The Hull Hub Issue 22

THE HULL HUB CHATS
with
SUNBIRDS
lead singer
Dave Hemingway
By trish shelbourne
Hi Dave, it's been a long
time since we last met. You
were still with The Beautiful
South then, what's happened
since you left 'The
South'?
Hi Trish, we decided that we
needed a new direction and
Phil Barton our guitarist had
a load of songs he wanted
to perform which we knew
would fill an album, so, we
re-grouped with new musicians
and started working
on them. All of us have an
input and we are happy with
the result. It was a shame
lockdown got in the way of
us releasing and touring
with the album but we are
here now and enjoying performing
again.
'Cool to be Kind' is a great
album title, did you purposefully
play on the word
'Cruel' ?
Yep, we are fans of Nick
Lowe's music and 'Cruel to
be Kind' was his biggest hit,
so given the times we are
living in, it seemed appropriate.
And the name 'Sunbirds'
where did that come from?
Phil came up with the name
and the art work on the album.
The birds are inspirational.
They represent
freedom and indulgance! We
decided that we were looking
for a new audience with
our new songs and so take
on different styles of music
to get our lyrics across.
Laura Wilcox plays the violin
and sings backing vocals
along with the other members
of the band so I am not
on my own. Our new session
drummer is Marc Parnell, he
has a wealth of experience
working with big artists like
Joan Armatrading and Jethro
Tull! I still get nervous
in front of an audience.
Ah yes, the drummer can
hide behind the rest of the
band and I remember you
playing the drums at school.
Did you have lessons?
Hugh Whittaker, my friend
and drummer with The
Housemartins was having
lessons at school and he
taught me some basics, the
rest I taught myself. My dad
was a comedian on the Hull
circuit, he also played harmonica
and guitar so I suppose
being a musician was
in my genes.
You have already played the
New Adelphi Club this year,
why are you playing the club
again?
It was a fabulous gig. Going
back there was like being
transported back to the
'80's. Nothing had changed!!
We have to go back again.
There aren't many venues
in Hull now for new bands
to cut their teeth, are there?
There have been a couple
of new venues opening up,
I like 'Wrecking Ball Music'
on Whitefriargate, but yes,
it's really hard for new bands
starting up. The costs can be
high especially when performing
original material.
I know, we get asked to play
our old songs all the time,
but we want to redefine ourselves
and hope the sones
sell themselves and we get
a larger audience following
us. We draw on our experiences
and descriptions of
our home town with a nod
to the politics of the day and
add the music accordingly.
Do you keep up with the
Hull music scene?
It's hard to do this when we
are preparing for a tour.
The band are spread about
the country so meeting up
to rehearse can be tricky. I
am thinking about moving
again a bit closer to Hull.
What are your favourite
parts of Hull?
The Hessle Road area still
holds fond memories for
me. I was proud that Hull
became The City of Culture
in 2017. The Marina looks
great in the summer when
it's busy and the pubs and
clubs round there are always
worth visiting.
I would like to thank Dave
Hemingway for taking time
out of his busy schedule for
this interview. Also listen on
Spotify, YouTube and Apple
Music and follow them
on Facebook where the tour
dates are listed.
14
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