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TIMEKEEPER TO THE STARS by Sid Griffin

Dave Morgan is no ordinary drummer having performed on over 20 albums in as many years. He's been picked to click more than once having been in several bands declared flavour of the month, played with more than his share of legends (helping them become legends by his doing so) and has appeared on the cover of the New Musical Express twice.

Dave Morgan's musical career started at school in east London with a band called The Ordinary who were inspired by inventive, out of the ordinary acts like ATV, the Pop Group, Scritti Politti and Can. After leaving school determined to become a musician Dave met Bendle from The Door & The Window and became part of The Casual Labourers. The band performed at one of the great creative centres of the day in 1981 at the London Musician's Collective, supported 23 Skidoo, did a wildly memorable gig in Birmingham and recorded at Street Level Studios back in London. Subsequently Dave joined Take It who were impressed by his percussive skills and he moved into Bendle's former home which conveniently had a rehearsal space in the basement, a near necessity for a dedicated musician like Dave Morgan. Inspired by Vic Godard and his "swing jazz" period at Club Left, the band's career culminated in a successful performance at the world famous Ronnie Scott's in Frith Street, London.

After Take It ran its course Dave joined his friends' band 12 Cubic Feet and they impressed all with a dynamic performance at the Imperial College, Edinburgh Festival and at the newly formed Living Room Club which was run by a young Alan McGee, someone whose path would cross with Dave's again in the future. Around this time Dave Morgan met the great Pete Astor in a pub and was soon after invited to join his band The Loft. Dave later introduced The Loft to Alan McGee and the band was offered a slot at his club night. McGee was impressed with the band's performance and a live recording was later included on Creation Records' first release Alive In The Living Room with more recordings to follow.

McGee did indeed sign the band and after a 7" single Why Does The Rain came the 12" release Up The Hill And Down The Slope, these two sides earning The Loft their first TV appearance on the now sadly missed Oxford Road Show. After supporting Terry Hall's The Colourfield on tour it all came to a head at the Hammersmith Palais as the band actually split up onstage during the last song, surely both a pop music first if not a totally unique moment in pop music history!

Pete and Dave went on to form The Weather Prophets who also signed to Creation Records which had now joined up with Warner Bros. to form the label Elevation. Held in high regard due to his easygoing yet thoughtfully creative nature Dave was picked by labelmates Primal Scream to play on their first LP Sonic Flower Groove and the band Always had him perform on their Ariel Atlas recording. The Morgan sound was also heard on tour with Spacemen 3, on the recording Fishcotheque by the Jazz Butcher Conspiracy and when he found time to catch his breath Dave Morgan went into the studio with Heidi Berry, first for Creation Records and then for 4AD. Dave also found time to record with old school buddies Tony and Gary in Sun Dial, coming up with the indie classic Other Way Out and played with Alternative TV (ATV) on their My Life As A Child Star.

Yet as evidenced already Dave Morgan is not just a musician or a timekeeping drummer anymore than he is a mere clock or stopwatch. He has shown time and time again he is an artist, not only being the driving force behind his bands onstage but also being the driving force behind his bands in the studio as well. His artistic convictions frequently lead him further on to greener, newer, more adventurous pastures. So it was with the Rockingbirds, one of Dave's highest profile acts. He had been playing with his friend Alan Tyler's early Rockingbirds in Swindon, their original line up being promising but not a complete package. Dave then got the chance to move into a housing association place in hip-as-ever Camden Town...with a rehearsal space on the premises as well! A perfect environment for a musician/artist so fond of work he sometimes couldn't sleep he was so bursting with ideas.

Our Mr. Morgan convinced Rockingbirds ringleader Alan Tyler to revamp the band's lineup, bringing in sound engineer Andy Hackett and Dave Goulding just as his time with the Weather Prophets was ending. Ever pushing things forward Dave contacted his old friend Jeff Barrett of Heavenly Records and Heavenly soon became the proud home of the new revamped Rockingbirds. A 12" single entitled A Good Day For You Is A Good Day For Me was issued, produced by Pete Astor.

In a corporate land grab Sony then unexpectedly bought Heavenly when it gobbled up several UK indie labels in an effort to get some street cred acts on its roster. However in the Rockingbirds case, and more specifically in Dave Morgan's case, what happened was after that first 12" came a very well-received but under-promoted first album, a memorable appearance on Top Of The Pops, seemingly constant touring around the UK...and then it was over, the band was dropped by Sony.

Dave licked his wounds, took a look around and decided it was time for another step forward, another change. After some more work with the Rockingbirds he regretfully informed them he had to move on and so he did, acquiring a degree in Psychology after doing rewarding sessional music therapy work at a day centre in Camden Town. Whilst doing his degree in psychology at Middlesex University Dave recorded with his hero Vic Godard on the well-received Long Term Side-Effect and somehow found enough spare time to use several computers to write music for film scores such as The Homecoming, directed by Topher Campbell.

The digital age was beckoning Mr. Morgan and he soon found himself pitching in on pre-production by working on various computers alongside Kevin Rowland from Dexy's Midnight Runners. This digital technology was a challenge to Dave and a creative boon as well, providing a useful asset for his new role as Music Consultant at The Highgate Centre where he helped record and produce tracks written by a variety of clients for several years.

Linking up with Sid Griffin from L.A.'s The Long Ryders led Dave to the drummer's chair yet again, his drumming so strong at the sold out 1998 Gram Parsons Tribute Concert in London that a live album was immediately issued, becoming a staple for Parsons' growing cult of fans. This led to Messers. Morgan and Griffin forming a new act, Western Electric who recorded an album declared by Mojo magazine to be 'Alt-Country Album Of The Month' and led to a tour supporting Billy Bragg in both the UK and USA. Dave has since recorded various tracks with Western Electric for tribute albums for ex-Monkee Mike Nesmith and Creedence Clearwater Revival's John Fogerty.

1998 also saw the formation of the band the Lost Girls, a short-lived drama starring Patrick Fitzgerald from Kitchens of Distinction and Heidi Berry, and featuring Ashley Wood, Kim Smith and Dave Morgan in full musical support. The band recorded a promising demo before imploding shortly thereafter.