David Gray: A Century Ends
David Gray was born in Manchester in 1970. By The time he was nine years old he had moved to Wales with his family where he was raised until he left to study at the University of Liverpool. He began playing in punk bands where he lived and also played in a few bands while at college where he began to experiment with a more poetic form of writing. After Liverpool he moved to London where he could be closer to the action and the heart of the music business. Here, he signed to Hut Recordings in the UK and Caroline in the U.S. His first release followed shortly afterwards ' the single 'Birds without Wings ' in 1992.
His debut album, A Century Ends was released to great acclaim in the first half of 1993- ten tracks of anger, love, passion and just about every other emotion you can think of. It has become a classic In its own right and succeeded in winning over a core of loyal followers who have stayed with him ever since. Following a full tour of Europe, David returned to record his second album Flesh which was again released on Hut Recordings in 1994. After Flesh was largely ignored by record buyers, David and Hut decided to part ways amicably. EMI records quickly snapped him up. Meanwhile his profile and popularity In Ireland began to rise rapidly. "No Disco" (Network 2's groundbreaking) alternative music programme hosted by the now legendary Donal Dineen) played his videos constantly as well as showcasing his live potential in televised sessions.
David's Slane warm up gig at HQ sold out in 48 hours, the performance at Slane Castle with Robbie Williams and Stereophonics went down a treat: David won a Heineken Hot Press award in 'Guest of the Nation' category and finished off the year with a new single 'Please Forgive Me'. The video was A listed on MTV UK & Ireland. The single, which received the remix treatment from Paul Hartnol of Orbital fame, went down a storm at clubs in Ireland and the UK. David returned for a full Irish tour in December 1999, culminating in an astonishing gig at the Point Depot on December 22nd...all gigs again Sold Out. White Ladder had already reached 90,000 sales (6 times platinum) and reached no 1 In the Irish album charts on 14th January 2000. more than a year after its release. It remained in the top slot for five weeks. Current sales of White Ladder are 14 times platinum in Ireland, having sold over 1,000,000 in the UK it is now three times platinum in UK, and has now achieved Gold status.
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