Dave Clemo
Dave was born almost exactly halfway through the last century. His first home was a beach chalet in Cornwall. The plain wooden shack had none of the things we take for granted like electricity, sewage or running water. Cornwall in the 1950s had no TV and only two BBC radio stations, so he had very limited exposure to popular music. He was seven when Elvis and Cliff Richard hit the charts. His family moved to West London in 1962. He was given a guitar for Christmas and spent the next few years trying to play it.
In 1967 the area around Ladbroke Grove was the epicentre of the underground music scene that shook the music business like an earthquake. During that late 60s and early 70s he went to a host of gigs and saw groups like Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd, The Who, Jethro Tull and Genesis in their earliest incarnations before they became global superstars. His first book 'Too Young for Rock & Roll' covers those early years.
He also spent the next few years trying to emulate his heroes using clapped out and home made guitars and amplifiers before moving to Northampton in 1974. For the next ten years he played in two of the most successful local bands. His second book 'Too Old for Punk' ends when he moved to Somerset with his young family in 1984.
He wrote his first songs in the late sixties but his writing took off when he became a Christian in 1990. Since then he has had over 100 songs published, has contributed articles for magazines, written and delivered dozens of sermons and was a regular contributor to a 'one minute thought for today' on local radio. He has recorded and released over ten albums of mostly self penned songs, played pubs, concerts and festivals across the UK on guitar, mandolin and bass. He was almost 60 when he played his first UK theatre tour as part of a Patsy Cline tribute show and followed that with three festival and club tours for Australian singer/songwriter Nicki Gillis.
From 2009 a series of health issues has meant that Dave was unable to play at the same frequency as before. This part of his life is covered in the third volume of his musical story 'Forever Changing'. Two other books run in parallel to this trio. 'The Things I did for Money' is about the huge number and variety of jobs that funded his musical passion. The spiritual side to his life is covered by 'Called Out'. He has also written a detailed account of his family history and his Cornish heritage.
He is currently researching and co-writing the story of the famed Northamptonshire Beck recording studio, due for 2020 publication.
‘A highly recommended read not only for fans of grass roots music but also for those wishing to experience a flavour of those times.’ Pulse Alternative Magazine.
'Part rock history, part autobiography Dave's books can also be read as social studies as they also capture some of the seismic shifts that swept the country. In an age of power cuts, strikes and three day weeks it can't be overemphasised how music added colour to the leaden seventies. Just like you're sharing a drink with Dave 'Too Old For Punk' is told in a conversational tone as he regales you with some of the best stories from Northampton's rich musical heritage.'
