David Cairns (born 15 November 1958) is an English rock guitarist and songwriter, best known for his role in the band

Secret Affair Secret Affair are a mod revival band, formed in 1978 and disbanded in 1982 during which period their work is predominantly best-known. They reformed in 2002 and have since then produced an album in 2012. Career Formed after the demise of the ...

. The writer of the band's biggest hits, he was known for his intense guitar style.

Background and early career

The son of an

Epping Forest Epping Forest is a area of ancient woodland, and other established habitats, which straddles the border between Greater London and Essex. The main body of the forest stretches from Epping in the north, to Chingford on the edge of the London ...

GP, Dr Richard James Cairns

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

, David Cairns was first inspired to take up the guitar after an encounter at a local nightclub with

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...

, who recommended the teenager listen to a

Lynyrd Skynyrd Lynyrd Skynyrd ( ) is an American rock music, rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida. The group originally formed as My Backyard in 1964 and comprised Ronnie Van Zant (lead vocalist), Gary Rossington (guitar), Allen Collins (guitar), Larry Ju ...

album. He was also inspired by a live performance by

The Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in ...

's football ground in 1976 and while at sixth form teamed up with singer Ian Page, forming

power pop Power pop (also typeset as powerpop) is a form of pop rock based on the early music of bands such as the Who, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Byrds. It typically incorporates melodic hooks, vocal harmonies, an energetic performance, and ch ...

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

band New Hearts. The band signed to

CBS Records CBS Records may refer to: * CBS Records or CBS/Sony, former name of Sony Music, a global record company * CBS Records International, label for Columbia Records recordings released outside North America from 1962 to 1990 * CBS Records (2006), founde ...

in 1977, releasing two singles and touring with

The Jam The Jam were an English mod revival/ punk rock band formed in 1972 at Sheerwater Secondary School in Woking, Surrey. They released 18 consecutive Top 40 singles in the United Kingdom, from their debut in 1977 to their break-up in December 198 ...

, before being released from their

recording contract A recording contract (commonly called a record contract or record deal) is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist (or group), where the artist makes a record (or series of records) for the label to sell and promote. Artists ...

in mid-1978, although their unreleased album ''New Hearts, A Secret Affair, The CBS Sessions'' was finally released on Cherry Red Records, October 2009.

Secret Affair

After the demise of the New Hearts, Cairns continued to work with Page, forming

. The two songwriters spent the second half of 1978 writing songs that would form the basis of the first two Secret Affair albums. In a period of a little over two years, the band posted five releases in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, and released three albums. The debut single "Time For Action" sold 198,000 copies and reached number 13 in the UK chart in 1979, putting them at the forefront of the

mod revival The mod revival was a subculture that started in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s and later spread to other countries (to a lesser degree). The mod revival's mainstream popularity was relatively short, although its influence lasted for de ...

movement. More chart success followed with "Let Your Heart Dance", "My World" and "Sound Of Confusion". Although Cairns and Page would often write together, three of the band's biggest chart hits ("Time For Action", "My World" and "Sound Of Confusion") were written by Cairns alone.

Secret Affair reunion

After the split of Secret Affair in 1982, Cairns formed The Flag with singer Archie Brown, signing to

Scotti Brothers Records Scotti Brothers Records (typically spelled Scotti Bros. Records) was a California-based record label founded by Tony and Ben Scotti in 1974. Their first success was releasing singles and albums from teen pop star Leif Garrett. They later helped ...

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

in the U.S. Relocating to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

for a year, the band toured supporting

A Flock of Seagulls A Flock of Seagulls are an English new wave band formed in Liverpool in 1979. The group, whose best-known line-up comprised Mike Score, Ali Score, Frank Maudsley and Paul Reynolds, hit the peak of their chart success in the early 1980s. The ...

and released the USA only album, ''Flag'' which featured Dave Ruffy on drums (The Ruts),

Nathan East Nathan Harrell East (born December 8, 1955) is an American jazz, R&B, and rock bass player and vocalist. With more than 2,000 recordings, East is one of the most recorded bass players in the history of music. East holds a Bachelor of Arts degr ...

on bass (Eric Clapton Band) and

John Van Tongeren John Warrington Van Tongeren is an American keyboardist and composer for films and television. Biography Van Tongeren's career in the entertainment business began as a keyboardist, with one of his earliest projects being the band Q, featuring ...

on keyboards. Cairns subsequently teamed up with Scottish singer Alan King in Walk on Fire, writing the majority of the band's material and playing keyboards on their live tours. Signing to MCA in the US, and managed by

Bill Curbishley William George Curbishley (born 13 March 1942, London) is an English music and film producer and band manager. He has managed English rock groups The Who and Judas Priest, as well as artists Jimmy Page and Robert Plant. Life Curbishley was on ...

and Plant/Page fame, they released the album ''Blind Faith'' in 1990 and toured supporting Foreigner,

Nils Lofgren Nils Hilmer Lofgren (born June 21, 1951) is an American rock musician, recording artist, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. Along with his work as a solo artist, he has been a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band since 1984, a membe ...

