Dave King (Irish singer)

Dave King
Dave King and his wife, Bridget Regan, performing live with Flogging Molly in 2010
Background information
Born	11 December 1961 (1961-12-11) (age 49)
Origin	Dublin, Ireland
Genres	Punk, Celtic punk, Oi!, Hard rock, Heavy metal
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, bodhrán, banjo, spoons

Dave King (born 11 December 1961, Dublin, Ireland) is the lead vocalist and primary writer and lyricist for the Irish-American punk band Flogging Molly.

Roots and early life

King grew up in a small two-room flat in a Beggars Bush, Dublin tenement that had once been a British military barracks. When he was around the age of six or seven his parents bought him a guitar. King remembers being called inside by his mother to watch David Bowie perform "Starman" on television, which he cites as one of many influences along with Luke Kelly, Joe Strummer, Johnny Cash, and Freddie Mercury to name a few. King's father died when he was only 10 years old. He left Dublin in his twenties, briefly residing in London and then on to Los Angeles where he would form Flogging Molly with Ted Hutt, Jeff Peters, and Bridget Regan.^[1]

After emigrating to the United States, he was without a "green card" for eight years. King was not able to visit his home or family in Ireland during this time for fear that immigration laws would prevent his return to the United States. This separation from his homeland and his mother is thought to be a contributing factor in many of Flogging Molly's early song lyrics, with many of the songs alluding to King's time in "exile". He is married to fellow musician and bandmate Bridget Regan. They reside both in Detroit, Michigan and Wexford, Ireland, where Flogging Molly recorded the album 'Float' in late 2007. Their newest album 'Speed Of Darkness' (written and rehearsed in Detroit) was released on May 31, 2011.^[2]

Career information

Prior to forming Flogging Molly, Dave King was the vocalist for Fastway, a 1980s-early 1990s heavy metal band, featuring guitarist "Fast" Eddie Clarke of the metal band Motörhead, Pete Way (bassist of UFO), Jerry Shirley (drummer of Humble Pie).^{[citation needed]} They recorded their first four records with King on vocals, as well as a live record, although Way left before the release of the first album and did not appear on the album cover. After disbanding Fastway (Eddie carried on the name with all new members) King formed Katmandu with Mandy Meyer (former member of the band Krokus), who released one self-titled album, had a couple of minor hits but later disbanded.^{[citation needed]}

King retained a record deal with Epic records, who wanted him to sing for The Jeff Beck Group, but he declined. He started working on new material with a distinct Irish sound, but still retaining the hard driving, loud and fast musical style. He asked to be let out of his Epic contract because "they wouldn't know what to do with the new music anyways..." Since then Flogging Molly has reached position #4 on the Billboard charts top 200 and a #1 on the Billboard Indie Chart.^[2]

References

1. ^ Friction magazine, by George B. Sanchez, 5 November 2002
2. ^ ^{a b} Best dressed GAA fan (2008-03-16). "Band at top of US chart unknown at home - Music, Entertainment". Independent.ie. http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/music/band-at-top-of-us-chart-unknown-at-home-1318903.html. Retrieved 2010-07-17. 

External links

• Interview with Dave King in the Irish Independent
• Flogging Molly Official website
• MSNBC article

Persondata
Name	King, Dave
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	11 December 1961
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death