David G. Walker
Encyclopedia
David G Walker is a British pianist, singer and composer (born 1946) based in London
and sometime Victoria
, Australia, known for his distinctive performances of rock and roll classics, original songs and church worship songs.
, Lincolnshire
, U.K. attending the same school as Sir Malcolm Sargent, Sir Michael Tippett and other musicians. His first live performance, at the local Methodist youth club, was Acker Bilk's version of 'Marching through Georgia
' with trumpeter Ian Starsmore. Then, with guitarist Peter Banks, fronting the 'Slendermen' at school dances, their first major concert in December 1964 included a song by soul legend Sam Cooke
, during which news came on the radio of Cooke's murder in Los Angeles
.
While studying at university and qualifying as a secondary schoolteacher, Walker became a church organist, wrote a number of choral settings and chants, dabbled in folk with a residency at Kings Lynn Folk Club, and led several small bands (Shades of Harmony, Tristars, Millionaires). He made his first pop singles for independent labels, including 'GCE for Love', 'First Class Faker' and 'Jane', collaborating with Parisian songwriter Nicolas Bensaid. Teaching in Victoria
, Australia
, Walker continued writing, e.g. 'Glenferrie Tram' about Melbourne
suburban life, and performing across the state with rock group 'Apollo 5', led by guitarist Geoff Stobie.
Back in the UK, Walker continues to perform at hundreds of venues and to write and record his own music, e.g.'Gotta Get Up', 'So Many Sunlit Days', and material by Louis Jordan
, Fats Domino
, Chuck Berry
and others, and collaborates on musical shows with author George Taylor.
, Mark Ferrie (The Models, Actual Reality), Graham Lee (The Triffids) and Tony Thornton.
EPs & Singles: Glenferrie Tram (1976) - Cisco at the Disco (1985) - Everyone was a Baby (2000) - Rest of my Millennium (2000) - Let the Good Times Roll (2004) - A Million Light Years (2008)
Theatre and Church Music: A Goodly Manor for a Song - Music for the Stamford Shakespeare Company Summer Season at Rutland Theatre (2000) - Greatest in the Kingdom (2003) - And That's a Fact (Road to Emmaus) (2007) - Gloria, Sanctus & Agnus Dei (2007)
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...
and sometime Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
, Australia, known for his distinctive performances of rock and roll classics, original songs and church worship songs.
Biography
Walker grew up in the historic town of StamfordStamford, Lincolnshire
Stamford is a town and civil parish within the South Kesteven district of the county of Lincolnshire, England. It is approximately to the north of London, on the east side of the A1 road to York and Edinburgh and on the River Welland...
, Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
, U.K. attending the same school as Sir Malcolm Sargent, Sir Michael Tippett and other musicians. His first live performance, at the local Methodist youth club, was Acker Bilk's version of 'Marching through Georgia
Marching Through Georgia
"Marching Through Georgia" is a marching song written by Henry Clay Work at the end of the American Civil War in 1865. It refers to U.S. Maj. Gen...
' with trumpeter Ian Starsmore. Then, with guitarist Peter Banks, fronting the 'Slendermen' at school dances, their first major concert in December 1964 included a song by soul legend Sam Cooke
Sam Cooke
Samuel Cook, , better known under the stage name Sam Cooke, was an American gospel, R&B, soul, and pop singer, songwriter, and entrepreneur. He is considered to be one of the pioneers and founders of soul music. He is commonly known as the King of Soul for his distinctive vocal abilities and...
, during which news came on the radio of Cooke's murder in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
.
While studying at university and qualifying as a secondary schoolteacher, Walker became a church organist, wrote a number of choral settings and chants, dabbled in folk with a residency at Kings Lynn Folk Club, and led several small bands (Shades of Harmony, Tristars, Millionaires). He made his first pop singles for independent labels, including 'GCE for Love', 'First Class Faker' and 'Jane', collaborating with Parisian songwriter Nicolas Bensaid. Teaching in Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Walker continued writing, e.g. 'Glenferrie Tram' about Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
suburban life, and performing across the state with rock group 'Apollo 5', led by guitarist Geoff Stobie.
Back in the UK, Walker continues to perform at hundreds of venues and to write and record his own music, e.g.'Gotta Get Up', 'So Many Sunlit Days', and material by Louis Jordan
Louis Jordan
Louis Thomas Jordan was a pioneering American jazz, blues and rhythm & blues musician, songwriter and bandleader who enjoyed his greatest popularity from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. Known as "The King of the Jukebox", Jordan was highly popular with both black and white audiences in the...
, Fats Domino
Fats Domino
Antoine Dominique "Fats" Domino, Jr. is an American R&B and rock and roll pianist and singer-songwriter. He was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, and Creole was his first language....
, Chuck Berry
Chuck Berry
Charles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. With songs such as "Maybellene" , "Roll Over Beethoven" , "Rock and Roll Music" and "Johnny B...
and others, and collaborates on musical shows with author George Taylor.
Collaborations
Walker currently performs solo and with bands mainly around London and the Home Counties. His recent albums 'Daylight', 'Go with the Flow' and 'So many Sunlit Days' include collaborations with guitarist-producer Rob Marshall and Australians Nicky Del Rey (Slow Town Social Club, Jack Howard & the Long Lost Brothers, Actual Reality), Lisa MillerLisa Miller
Lisa Miller is an Australian singer/songwriter known for her clear, bitter-sweet voice and poignant semi-biographical songs.-Biography:Miller grew up in the Melbourne suburb of Chadstone, the daughter of social realist painter Peter Miller...
, Mark Ferrie (The Models, Actual Reality), Graham Lee (The Triffids) and Tony Thornton.
Selected discography
Albums: Tender Zone (2003) - Glad that You left me (2005) - Gotta Get Up (2006) - So Many Sunlit Days (2007) - Go with the Flow (2009) - Daylight (2011)EPs & Singles: Glenferrie Tram (1976) - Cisco at the Disco (1985) - Everyone was a Baby (2000) - Rest of my Millennium (2000) - Let the Good Times Roll (2004) - A Million Light Years (2008)
Theatre and Church Music: A Goodly Manor for a Song - Music for the Stamford Shakespeare Company Summer Season at Rutland Theatre (2000) - Greatest in the Kingdom (2003) - And That's a Fact (Road to Emmaus) (2007) - Gloria, Sanctus & Agnus Dei (2007)