David Westlake is an English singer/songwriter. He led

indie Indie is a short form of "independence" or "independent"; it may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Gaming *Independent video game development, video games created without financial backing from large companies *Indie game, any game (board ...

band

The Servants The Servants were an indie band formed in 1985 in Hayes, Middlesex, England by singer-songwriter David Westlake. The band was the original home of Luke Haines. The band’s '' Small Time'' album was well received on its 2012 release, more th ...

from 1985 to 1991.

History

Westlake formed

band

the Servants The Servants were an indie band formed in 1985 in Hayes, Middlesex, England by singer-songwriter David Westlake. The band was the original home of Luke Haines. The band’s '' Small Time'' album was well received on its 2012 release, more th ...

in 1985 in

Hayes, Middlesex Hayes is a town in west London, historically situated within the county of Middlesex, and now part of the London Borough of Hillingdon. The town's population, including its localities Hayes End, Harlington and Yeading, was recorded as 83,564 i ...

, England. The Servants appeared on 1986’s ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

''-associated ''

C86 ''C86'' is a cassette compilation released by the British music magazine '' NME'' in 1986, featuring new bands licensed from British independent record labels of the time. As a term, C86 quickly evolved into shorthand for a guitar-based music g ...

'' compilation, and the band was from 1986 to 1991 the original home of

Luke Haines Luke Michael Haines (born 7 October 1967) is an English musician, songwriter and author. He has recorded music under various names and with various bands, including The Auteurs, Baader Meinhof and Black Box Recorder. Career ''New Wave'' Haine ...

. Haines describes David Westlake’s first solo album, 1987’s '' Westlake'' (

Creation Records Creation Records Ltd. was a British independent record label founded in 1983 by Alan McGee, Dick Green, and Joe Foster. Its name came from the 1960s band The Creation, whom McGee greatly admired. The label ceased operations in 1999, although ...

), as “a minor classic”.Luke Haines, sleeve-notes to the Servants compilation ''Reserved'' (Cherry Red Records CDMRED 297, 2006) In 2002, Westlake released self-pressed album '' Play Dusty for Me'' (Mahlerphone) in a limited issue that quickly sold out. ''Play Dusty for Me'' was reissued in 2010 and 2015. Tiny Global Productions released Westlake’s album '' My Beautiful England'' in 2022.

The Servants

The Servants' ''

Small Time ''Small Time'' is a 1996 British comedy-drama film written, directed by and starring Shane Meadows in his directorial debut, and who also produced with Dominic Dillon. Plot The film follows a group of friends that are small-time criminals ...

'' album was well received on its 2012

Cherry Red Records Cherry Red Records is a British independent record label founded in Malvern, Worcestershire by Iain McNay in 1978. The label has released recordings by Dead Kennedys, Everything But the Girl, The Monochrome Set, and Felt, among others, as well ...

release, more than twenty years after its 1991-recording. The belated release followed the inclusion of 1990’s '' Disinterest'' in ''

Mojo Mojo may refer to: * Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in voodoo Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * MOJO HD, an American television network * ''Mojo'' (play), by Jez Butterworth, made into a 1997 film * ' ...

'' magazine’s 2011 list of the greatest British indie records of all time. Westlake and Haines played together for the first time in twenty-three years at the Lexington, London N1 on 4 May 2014. Westlake and band played at an ''NME C86'' show on 14 June 2014 at Venue 229, London W1; the show marked Cherry Red Records’ expanded reissue of ''

''. As chronicled in an interview in US music magazine ''

The Big Takeover ''The Big Takeover'' is a bi-annual music magazine published out of New York City since May 1980 by critic Jack Rabid. History Establishment Jack Rabid and Dave Stein began publishing ''The Big Takeover'' in May 1980 as a fanzine dedicated to N ...

'' (issue 53, 2004),

Belle and Sebastian Belle and Sebastian are a Scottish indie pop band formed in Glasgow in 1996. Led by Stuart Murdoch, the band has released eleven albums. They are often compared with acts such as The Smiths and Nick Drake. The name "Belle and Sebastian" come ...

frontman Stuart Murdoch was a huge Westlake fan and tried to locate him in the early 1990s in hope of forming a band with him, before launching Belle and Sebastian in his school class instead. David Westlake is a solicitor and academic.

Discography

Albums

;Solo * '' Westlake'' (Nov 1987, Creation Records, CRELP019 P reissued on CD by

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

in August 1993) * '' Play Dusty for Me'' (Jun 2002, Mahlerphone, CDA 001 D reissued Jul 2010 & Nov 2015) * '' My Beautiful England'' (Aug 2022, Tiny Global Productions, PAPLP005 PPAPCD005 D ;with The Servants * '' Disinterest'' (Jul 1990,

Paperhouse Records Paperhouse Records was a British independent record label which operated from 1990 to 1993. The label was a short-lived joint venture by Glass Records owner David E. Barker and Fire Records owner Clive Solomon. It is named after "Paperhouse", ...

, PAPLP005 PPAPCD005 D * ''Reserved'' (compilation; Mar 2006, Cherry Red Records, CDMRED297 D reissued in reduced form as ''Youth Club Disco'', Jul 2011) * ''

''/''Hey Hey We're the Manqués'' (Oct 2012, Cherry Red Records, CDB RED 535 CD reissued Dec 2013)

Singles

;with the Servants * “She’s Always Hiding”/“Transparent” (Mar 1986, Head Records, HEAD1 " * “The Sun, a Small Star”/“Meredith”/“It Takes No Gentleman”/“Funny Business” (Oct 1986, Head Records, HEAD3 2" * “It’s My Turn”/“Afterglow” (Sep 1989, Glass Records, GLASS056 " * “It’s My Turn”/“Afterglow”/“Faithful to 3 Lovers”/“Do or Be Done” (Sep 1989, Glass Records, GLASS12 056 2" * “Look Like a Girl”/“Bad Habits Die Hard” (Aug 1990, Paperhouse Records, PAPER004 "

References

External links

* Derek Sozou
David Westlake site
* Luke Haines, ''Bad Vibes'' (London: William Heinemann, 2009), 5-10. * Luke Haines, sleevenotes to the Servants’ compilation ''Reserved'' (

CDMRED 297, 2006) * Luke Haines, sleevenotes to the Servants’ album ''

'' (

CDB RED 535, 2012) * Jack Rabid, review of David Westlake’s album '' Play Dusty For Me'' i
''The Big Takeover'', 17 Jan 2011

John Peel session information

Janice Long session information

PhD
{{DEFAULTSORT:Westlake, David 1965 births People from Hayes, Hillingdon English male singer-songwriters English male guitarists English rock guitarists Musicians from London Living people