Dave’s multi-faceted career as a solo artist, keyboardist, guitarist, bouzouki player, composer, improviser, producer, arranger, teacher, musical director, sound mixer and co-founder of UK Celtic progressive/folk/rock/band IONA has led him into many musical genres and work with numerous artists including: Lifesigns, Strawbs, DBA (with Geoff Downes of Buggles/Yes & Asia), Chris Braide (writer/producer for Sia, Beyonce, Lana Del Ray etc)), Jack Bruce (Cream), Buddy Guy, Phil Guy, Troy Donockley (Nightwish), Colin Blunstone (The Zombies), Nick Beggs (Steve Wilson), Gloria Gaynor, Moya Brennan, Robert Fripp, David Paton, Annie Haslam, Eric Bazilian, Neal Morse, Mae McKenna, Phil Keaggy, Paul Jones, Damian Wilson, Snake’ Davis, PP Arnold, Mollie Marriott, The Original (Alan Parsons) Project Band, Norman Beaker, Michael Ball, Pete Brown (Cream lyricist), Paul Bielatowicz, Fernando Perdomo, Dave Brons, Circuline, Celtish, Sally Minnear, his own band Celestial Fire and many others. Winner of the BBC Radio 2 Best Jazz Soloist Award (piano) and the Sam Hood Rosebowl for Outstanding Performance during his time at Leeds Music College in the UK (where he graduated with a First Class Pass, including Distinction in Arranging).
Dave, as well as being highly regarded as a keyboardist, is regularly voted as one of Prog Magazine’s Top Ten Guitarists in their annual Readers Poll, coming in 3rd behind Steve Hackett and John Petrucci in their Best of 2021 poll, and 4th in their Best of 2022 poll. In January 2024 Dave was named by The Northern Echo newspaper as one of the 7 most significant people in the arts to come out of his native town of Darlington in the North-East of England. Dave’s love of the sound of the mighty Hammond organ started at an early age: “From when I was about 8 years old I used to listen to my older sister’s record collection and was fascinated by two albums she had by the band Vanilla Fudge. I was captivated by the amazing, emotive sound of the organ as played by Mark Stein. A year or two later I discovered Deep Purple and the visceral, rocking sound of Jon Lord’s Hammond organ was a game changer for me. I knew this was the sound I wanted to make, a sound that could rival the power of any electric guitarist. Keyboardists such as Keith Emerson, Rick Wakeman and Patrick Moraz extended my appreciation of the capabilities of the Hammond organ even further and since those formative days, that sound has never been far from much of the music I’ve been involved in.”
Dave toured the world with his band Iona between 1989 and 2015, releasing 13 critically acclaimed albums, 12 of which Dave also produced. Book of Kells’ album was voted Best Album (Billboard Magazine Critic’s Choice), Best International album (GMA Awards & Syndicate Magazine USA) and won a Dove award. ‘Journey into the Morn’ was voted amongst ‘Q Magazine’s top 5 Folk Albums and Top 50 Albums. Keyboard legend Rick Wakeman cited IONA as his favourite band and wrote an appraisal in the bands box set ‘The River Flows’. IONA headlined several major US festivals, playing in front of up to 35,000 and twice played at the UK’s prestigious Glastonbury Festival. The band were one of the first western artists to tour in the Baltic States after the fall of the Iron Curtain.
As well as numerous collaborative albums, Dave has released four critically acclaimed, genre defying solo albums. His 5th, the double album ‘On the Edge (of what could be)’, is scheduled to be released in Late String 2025. Special guests include Simon Phillips (Toto/The Who/Mike Oldfield), Randy McStine (Porcupine Tree, Steven Wilson), Troy Donockley (Nightwish), Iain Hornal (10CC/ELO) and many more. Always eager to extend his musical vision, Dave co-wrote a guitar concerto with classical guitar virtuoso Nick Fletcher in 2009, released on the album ‘Cathedral of Dreams’. Dave has produced and/or mixed over 40 albums and numerous tracks for various artists covering many musical genres and as a session player has contributed to well over 100 albums. He has written full orchestral arrangements for a number of projects and artists, including Strawbs 50th Anniversary Celebration with guest artists including Tony Visconti, Annie Haslam and Eric Bazilian.
He has scored the music for many short films (some award winning such as his most recent commission ‘No One is an Island’ which is currently screening at film festivals around the world) Dave and IONA’s music has been used extensively by TV and Film producers as an evocative backdrop on their productions. Dave currently performs many concerts around the world as part of The Colin Blunstone Band, Lifesigns, the Dave Bainbridge & Sally Minnear duo and as a solo artist.
