Great to do the gig below at the last minute. We had a fab evening and thanks to the many D&B fans who turned up at a day's notice!
On Friday evening (7 Oct) we'll be doing our first scheduled gig for ages at the Song Loft in Milton Keynes (see gig page for details). It's a really nice well run gig and we're looking forward to continuing our intensive resurrection of some of our older numbers.
Do come along if you live nearby. See you there...!
25/sep/16
STOP PRESS! We'll be standing in for Miranda Sykes and Rex Preston at Croydon Folk Club tomorrow night (Monday 26th Sept). Hope you can make it if you're in the area.
23/aug/16
Just in case you think we've disappeared for good... well we haven't. We've been recording some new songs and spending huge amounts of time getting them right without the interruption of gigs. Don't get us wrong!.. we love gigging but gigs always require loads of rehearsal as we don't do that many.
We'll be playing live again in a couple of months time (see gig page) but until then we're going to keep writing, experimenting and recording just so you can ask which album these songs are on when you see us live, and we'll have to say they're on a new album which probably won't be out for at least a year!
Some titles you might know if you've heard us lately:
In A Lover's Eyes
I Don't Know Why
All That There Is
Refugee
Hole In The Dark
Never Say Goodbye
Some Are Living
At present most of these are work in progress, but we're having a great summer and we hope you're not missing us too much!
17/jul/16
A nice surprise from Switzerland... this is an excellent live video they made at our gig at 'Folk in Heaven' in Pieterlen a couple of months ago. It features a couple of songs most people will know if you've seen us live recently: 'Rocket Ship' and 'Nothing In Between'.
27/jun/16
A little update before we both vanish on holiday...
We were asked to do a second, more up-front version of 'Home Again' (first track on 'Facebook Friend') for a publisher who is trying to get our song placed with Rod Stewart. Here is a bit of the original from our album followed by our second treatment of it. We really enjoyed doing it in the end after initially hating the time we were probably wasting (in the unlikely event that Sir Roderick might like it!)
See what you think:
29/may/16
A lovely church gig last night at Dunton Folk in Bedfordshire. There seem to be a lot of gigs in churches cropping up at the moment.
My Daddy (Canon Henry Ellis) would be proud of me... although I think pints of beer consumed whilst sitting in the pews is a bit weird!
18/may/16
Dave feeling a little the worse for wear after the gigs in Switzerland.
There have been some really good gigs though... we've met some really enthusiastic people and we can't wait to go back!`
Here is a review of one of the gigs... just click the clipping to read the translation.
Also we've had a nice article in last month's R2. Click the cover to read it.
5/may/16
We're off to Switzerland in the morning where we'll be playing a few dates over the next 10 days. Details are on our gig page and are up to date today but might change over the next few days. This website won't change while we're away, so the best way to find out about up to the minute dates and changes will be on Facebook.
We've been looking forward to this trip for some time and can't wait to meet the Swiss audiences. It will be an experience!
15/apr/16
The Dave Ellis Band revisited! Here we are with Graham Eade who was our very first drummer in the days when we had a band in 1979. All of us looking just as youthful as ever and ready for more fun and frolics for another 37 years...
6/apr/16
Working on recordings right now. Dave's weirdly tuned 12 string has had a bit of a resurgence of late and we have recorded two songs that were written on it recently: 'A Lover's Eyes' and 'Refugee'. We're really enjoying what it does and we're taking it a bit further this time (as opposed to 10 years ago).
Recently Dave was tempted by a Martin 12 string but luckily for his wallet, it didn't really cut it with the new tuning. The guitar was bought but taken back the next day (which is in line with most of Dave's musical purchases in the West End)... they really love him in Denmark Street!
20/mar/16
We're coming up to Easter and on Easter Sunday (27th) we'll be playing at Hitchin Folk Club on an evening to remember!
Sorry about this but we're going to have to use Boo's advert again...
This is our annual visit to this ace venue which we have been extremely honoured to be asked to play every Easter Sunday for the past seven years in a row.
We have always shared these incredibly enjoyable evenings with Liz Simcock, sometimes joining her as her backing band. Tonight Liz will be opening the evening with a solo set at about 8.15pm and we'll be onstage with songs from our new album 'Facebook Friend' at about 9.30pm.
