Dave Cartwright
Dave Cartwright was a British singer, songwriter, guitarist and author. Born in Haslemere, Surrey, he grew up in Amblecote, West Midlands where, on lead guitar and vocal, he formed his first rock and roll group, The Crossfires, in 1959. He then joined the Kidderminster outfit The Clippers, before 'discovering' folk music in 1964. His subsequent folk club work and the signing of a deal with Transatlantic Records in 1970 enabled him to turn professional in 1971. He is best known for his 1970s solo albums and TV appearances on BBC daytime show, Pebble Mill at One, and as a former music presenter on BBC Local Radio in the UK Midlands, where he hosted two shows, 'Rock'n'Roll-The Vintage Years' and 'Folkus', an acoustic showcase. Both shows ran for over 13 years. Later in life, he produced and issued his own recordings on his Luna label, from his home studio in Worcestershire, whilst still performing in the UK and Europe.
Cartwright was the co-writer of "A Letter To Syracuse" with Bill Caddick, as recorded by Christy Moore on his album Prosperous. He was also the author of a biography of the late Kidderminster singer-songwriter Clifford T. Ward, entitled Bittersweet. In the year of publication, the book was voted third best biography in Record Collector 's review poll.
He died suddenly and unexpectedly, at his home in Worcestershire on 8 August 2015.
Discography
Solo albums
- A Little Bit Of Glory produced by Nathan Joseph
- Back to the Garden produced by John Worth
- Don't Let Your Family Down produced by John Whitehead and Dave Cartwright
- Masquerade produced by Hugh Murphy
- The Transatlantic Years compilation from the above TRA albums
- Honesty
- Strange News
- Willow Patterns
- ''Long Shadows''
Other recordings
with Bev Pegg
- Bev Pegg
- Middle of the Road – Vinyl LP, only 99 copies produced, but now available on CD
- ''Away From The Sand''
Books
- ''Bittersweet: The Clifford T Ward Story''