, and the

Dan Reed Network Dan Reed Network is an American funk rock band formed in 1984 by Dan Reed in Portland, Oregon. They released several albums during the mid-to late 1980s and scored a top 40 hit on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1988. History Formation Dan Re ...

. In 1992 he moved away from playing and joined

Gibson Guitars Gibson may refer to: People * Gibson (surname) Businesses * Gibson Brands, Inc., an American manufacturer of guitars, other musical instruments, and audio equipment * Gibson Technology, and English automotive and motorsport company based * G ...

as Special Projects & Events manager, promoting major Gibson shows around the world; in particular UK charity events promoted by

Harvey Goldsmith Harvey Goldsmith (born 4 March 1946 in Edgware, Middlesex) is an English performing arts promoter. He is best known as a promoter of rock concerts, charity concerts, television broadcasts for the Prince's Trust and more recently the Teenag ...

in aid of

The Prince's Trust The Prince's Trust ( cy, Ymddiriedolaeth y Tywysog) is a charity in the United Kingdom founded in 1976 by King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) to help vulnerable young people get their lives on track. It supports 11-to-30-year-olds who are u ...

, and developing new custom guitar models for artists such as

Jimmy Page James Patrick Page (born 9 January 1944) is an English musician who achieved international success as the guitarist and founder of the rock band Led Zeppelin. Page is prolific in creating guitar riffs. His style involves various alternative ...

and

Noel Gallagher Noel Thomas David Gallagher (born 29 May 1967) is an English singer, songwriter, and musician. He was the chief songwriter, lead guitarist, and co-lead vocalist of the rock band Oasis until their split in 2009. After leaving Oasis, he formed ...

before leaving the company in 2000 having managed Gibson's London, Orlando and Memphis offices to join

Peugeot Peugeot (, , ) is a French brand of automobiles owned by Stellantis. The family business that preceded the current Peugeot companies was founded in 1810, with a steel foundry that soon started making hand tools and kitchen equipment, and the ...

as an events manager (in particular the 207 car launch) and later

Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...

and

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

Secret Affair reunion

In 2002 he once again teamed up with Page to reform Secret Affair, initially for three concerts in the UK, including a performance at London's

Shepherd's Bush Empire Shepherd's Bush Empire (currently known as O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire for sponsorship reasons, and formerly known as the BBC Television Theatre) is a music venue in Shepherd's Bush, West London, run by the Academy Music Group. It was originally ...

. They returned in June the following year, playing at The Scala in London to promote the release of ''Time For Action: The Anthology'' (Sanctuary), a major CD retrospective of hits, rarities and previously unreleased tracks. The concert was filmed and released on DVD. In 2005 Page and Cairns attempted to mend their sometimes fractious relationship and started work on a fourth Secret Affair album, recording five new songs. The album remains unfinished and unreleased . In the meantime Cairns has started to make occasional solo appearances, playing at the 2006 and 2007

Small Faces Small Faces were an English rock band from London, founded in 1965. The group originally consisted of Steve Marriott, Ronnie Lane, Kenney Jones and Jimmy Winston, with Ian McLagan replacing Winston as the band's keyboardist in 1966. The ...

Conventions and playing at charity events in aid of

Cancer Research Cancer research is research into cancer to identify causes and develop strategies for prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and cure. Cancer research ranges from epidemiology, molecular bioscience to the performance of clinical trials to evaluate and ...

and the British Thyroid Foundation. He performed again with Secret Affair at The Isle of Wight Scooter Rally, on 22 August, The Astoria 2, London, on 13 September 2008 and The Small Faces Convention, Islington Academy, 21 September 2008. In July 2011, Dave Cairns and Secret Affair were invited to re-record 'Time For Action' for

Save the Children The Save the Children Fund, commonly known as Save the Children, is an international non-governmental organization established in the United Kingdom in 1919 to improve the lives of children through better education, health care, and economic ...