Here's a video taken at Twickfolk about a week ago where we're playing a new song called 'Refugee'.
It's not only about the refugee crisis but also about the miserable efforts we all don't make in the west to do anything about it.
2/mar/16
It will be Mothering Sunday this Sunday and this is little David with Mum and Dad a few years ago. Neither of them are around any more, but if you've still got a Mum, why not bring her to Twickenham for a great night out with Dave & Boo at Twickenham Folk Club this Sunday (6th March)
We'll be on Doug Welch's folk show on BBC radio Kent this evening (Sun 28/2) at 9pm for a few live songs and a chat. If you want to listen to us with the worst mix in broadcasting history then you can listen again online at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p001d75k
10/feb/16
We've been collecting some great reviews for our latest album 'Facebook Friend'... here are some quotes from the folk press:
"classy, imaginative and engaging" (Folkwords album of the month)
"Facebook Friend is really quite superb" (R2)
"it was like playing one of my favourite LPs." (Unicorn)
"This is arguably their best yet." (Tykes News)
"You will be hard pressed not to find something to like." (Liverpool Acoustic)
"this is a classy, sophisticated album" (Shire Folk)
"An accomplished thinking-persons package from its Magritte homage sleeve to the glorious contents" (Folk NorthWest)
You can now buy 'Facebook Friend' from our online shop.
6th/feb/16
Another seriously nice review for 'Facebook Friend' from the eloquent Clive Pownceby who, apart from writing reviews for Folk North West, also runs the Bothy folk club in Southport which we will be visiting later in the year.
We'll be heading up north this coming weekend (13/14 Feb) for a couple of gigs in Bolton and Chester. Hope you can come if you're in the area. See gig page for details.
26/jan/16
A really enjoyable gig last night at Chesham FC where we were joined onstage by Alex, who had a bit of a bowel problem but otherwise he just concentrated on chewing up our set list!
22/jan/16
Yesterday we met an old friend of ours for the first time since the eighties. In those days Mike (pictured 2nd from left) ran a studio in Leatherhead where the Police recorded their first albums. He helped us with lots of free studio time and offered to hawk our recordings around for us, which he did without success. We were all going to be rich and famous when we last saw him 30 years ago... and what happened since then?
Well, he made a lot of money from publishing the Teletubbies music and our claim to fame has been supplying the music for an ad for Immodium. How the mighty hopeful are fallen.
We're still hoping though and Mike is going to try again!!
19/jan/16
Another nice review from Shire Folk to add to our collection of fab reviews for Facebook Friend. We've had some great responses to our latest effort, which makes it all worthwhile.
We're starting our gigs this year with our annual visit to the Poetry Cafe in Covent Garden on Friday evening (see gig page). Can't wait to get going again after Christmas... see you there if you can make it!
5/jan/16
Happy new year to everyone. We are happily working on a couple of new songs that we have written since FB Friend... getting them recorded and having a lot more fun doing it than eating turkey!
We're really looking forward to doing a few gigs, and we've actually got the time to prepare for them at the moment with our first new year gig being on 22nd Jan at the Poetry Cafe in Covent Garden. Can we get on with the year now?.. the snow will soon be stopping.
A lovely church gig last night at Dunton Folk in Bedfordshire. There seem to be a lot of gigs in churches cropping up at the moment.
Dave feeling a little the worse for wear after the gigs in Switzerland.
It will be Mothering Sunday this Sunday and this is little David with Mum and Dad a few years ago. Neither of them are around any more, but if you've still got a Mum, why not bring her to Twickenham for a great night out with Dave & Boo at Twickenham Folk Club this Sunday (6th March)
Google map to this venue
A really enjoyable gig last night at Chesham FC where we were joined onstage by Alex, who had a bit of a bowel problem but otherwise he just concentrated on chewing up our set list!
Yesterday we met an old friend of ours for the first time since the eighties. In those days Mike (pictured 2nd from left) ran a studio in Leatherhead where the Police recorded their first albums. He helped us with lots of free studio time and offered to hawk our recordings around for us, which he did without success. We were all going to be rich and famous when we last saw him 30 years ago... and what happened since then?