The Kooks are an English indie rock band formed in Brighton, East Sussex, in 2001. Formed by Luke Pritchard , Hugh Harris , Paul Garred , and Max Rafferty , the lineup of the band remained constant until 2008 and the departure of Rafferty...
in Croydon
Croydon
Croydon is a town in South London, England, located within the London Borough of Croydon to which it gives its name. It is situated south of Charing Cross...
, and for a time was guitarist for Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
pop rock
Pop rock
Pop rock is a music genre which mixes a catchy pop style and light lyrics in its guitar-based rock songs. There are varying definitions of the term, ranging from a slower and mellower form of rock music to a subgenre of pop music...
band Speedway
Speedway (band)
Speedway were a Scottish pop rock group, who were formed in 2001, by Glaswegians Jill Jackson and Jim Duguid . The band acquired three more members in that year, with the keyboardist and vocalist Tom Swann from Edinburgh plus guitarist Dan Sells, now lead singer of The Feeling , and signed with...
before he embarked on a B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in Commercial Music at the University of Westminster
University of Westminster
The University of Westminster is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom. Its origins go back to the foundation of the Royal Polytechnic Institution in 1838, and it was awarded university status in 1992.The university's headquarters and original campus are based on Regent...
.
In early 2007, Sells was seen in an advertising campaign for the Autograph range at Marks and Spencer.
In addition to his work with The Feeling
The Feeling
The Feeling are a BRIT award-nominated English pop band from West Sussex and London. The band categorise their music as "pop".Following a limited release of their first single "Fill My Little World" in late 2005, the band entered the UK Singles Chart at #7 with their first full release "Sewn" in...
, he co-wrote several songs for Sophie Ellis-Bextor's
Sophie Ellis-Bextor
Sophie Michelle Ellis-Bextor is an English singer, songwriter, model and occasional DJ. She first came to prominence in the late 1990s, as the lead singer of the indie rock band Theaudience. After the group disbanded, Ellis-Bextor went solo, achieving widespread success in the early 2000s...
third solo album, Trip the Light Fantastic. However, only two of the songs actually made it onto the tracklisting, "Only One" and "Love Is Here". Both tracks also feature his vocals, and "Love Is Here" includes his bandmate Richard Jones
Richard Jones (bassist)
Richard Jones is bassist with British band The Feeling.Jones attended the BRIT School in Croydon. He married British pop star Sophie Ellis-Bextor on 25 June 2005 in Italy. Together the couple have two sons, Sonny Jones, born in April 2004, and Kit Valentine Jones, born in February 2009...
, Sophie Ellis-Bextor's husband, on bass guitar.
Dan is openly gay, and won the Stonewall Award
Stonewall Awards
The Stonewall Awards is an annual event to celebrate people who have had a positive impact on the lives of British LGBT people. The event was first held in 2006 at the Royal Academy of Arts and from 2007 were held at the Victoria and Albert Museum.-2006:...
for Entertainer of the Year in 2007. In an April 20, 2007 interview with the site Chart Rigger, Sells said he's had a boyfriend since New Year's Eve, and that he had not told any journalist before "because no one ever asked directly. This is really pathetic, but it's probably the first proper boyfriend I've really ever had, because I've just totally scuttered around the whole thing for so many years."
Sells also revealed on a catch-up session on The Feeling's official website that he is to feature on the cover of an issue of Attitude
Attitude (magazine)
Attitude is a British gay lifestyle magazine owned by Vitality Publishing. It is sold worldwide as a physical magazine and a digital download for the iPad and iPhone via the App Store. The first issue appeared in May 1994....
magazine in 2008, being the first cover shoot Sells has done. He appeared on the front cover of Attitude in March 2008, and was later on the front cover again on the September 2008 issue, alongside Alan Carr and Sir Ian McKellen. He also revealed that he had given input into a future issue of Gay Times
Gay Times
Gay Times is one of the United Kingdom's leading gay magazine for gay and bisexual men.-Publication and content:...
and that his middle name is Giles.
Sells co-wrote and co-performed (both with Ian Masterson) the theme tune to the 2008 BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
comedy drama series Beautiful People
Beautiful People (UK TV series)
Beautiful People is a British comedy drama television series based on the memoirs of Barneys creative director Simon Doonan. The series takes place in Reading, Berkshire in 1997, where thirteen-year-old Simon Doonan and his best friend Kylie dream of escaping their dreary suburban surroundings and...
, an adaptation of the memoirs of Simon Doonan
Simon Doonan
Simon Doonan is the Creative Ambassador-at-Large of the New York City-based clothing store, Barneys.-Biography:Doonan hails from the English town of Reading. He got his first retail job as a summer job working at Heelas, a department store in Reading that belonged to the John Lewis Partnership...
. In addition, Sells also contributed another original track, entitled "Beautiful People", as well as a 2006 cover version of Hall & Oates's "She's Gone" with his The Feeling bandmates. All three tracks appeared on the Beautiful People soundtrack album released in October 2008.
Dan started a helicopter Private Pilot License
Private Pilot License
A Private Pilot License or, in the United States of America, a Private Pilot Certificate, is a license that permits the holder to act as the pilot of an aircraft privately . The requirements to obtain the license are determined by the International Civil Aviation Authority , but the actual...
, at Panshanger Aerodrome, during April 2009. He talks about this in the July 2011 edition of Flaps Podcast
Flaps Podcast
Flaps Podcast is a British aviation podcast. Produced by BBC radio producer Mark Newman and presenter Elliott Webb, it discusses topics of interest to private and general aviation pilots....
.
Influences
Sells has stated that Karen CarpenterKaren Carpenter
Karen Anne Carpenter was an American singer and drummer. She and her brother, Richard, formed the 1970s duo The Carpenters. She was a drummer of exceptional skill, but she is best remembered for her vocal performances of idealistic romantic ballads of true love...
was "one of the greatest vocal technicians ever". He also cites Freddie Mercury
Freddie Mercury
Freddie Mercury was a British musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist of the rock band Queen. As a performer, he was known for his flamboyant stage persona and powerful vocals over a four-octave range...
and Neil Young
Neil Young
Neil Percival Young, OC, OM is a Canadian singer-songwriter who is widely regarded as one of the most influential musicians of his generation...
as influences.