As Dave Lesley grew up, he was he was always surrounded by music and performance. His mum played piano and still does at home, his dad used to sing around the clubs when he was younger, his brother went on to become an excellent guitarist and keyboard player and his sister used to be a dancer. He and his younger brother used to sing in the church choir. Dave, even at that age, was and extrovert and quickly became head chorister while his brother stayed in the background and tried not to get noticed.
Dave’s first instrument was the cornet which he learnt to play at grammar school and he went on to play in the school’s youth orchestra. At the same time he was singing in the church choir and also learnt to play the church organ when he was 11 or 12. He laughed that he had to wait until he was tall enough to reach all the pedals before the organ master would help teach him. When he was 13, he and some school friends decided they wanted to form a rock band and they asked for musical instruments for Christmas. It was at this time Dave got his first guitar, a Telecaster copy. There were five in the band; one got a drum kit, one got bass and the other three got guitars. They also got amps and started rehearsing in the front room of a friend of Dave’s mother. Dave was totally self taught and played lead guitar. The band was called The Rileys after their grammar school in Hull and they played mainly at school events like discos but also did a few outside gigs in care homes. The band lasted for three years but when the band members left school and found work The Rileys folded.
Dave always knew he wanted a career as a singer and musician but he also needed money to live and took an apprenticeship with Hawker Siddeley (now British Aerospace); he hated it and left after a year. He then got a temporary job in a nightclub where he would dep on keys with the resident band from time to time. His parents told him “you’ll never make a living playing music” so he joined the army. He had thoughts of being an army musician but because of his yearlong apprenticeship at Hawker Siddeley, he became an automotive engineer working on tanks and fighting vehicles and was posted to Germany.
While there, he met a couple of like minded guys who played and had brought their instruments to Germany. When they had spare time they would go into one of the hangers for a couple of hours to play and soon found themselves doing four or five gigs a year at army events including the Summer Ball and Christmas function. They didn’t do any gigs outside the base.
As Dave was coming to the end of his time in the army he was going out with a German girl. Her best friend’s boyfriend was a drummer in a German function band called Horizons. Although not a pro band, they were playing every week. At that time the English music scene was taking over in many German venues and this led to the band sacking their singer as he refused to sing in English. Dave helped them out for a couple of gigs and was offered a job fronting the band which quickly became fully pro. Dave left the army six months later knowing his first love was still music and he sung with Horizons for eight years singing mainly in English. They became very busy playing mainly 60s, 70s and later 80s music with a bit of rock ‘n’ roll. There was some Country music as it was popular in Germany at that time. In the summer they would tour all over Europe using a borrowed tour bus but never came to the UK.
While still with the band, he had an accident playing football and broke his leg in nine places. As this would put him out of action for a year he decided to come back to England in 1990, shortly after the Berlin Wall came down.
It took six months to adjust to being home after 20 years in Germany but during that time he knew he still wanted to be a singer and musician. Male/Female duos were popular at that time so Dave decided to form a duo. He arranged an audition session in Hull which attracted 20 potential girl singers. Each applicant was asked to pick 5 songs and one girl, Karen, picked five Carpenters songs. Dave had found his duo partner and told me he has never heard anyone before or since who actually sounds so much like Karen Carpenter; pure coincidence her name was Karen as well. Her mum was also singer and she also sung Carpenters songs. So Dave’s duo, which was called Sophistication, was formed. They also worked as a Carpenters tribute act called Close To You.
Sophistication sang all types of music, a mix of 60s – 90s music but there was always Country as well as it was particularly popular around Hull and the north east where there were many Country clubs. Dave and Karen were both singers with Dave also playing rhythm guitar. Although Dave originally played lead guitar after an accident with a trailer where he nearly lost the middle finger on his left hand he is now only able to play rhythm.
After they had been together for a year, a local talent agent saw them and, after an audition, offered to manage them with a guarantee of plenty of work. At that time, the act was only part time and both Dave and Karen had day jobs. With the promise of a lot more gigs they decided to go fully pro and their workload dramatically increased very quickly with a lot of corporate gigs coming their way. As they got busier there was less and less Country music included in the act. They became very busy and very popular working for P & O Cruises with seasons in South Africa, summer seasons at Butlins and Haven, major brewery contracts as well as touring throughout the U.K. and Ireland.
Eventually, they stopped the overseas tours but carried on working in the UK. By this time Dave and Karen had married but after working together for 16 years Dave wasn’t enjoying it anymore. By 2007 they had split up as a couple but still had a full diary and agreed to fulfil those bookings. They continued to work together for a year but eventually Dave felt so disillusioned he decided to cancel any remaining bookings. Although Sophistication folded at this time, Dave hadn’t lost his enthusiasm for singing and he decided to carry on as a solo performer concentrating on Country music which had always been his first love. Dave has always remained a big fan of Country music both traditional artists like Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Merle Haggard and Don Williams but also modern Country artists such as Toby Keith, Alan Jackson, Brookes & Dunn and George Strait. Dave felt it was now an opportunity to do what he really wanted to do and in 2009 he reinvented himself as a solo Country singer.
He took a few months rehearsing and putting together a programme of Country songs to suit all tastes at that time. Dave knew it would take time to build up his reputation as a Country singer so he took a day job as a driver until he had established himself and there were sufficient gigs to make a living. In 2011 he was made redundant so he knew it was time to take the plunge and for a third time in his life, he turned fully pro as a singer. At this time he was working primarily in the north of England but having built up a good reputation he is now travelling further afield including tours of Devon and Cornwall. He has performed at festivals in The U.K., The Netherlands and Spain and is busier now than he has ever been. 80% of his gigs are now Country with a few middle of the road and Irish gigs to fill in gaps.
Research by Nick Catford.