Connections: D is for ...

Evan Dando (2) Connecting in 1993. Singer.

Evan Consider the Lemonheads leader's reaction to this description of him in Spin magazine: "a first-rate rock 'n' roll weirdo, a less bonkers Syd Barrett for the generation that buys its psychedelics at Urban Outfitters." "When I read that, I thought, 'Yes, my life is a success. I'm a first-rate rock 'n' roll weirdo!"' Dando said. "Really, I was pleased with that. I try not to get carried away with my own press, but sometimes I read it and think 'score.' That was my whole idea in the first place." Dando certainly seems the model of rock insincerity: pin-up model looks, an intentionally scatter-brained manner, highly publicized drug problem and a taste for smug cover songs such as REO Speedwagon's Keep 0n Lovin' You.

Yet when he's on his game, Dando makes sunny, optimistic rock songs that are catchy but not cloying. Dando saw his life spin out of control in the aftermath of the 1993 album, Come on Feel the Lemonheads. That record wasn't quite the success that some had predicted, but it did well enough to mess Dando up. "I just got a little over stimulated by the crazy chicks," he said. "In England, it was really crazy there for awhile. That was a weird experience, and you don't ever come out completely unscathed from something like that."

Mixing heroin and LSD led to a crash in Sydney, Australia, where Dando remembers "feeding quarters into grates in the sidewalk, handing flowers out to people. It was sad. It was really, really scary." Through the intervention of his family, Dando was sent to a rehab center in New Canaan, Conn., which he doesn't credit for leading to a recovery. "It was a good, scary reminder that people were worried about me," he said. "I accepted that. Of course, as soon as I got out, I went and scored drugs. That's what rehab's for, so when you come out you can enjoy your drugs more -- at least that's the way I looked at it. The way I got out of heroin and hard drugs was from knowing that it was turning me into a selfish jerk and it could possibly take my life away from me, and I cared too much about my life," he said. "The only way you can quit drugs, at least from my perspective, is by not taking them anymore." Evan duetted with Kirsty on the single Perfect Day, and the Lemonheads recorded a riotous cover version of He's on the Beach while "out of their tree" in Rio de Janeiro, according to Kirsty who enjoyed their efforts so much she brought it to my attention.

Performed Perfect Day and He's on the beach in the live tribute concert.

Ray Davies (1) Connecting in 1989. Songwriter.

Ray Ray Davies, one of the most successful and influential song writers to emerge from the British music scene of the 1960s, founded the rock band The Kinks with his brother Dave in London in 1963. The band's string of top ten international hits began with You Really Got Me, followed by All Day and All of the Night, Tired of Waiting, Set Me Free, See My Friends, Till The End of the Day, A Well Respected Man, Lola, Sunny Afternoon, Dedicated Follower Of Fashion, Apeman and Come Dancing among many others. Davies also composed several pioneering rock operas including Arthur, The Village Green Preservation Society and Soap Opera. Following the initial British invasion, further Stateside success continued with The Kinks becoming a major act over the next two decades with many Ray Davies songs becoming hits for bands including The Jam , Van Halen, The Pretenders and The Stranglers. Davies collaborated with Barrie Keefe in 1981 on his first stage musical Chorus Girls. Affectionately referred to as the Godfather of Brit pop, Ray Davies is cited as a major influence on the current work of 90s bands like Blur, Pulp and The Boo Radleys. He was of course the author of Days. More obscurely, he attended the same Art School as Kirsty in Croydon. Another of Kirsty's heroes.

Charles Dickins Connecting from 1989. Photographer.

A close friend and regular photographer of Kirsty, his work is featured on Electric Landlady, Titanic Days and What do pretty girls do? in addition to various promo shoots. He is currently a member of the Justice For Kirsty Campaign team.

Roy Dodds (5) Connecting from 1994 to 1999. Drums & conga.

Drummer, a stalwart of Eddi Reader and Fairground Attraction down the years. His work also includes in the late 80s the beautifully titled Billy Jenkins with the Voice of God Collective (Scratches of Spain), k d lang (Angel with a lariat), and in the 90s albums from Maddy Prior & Rick Kemp (Happy families), Laurie Freelove (Smells like truth), Frances Black (Talk to me), The Eddie Parker Group (Transformations of the lamp), Anthony Thistlethwaite (Cartwheels), Debbie Cassell (Angel in labour), Deborah Conway (My third husband), Kevin Ayers, Eleanor Shanley's Desert heart and Christine Tobin (Aililiu), also touring with Christine Tobin as well as Donal Lunny, whose 1998 album Coolfin featured Roy and saw Eddi Reader pop in for a guest vocal slot. For Kirsty, Roy's drums were featured in 1994 on Last day of summer, Bad and Tomorrow never comes plus conga work on Can't stop killing you. In 1999 he reappeared with Kirsty to play percussion on Designer Life.

