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Graham Clark
Music Features Writer
@Maxximum23Clark
1:59 AM 8th August 2022
arts

Interview With Dave Hemingway - Ex Beautiful South Singer

 
Dave Hemingway and the Sunbirds
Dave Hemingway and the Sunbirds
The man who once told us he loved us from the bottom of his pencil case, founder Beautiful South member Dave Hemingway, returns with his new band Sunbirds.

Having retired from the live scene at the back end of 2016, Dave has been keeping busy together with erstwhile South colleague, guitarist/songwriter Phil Barton, new discovery singer/violinist Laura Wilcockson and drummer Marc Parnell.

I chatted to Dave about his time in the Beautiful South and his new band.

Why did you decide it was time to leave The South?

I felt that we were becoming a tribute band performing songs from the Beautiful South catalogue. We recorded an album of original songs with The South and I was keen to record another new album but the rest of the band did not want to go back into the recording studio.

I decided to take a sabbatical from the music industry for a while to wait and to discover some new songs, that is when I formed our new band Sunbirds.

Do you have good memories of being part of The Beautiful South?

Absolutely – those memories can never be taken away from me. The band were together for nearly twenty years which is unheard of for a lot of groups as they tend to fall out with each other after a few years. I would say appearing on Top of the Pops for the first time was a memory that will always stick with me as it was such an iconic music programme, sadly the show is not on any more.

Meeting some of my heroes such as Paul Weller, Elvis Costello and Morrissey were good memories too, the fact that they were all nice people too was an added bonus.

What was it like playing the Glastonbury Festival?

That gig was probably the highlight of being in The Beautiful South. We were on the main stage, R.E.M. were the headliners. We got to meet the band too, I remember their lead singer Michael Stipe was so humble and friendly when I met him.

Sunbirds are coming to Huddersfield in September, have you played a gig there before?

The Beautiful South supported R.E.M. at what was then the McAlpine Stadium in Huddersfield. Oasis were meant to play the concert but they dropped out so they added our band to the line-up. I remember it being a sunny warm day – I even went on stage wearing my shorts!

With Sunbirds do you perform any songs from The Beautiful South?

We don’t as I made a conscious decision not to play any of the old songs. I understand that people want to hear the songs that they know – I get that but we are a new band and I think we have produced an album of quality songs that I hope people will like. We even have enough new songs to record a second album.

The sound of Sunbirds is in complete contrast to what you have dome before...

It is - apart from my voice which is probably the only part people will recognise. I had a big legacy of the two bands which I was in and I wanted to follow that up with the new songs we have recorded. We are all very happy with them and hope that people who come along to the concerts will enjoy them too.

Do you still get recognised when you go out?

Thankfully no – I have got older and have changed quite a lot. I have had my fifteen minutes of fame but I did not enjoy being recognised all the time. I think it reached a pinnacle when my son was being born at the hospital and the nurse asked me for my autograph.

Do you think it is harder for new bands these days to be recognised?

I think it is. When I started out you got a record deal, made an album and played the concerts. It is so difficult to get new music heard on the radio these days, even with my track record it is hard to get our music played. The majority of radio stations tend to play old hits in favour of new music.

Do you still live up in the north?

Yes, I still do. Although the name the Beautiful South was a nod to further south, I still live up here because it was where I was born and where my heart is.

Sunbirds play Huddersfield Smile Venue and bar on 3rd September 2022

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