and the new recording (produced by Ian Page) spearheaded the charity's campaign for health workers in poor countries resulting in 42,000 petition signatures and presented to David Cameron at 10 Downing Street, Sept 2011. On 5 December 2011 Dave Cairns appeared as a guest on BBC Two's, "Never Mind The Buzzcocks" (season 25, episode 10) hosted by Cilla Black with panel captains,

Phill Jupitus Phillip Christopher Jupitus (, ''né'' Swan; born 25 June 1962) is an English stand-up and improv comedian, actor, performance poet, cartoonist and podcaster. Jupitus was a team captain on all but one BBC Two-broadcast episode of music quiz ''N ...

and

Noel Fielding Noel Fielding (; (born 21 May 1973) is an English actor and comedian. He is best known for his work with The Mighty Boosh comedy troupe alongside Julian Barratt in the 2000s, and more recently as a co-presenter of ''The Great British Bake Off'' ...

and guests,

Rizzle Kicks Rizzle Kicks are a British hip hop duo from Brighton, England, consisting of Jordan "Rizzle" Stephens (born 25 January 1992) and Harley "Sylvester" Alexander-Sule (born 1991). Their debut album, '' Stereo Typical'', was released in 2011. As o ...

, Tiffany Stevenson,

Holly Willoughby Holly Marie Willoughby ( ; born 10 February 1981) is an English television presenter, author and model. She is currently the co-presenter of ITV's '' This Morning'' (2009–present) and '' Dancing on Ice'' (2006–2011, 2018–present) alongsid ...

, Angelos Epithemiou to an audience of over two million UK viewers. Dave Cairns continues to perform regularly with

from 2009 to the current day playing UK dates and shows in 2011 Dublin, Madrid & Moscow, Tokyo and with 2012 shows in

Siena Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena. The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centuri ...

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, M-Fest Leeds, and a 13-date tour of the UK ending at The 229 Club London on 24 November 2012.

released their fourth studio album, ''Soho Dreams'', after a 30-year absence, on their I-SPY Records label on 10 September 2012 and continued to tour throughout 2014. 'Est 1979' The

Sony BMG Sony BMG Music Entertainment was an American record company owned as a 50–50 joint venture between Sony Corporation of America and Bertelsmann. The venture's successor, the revived Sony Music, is wholly owned by Sony, following their buyout o ...

35th Anniversary 4 album box set was released in January 2015. The band celebrated their 40th anniversary in 2019 with a 14-date UK spring tour. In the past Cairns has written and produced music for TV commercials, including

Lee Cooper Lee Cooper is an English-American clothing and footwear manufacturing company, based in London, that specialises in denim products. As well as its own production, the company licences the sale of many Lee Cooper-branded items worldwide. Fou ...

(entitled 'Ace Faces' 1980),

, and

Raymond Weil Raymond Weil Genève () is a Swiss luxury watchmaker, founded in 1976 in Geneva. It is a family company founded by Raymond Weil and Simone Bédat. Simone Bedat and her son left the company in 1996 to form Bedat_&_Co Bedat & Co is a Swiss watc ...

watches (a classical piece entitled 'Precision Movements'1995) and winner of the 1995 London International Advertising Awards. On 21 April 2017 the second album by Walk on Fire, ''Mind Over Matter'', was released on the AOR record label, Escape Music. and was written and produced by David Cairns back in 1990.

References

External links

Guinness Book of British Hit Singles ''British Hit Singles & Albums'' (originally known as ''The Guinness Book of British Hit Singles'' and ''The Guinness Book of British Hit Albums'') was a music reference book originally published in the United Kingdom by the publishing arm of t ...

- 16th Edition - *

Guinness Book of British Hit Albums ''British Hit Singles & Albums'' (originally known as ''The Guinness Book of British Hit Singles'' and ''The Guinness Book of British Hit Albums'') was a music reference book originally published in the United Kingdom by the publishing arm of t ...

- 7th Edition - * Sleevenotes to the Sony/BMG Records CD reissues of ''Glory Boys'', ''Behind Closed Door'' and ''Business As Usual'', by

Chris Hunt Chris Hunt is a British journalist, magazine editor, and author.Chris Hunt intervi ...

The Mod Revival
The story of the Mod Revival, by Chris Hunt, published in the ''

New Musical Express ''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 ...

'' Mod special edition, April 2005
Secret Affair
Official band site {{DEFAULTSORT:Cairns, Dave English rock guitarists English male songwriters People from Walthamstow 1958 births Living people Scotti Brothers Records artists Mod revival musicians