Alan Douglas (1+) Connecting in 1991. Engineer.

Alan Douglas started out as a tape operator at The Manor studios in Oxfordshire in 1976, and when Virgin Records opened The Townhouse in London two years later, he moved there and began engineering for artists such as metal band Krokus (1978 Pay it in Metal), Queen (1980 Flash Gordon), Tangerine Dream's Peter Baumann (1981 Repeat Repeat), Doll by Doll, Grace Jones and The Jam. Eventually he progressed to Chief Engineer status, oversaw the installation of new studios within the Townhouse facility, and helped redesign Olympic Studios in Barnes. "The period during which I worked on Olympic in the mid-'80s was when sequencers were beginning to make the first inroads, and I just hated it," Douglas recalls, giving a fair indication of where his professional tastes lie. "For me, the buzz has always been live musicians -- and preferably great live musicians -- interacting, because there's a spark that happens when you get great people in the room together."

"By the time the Olympic project was finished I basically hadn't done much engineering for nearly three years," he says. "That was apart from some sessions with Steve Lillywhite, and I was bored senseless. Also, the other problem with being the Chief Engineer at places like Townhouse and Olympic is that, because of their stature, all of the great clients they attract come in with their own engineers, and so you tend to end up just filling in and doing all of the crap." Grabbing the chance of a payoff as part of an EMI buyout in 1991, he went freelance, with one of his first jobs being engineer on Electric Landlady (he also mixed Tomorrow never comes from Titanic Days). He's now forged a reputation based on live band recordings and an ability to work calmly and efficiently with sometimes complicated situations. "If people are pushed for time, they know that I'm not going to be messing around, taking ages to get sounds," he says. "I'll work quickly to get the drum sound and set everything else up, and then I'll be running tape in 'record'." In the 90s he became the engineer for Eric Clapton (From the cradle and Pilgrim). Read Alan's wonderfully detailed account of the Pilgrim sessions, which also featured Pino Palladino. He says "There are no words to describe how great it is to be in the engineer's seat when Eric is improvising a solo." Most recently he has worked on a Mick Ralphs album (Take This) in 1998.

Michèle Drees (0+) Connecting in 1999. Percussion & Brazilian Guitar.

Michele A versatile drummer and percussionist, Michelle has worked with Chiva Riva, Sonhos da Brasil, Candela, Jan & Ilse, Seal, Marc Almond, k.d. lang, Suzanne Vega, Candy Dulfer, the Brazilian sax player Paulo Maura, and formed part of the live studio band for the Jonathan Ross TV Show (in the Days before Four Poofs and a Piano). With Kirsty, she supplied Latin percussion and Brazilian guitar (for the splendid live rendition of Jobim's Insensitive) for the Tropical Brainstorm touring band though she came in too late to be featured on the album.

Jan & Ilse were "famous for their warm hearted humour and unique cello/guitar combination. Their special guest Rosa the monkey has her own devoted following and receives fan mail from a variety of furry and human friends." Michèle joined up with their "Big Boots Band" in March 1997. She played percussion and Latin kit with Simon James' outfit Kymaera - who recorded an album of George Michael's music, arranged in Jazz, Latin and Classical styles to mark his third Ivor Novello award.

Moving on, Chiva Riva's critically acclaimed debut CD ¡Eso Es!, featuring original compositions, has been deemed "a bit of a favourite" on Jazz FM. Leader/keyboardist Flora de Gales brought together seasoned and sought-after musicians whose diverse backgrounds "gave Chiva Riva its unique flavour". Michèle played drums & timbales on this project.

She continues to be kept busy today adding her dynamic kit touches to various projects, including some guitar for Bond (connecting with saxman Phil Todd by the way). She played in the band at the live tribute concert.

Stephen Duffy & Roysden D Lipscombe (1) Connecting in 1981. Songwriters.

Authors of early track He thinks I still care. Initially we thought this was 80s star Stephen "Tin Tin" Duffy, but since this song was recorded by the Rip Chords in 1965, it is unlikely that stylish gentleman was in fact responsible. The song appears to be a bit of a country standard having been recorded by many many people including George Jones, Marty Robbins, Johnny Paycheck, Anne Murray and new Australian sensation Kasey Chambers.

Ian Dury Connecting in 2000

Ian Much esteemed performer who sadly died in 2000. One of his last shows was at London Palladium in February, supported by Kirsty & band. Kirsty appeared on stage at the tribute concert for Ian in Brixton in June, performing Hit me with your rhythm stick backed by assorted Blockheads. Ian also connects via an obscure jazz 12" jazz release from 1999 by Gilad Atzmon & DJ Face called Juizz Muzic - the record features Ian as a world weary narrator spinning anecdotes of John Coltrane and Charlie Mingus, bookending a track featuring Joe de Jesús on trombone.

Connections: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W

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