David Robert Warner (born 1953) is an Australian rock musician, author and screenwriter. He lives in
Sydney with his wife and three children.
Biography
Dave Warner was born David Robert Warner
in
Bicton, Western Australia
Bicton is an affluent riverside suburb of Perth, Western Australia, located south-west of the central business district. The suburb is mostly residential, and falls within the City of Melville local government area. Bicton borders the Swan R ...
in 1953. He attended
Aquinas College and then the
University of Western Australia
The University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Perth, the state capital, with a secondary campus in Albany and various other facilitie ...
where he graduated with a B.A. (Hons.), majoring in
psychology
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries between ...
.
Musical works
In 1973, he formed the band Pus, which was influenced by radical 1960s New York activist band,
The Fugs
The Fugs are an American rock band formed in New York City in late 1964, by the poets Ed Sanders and Tuli Kupferberg, with Ken Weaver on drums. Soon afterward, they were joined by Peter Stampfel and Steve Weber of The Holy Modal Rounders. Ku ...
. Warner describes this band on his website as "Australia's first punk band". The term had been used in the 1960s, referring to "Garage Bands". The genre that became known as punk was not to emerge as an identifiable musical entity until the mid-1970s, and although Warner might have pre-empted punk "attitude" with Pus, musically it is unlikely from a very few witness accounts of this obscure outfit that the band's material could be categorised thus . Warner's song writing
created his first version of "Suburban Boy" in 1976. He gained a wider popularity with his next band, From the Suburbs, which he formed in January 1977. The band gained an underground following and was subsequently signed by
Mushroom Records.
As Dave Warner's From the Suburbs, they re-released "Suburban Boy" (1978) as a single and then ''Mugs Game'' (1978) with some tracks recorded live at
Melbourne University
The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb no ...
, it was certified Gold within a month of its release. ''Free Kicks'' (1979) followed, but then From the Suburbs disbanded. With a new line-up, Warner released ''Correct Weight'' (1979) and ''This is My Planet'' (1981; reissued as ''This is Your Planet'' in 1996).
After ''This is My Planet'', Warner diversified from writing and performing music full-time. Instead, he started to write plays, novels and screenplays.
Theatrical works
In 1982, his revue, ''The Sensational Sixties'' started to tour large suburban hotels. Written and produced by Warner, the show was successful. In 1985, Warner wrote and appeared in a musical, ''The Sixties and All That Pop''. Later that year ''Planet Pres'', a rock musical written by him, was produced by the WA Theatre Company, and performed at the
Playhouse Theatre
The Playhouse Theatre is a West End theatre in the City of Westminster, located in Northumberland Avenue, near Trafalgar Square, central London. The Theatre was built by F. H. Fowler and Hill with a seating capacity of 1,200. It was rebuilt i ...
.
In 1987, Warner managed and wrote songs for a female trio, Pleasure Principle. He performed (and wrote) a one-man show, ''Australian Heroes''. He had a small parts in the movies ''Boundaries of the Heart'' (1988) and ''Boys in the Island'' (1989).
Screen works
The first feature film written by Warner, ''
Cut
Cut may refer to:
Common uses
* The act of cutting, the separation of an object into two through acutely-directed force
** A type of wound
** Cut (archaeology), a hole dug in the past
** Cut (clothing), the style or shape of a garment
** Cut (ea ...
'' (2000), was a teen
slasher starring
Molly Ringwald
Molly Kathleen Ringwald (born February 18, 1968) is an American actress, singer, dancer, and author. She was cast in her first major role as Molly in the NBC sitcom '' The Facts of Life'' (1979–80) after a casting director saw her playing an o ...
and
Kylie Minogue. He followed up with ''Balmain Boys'' (TV movie) and ''
Garage Days
''Garage Days'' is a 2002 Australian comedy-drama film directed by Alex Proyas and written by Proyas, Dave Warner and Michael Udesky. ''Garage Days'' is the story of a young Sydney garage band desperately trying to make it big in the competitiv ...
