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David Westlake

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Not to be confused with Dave Westlake.

David Westlake
At the NME C86 show – London, 2014
At the NME C86 show – London, 2014
Background information
Born (1965-02-12) 12 February 1965 (age 59)
Hayes, Middlesex, England[1]
OriginEngland
GenresIndie, art rock
OccupationSinger-songwriter
InstrumentGuitar
Years active1985-present
LabelsTiny Global Productions
Cherry Red Records
Formerly ofThe Servants
SpousePatsy Westlake[2]
Websitelost-sheep.com/
davidwestlake

David Westlake (born 12 February 1965) is an English singer/songwriter. He led indie band The Servants from 1985 to 1991.

History

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Westlake formed indie band The Servants in 1985 in Hayes, Middlesex, England.[3]

The Servants appeared on 1986’s NME-associated C86 compilation, and the band was from 1986 to 1991 the original home of Luke Haines.[4]

Haines describes David Westlake’s first solo album, 1987’s Westlake (Creation Records), as “a minor classic”.[5] Retitled D87, the album was reissued in expanded form in 2023.[6]

In 2002, Westlake released self-pressed album Play Dusty for Me (Mahlerphone) in a limited issue that quickly sold out.[7] Play Dusty for Me was reissued in limited form in 2010 and 2015.[8][9]

Tiny Global Productions released Westlake’s album My Beautiful England in 2022.[10][11]

The Servants

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The Servants’ Small Time album was well received on its 2012 Cherry Red Records release, more than twenty years after its 1991-recording. The belated release followed the inclusion of 1990’s Disinterest in Mojo magazine’s 2011 list of the greatest British indie records of all time.[12]

Westlake and Haines played live together for the first time in twenty-three years at the Lexington, London N1 on 4 May 2014.[13] Westlake and band played at an NME C86 show on 14 June 2014 at Venue 229, London W1; the show marked Cherry Red Records’ expanded reissue of C86.[14]

As chronicled in an interview in US music magazine The Big Takeover (issue 53, 2004), Belle and Sebastian frontman Stuart Murdoch was a huge Westlake fan and tried to locate him in the early 1990s in hope of forming a band with him, before launching Belle and Sebastian in his school class instead.[7]

David Westlake is a solicitor and academic.[2]

Discography

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Solo

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Albums

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  • Westlake (Nov 1987, Creation Records CRELP 019; Aug 1993, CRECD019; Aug 2023 [expanded: D87], Optic Nerve Recordings OPT4.054 LP/CD)
  • Play Dusty for Me (Jun 2002, Mahlerphone, CDA 001; reissued Jul 2010 & Nov 2015)
  • My Beautiful England (Oct 2022, Tiny Global Productions, PICI-0038-LP / PICI-0038-CD)

With the Servants

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Albums

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  • Disinterest (Jul 1990, Paperhouse Records, PAPLP005 [LP]/PAPCD005 [CD])
  • Reserved (compilation; Mar 2006, Cherry Red Records, CDMRED297 [CD]; reissued in reduced form as Youth Club Disco, Jul 2011)
  • Small Time/Hey Hey We're the Manqués (Oct 2012, Cherry Red Records, CDB RED 535 [2CD]; reissued Dec 2013)

Singles

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  • “She’s Always Hiding”/“Transparent” (Mar 1986, Head Records, HEAD1 [7"])
  • “The Sun, a Small Star”/“Meredith”/“It Takes No Gentleman”/“Funny Business” (Oct 1986, Head Records, HEAD3 [12"])
  • “It’s My Turn”/“Afterglow” (Sep 1989, Glass Records, GLASS056 [7"])
  • “It’s My Turn”/“Afterglow”/“Faithful to 3 Lovers”/“Do or Be Done” (Sep 1989, Glass Records, GLASS12 056 [12"])
  • “Look Like a Girl”/“Bad Habits Die Hard” (Aug 1990, Paperhouse Records, PAPER004 [7"])

References

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  1. ^ "The Servants". Only the Lonely. 2013. Retrieved 6 October 2015.
  2. ^ a b Tassell, Nige (2022). Whatever Happened to the C86 Kids? An Indie Odyssey. London: Nine Eight Books. p. 273. ISBN 978-1788705585.
  3. ^ Haines, Luke (2012). Small Time (booklet). The Servants. London: Cherry Red Records. p. 3. CDB RED 535.
  4. ^ Mark Carry (19 May 2014). "Time Has Told Me: The Servants". Fractured Air. Archived from the original on 4 September 2014. Retrieved 4 May 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  5. ^ Haines, Luke (2006). Reserved (booklet). The Servants. London: Cherry Red Records. p. 4. CDM RED 297.
  6. ^ "David Westlake - D87". Discogs.com. 28 August 2023. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
  7. ^ a b Rabid, Jack (17 January 2011). "David Westlake - Play Dusty For Me". The Big Takeover. New York. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  8. ^ "David Westlake - Play Dusty For Me". Discogs.com. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  9. ^ "David Westlake - Play Dusty For Me". Discogs.com. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
  10. ^ Tiny Global Productions, My Beautiful England, 2022
  11. ^ Davenport, Neil (19 October 2022). "David Westlake 'My Beautiful England' : album review". Louder Than War. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
  12. ^ Prior, Clive (December 2011). "100 Greatest British Indie Records of All Time". Mojo Special Edition. Bauer. p. 123. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  13. ^ "Hangover Lounge site". 2014. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
  14. ^ "NME C86: The Wedding Present + more | Music in London". Time Out London. 11 December 2013. Retrieved 19 July 2020.

Further reading

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  • Luke Haines, Bad Vibes (London: William Heinemann, 2009), 5-10
  • Luke Haines, sleevenotes to The Servants’ compilation Reserved (Cherry Red Records CDMRED 297, 2006)
  • Luke Haines, sleevenotes to The Servants’ album Small Time (Cherry Red Records CDB RED 535, 2012)
  • Nige Tassell, Whatever Happened to the C86 Kids? An Indie Odyssey (London: Nine Eight Books, 2022), 272-286
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