'' (both 2002) and then ''
Ravenswood'' (2006) starring
Stephen Moyer and
Teresa Palmer
Teresa Mary Palmer (born 26 February 1986) is an Australian actress. She began her career with roles in '' Bedtime Stories'' (2008), ''The Sorcerer's Apprentice'' (2010), '' Take Me Home Tonight'' (2011), and '' I Am Number Four'' (2011). She r ...
. He was one of the chief writers of the drama TV series ''
Going Home'' and the short TV feature ''Roll'', as well as writing more than ten episodes of ''
McLeod's Daughters
''McLeod's Daughters'' is an Australian drama television series created by Posie Graeme-Evans and Caroline Stanton for the Nine Network, which aired from 8 August 2001, to 31 January 2009, lasting eight seasons. It stars Lisa Chappell and Bri ...
''. Warner wrote in an episode of
Packed to the Rafters
''Packed to the Rafters'' was an Australian family-oriented comedy drama television program which premiered on the Seven Network on Tuesday 26 August 2008 at 8:30 pm. The show continued on Tuesdays in this timeslot for its entire run. The d ...
that featured his single ''Suburban Boy'' in a storyline starring
Craig McLachlan
Craig Dougall McLachlan (born 1 September 1965) is an Australian actor, musician, singer and composer. He has been involved in film, television, the music industry and music theatre for over 30 years. He is best known for appearing in the soap ...
as a faded 1980s rock star.
Literary works
Warner has written both fiction and non-fiction. His first novel, a crime story called ''City of Light'', was published in 1995. It was the winner of the Best Fiction Work award at the
Western Australian Premier's Book Awards
The Western Australian Premier's Book Awards is an annual book award provided by the Government of Western Australia, and managed by the State Library of Western Australia.
History and format
Annual literary awards were inaugurated by the West ...
in 1996. In the same year his second book, ''Footy's Hall of Shame'' also came out, featuring cartoons by Steve Panozzo. In 1997, Warner's second crime novel, ''Big Bad Blood'' was published. He then wrote the first one in a series of humorous crime novels in the style of
Agatha Christie, ''Murder in the Groove''. Published in 1998, the book featured Andrew "The Lizard" Zirk, a former rock star turned detective. In the same year were also published ''Racing's Hall of Shame'' (co-written with Nicolas Brasch), ''Cricket's Hall of Shame'' (again with cartoons by Panozzo) and ''25 Years of Mushroom Records''. The second novel featuring "Lizard" Zirk, ''Murder in the Frame'', was published in 1999. In 2000, Warner published ''eXXXpresso'', a novel about an ex-criminal who intends to build a chain of prison-themed cafés, and ''Murder in the Off-Season'', the third "Lizard" Zirk novel.
Bibliography
Fiction
Andrew "Lizard" Zirk series
* ''Murder in the Groove'' (1998)
* ''Murder in the Frame'' (1999)
* ''Murder in the Off-Season'' (2000)
Dan Clement and Snowy Lane series
* ''City of Light'' (1995)
* ''
Before It Breaks'' (2015)
* ''Clear to the Horizon'' (2017)
Other works
* ''Big Bad Blood'' (1997)
* ''Great Australian Bites'' (edited by) (1997)
* ''eXXXpresso'' (2000)
*''River of Salt'' (2019)
Non-fiction
* ''Footy's Hall of Shame'' (1996)
* ''25 Years of Mushroom Records'' (1998)
* ''Cricket's Hall of Shame'' (1998)
* ''Horseracing's Hall of Shame'' (1999)
Discography
Studio albums
Live albums
Compilation albums
EPs
Singles
Awards
West Australian Music Industry Awards
The
West Australian Music Industry Awards
The Western Australian Music Industry Awards (commonly known as WAMis) are annual awards presented to the local contemporary music industry, put on by the Western Australian Music Industry Association Inc (WAM). The WAMi Awards are Western Aust ...
are annual awards celebrating achievements for Western Australian music. They commenced in 1985.
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References
External links
Dave Warner's home page*
*
Dave Warner's From The Suburbs mentioned in The Geeks Story
{{DEFAULTSORT:Warner, Dave
1953 births
Living people
Australian crime writers
People educated at Aquinas College, Perth
Australian male singers
Australian songwriters
Musicians from Perth, Western Australia
Australian male novelists