David Hopkins (born 18 January 1971) is an Irish singer-songwriter and producer, originally from

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, Ireland and currently residing in

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

, United States. He was the original keyboardist for Irish alternative rock group

LiR Lir or Ler (meaning "Sea" in Old Irish; ''Ler'' and ''Lir'' are the nominative and genitive forms, respectively) is a sea god in Irish mythology. His name suggests that he is a personification of the sea, rather than a distinct deity. He is na ...

LiR (1990s)

Hopkins launched his music career playing keyboard in the Dublin rock band

. The original lineup was David McGuiness on vocals, Robert Malone on bass, Ronan Byrne on guitar, David Hopkins on keyboards and Craig Hutchinson on drums. The band came together at the Ballyfermot Rock College, and were known as the Spontaneous Frogs before settling on the name Lir. The group signed to What Are Records and released ''Magico, Magico'', which went to No. 1 on the alternative albums chart and scored a UK top 10 hit, "In A Day," penned by Hopkins. They toured the US twelve times while Hopkins was with them, including touring with

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 ...

. They also opened for other rock icons including U2,

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

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, etc. LiR are also the subject of the documentary ''Good Cake Bad Cake: The Story of LiR''.

Solo career (1994–present)

In 1994, while touring in the US with LiR, Hopkins left the band and stayed in the US. After a move to San Francisco, Hopkins toured with

, playing keyboards for the opening band on the 1996 Quadrophenia Tour. Hopkins then released the full-length album ''Here Comes The Bright Light'', which ''Dublin Event Guide'' dubbed "a classic." Later he signed with independent label Reekus Records, with whom he released '' Amber and Green'' (2005) and the single "Merry Christmas My Love". The title track for '' Amber and Green'' can be heard on the soundtrack for '' Van Wilder 2: The Rise of Taj'', and reached the Irish top 40 charts as did "Merry Christmas My Love". In 2007 Hopkins released the album '' Running With Knives''. The album is featured in the soundtrack to Paris Hilton's 2008 movie ''

The Hottie and the Nottie ''The Hottie and The Nottie'' (stylized as ''The Hottie & The Nottie'') is a 2008 American romantic comedy film starring Paris Hilton, Joel Moore, Joel David Moore, and Christine Lakin. Written by Heidi Ferrer and directed by Tom Putnam, the film ...

'' featuring Joel Moore. In 2009 Hopkins released the album '' There Are Debts''. Hopkins' songs found a larger audience through wide-release motion pictures such as Paris Hilton's ''The Hottie and the Nottie'', ''Van Wilder 2: The Rise of Taj'', ''Speed Dating'', and '' The Year of Getting to Know Us'', starring Jimmy Fallon, Lucy Liu and Sharon Stone. Tracks from this era can also be heard throughout

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

's '' The Real World: Austin'' and ''

Missing Missing or The Missing may refer to: Film * ''Missing'' (1918 film), an American silent drama directed by James Young * ''Missing'' (1982 film), an American historical drama directed by Costa-Gavras * ''Missing'' (2007 film) (''Vermist''), a Bel ...

''. Hopkins has performed his solo material with David Gray,

Dan Reynolds Daniel Coulter Reynolds (born July 14, 1987) is an American singer and songwriter. He is the lead vocalist of the pop rock band Imagine Dragons. Reynolds also released an EP in 2011, titled ''Egyptian – EP,'' as a duo with his former wife Aja ...

(of

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among others.

cites the Hopkins song "Jackson" as "an early and lasting influence" on

BYUtv BYU TV (stylized as BYUtv) is a television channel, founded in 2000, which is owned and operated as a part of Brigham Young University (BYU). The channel, available through cable and satellite distributors in the United States, produces a number ...

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Bombay Heavy (2014–present)

Using the nom de plume "Barnabus Wu" Hopkins is the frontman for Bombay Heavy. The group draws its influence from the likes of classic rock bands such as Pink Floyd or Led Zeppelin, playing a kind of psychedelic rock & roll; a striking contrast to Hopkins' usual singer-songwriter style. The group's debut EP features

Dave Keuning David Brent Keuning (born March 28, 1976) is an American musician, best known for his role as the lead guitarist of the rock band The Killers, which he founded alongside Brandon Flowers in 2001 and with whom he has recorded six studio albums. Ke ...

and

Mark Stoermer Mark August Stoermer (born June 28, 1977) is an American musician and songwriter. He is best known as the bassist for the rock band the Killers, with whom he has recorded six studio albums. In addition to his work with the Killers, Stoermer has ...

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, which is no surprise considering Bombay Heavy's connection to the Las Vegas-based power group. Two of their earliest gigs were as the opener for The Killers in 2016.

Aubergine Electric (2015–present)

Hopkins, Rob Whitehead, Bobby Lee Parker, Tobias Ashmore, and Mac Burruss released their debut EP, "Unreachable On Mountain", in June 2015. The EP also featured Mark Stoermer (The Killers).

Other contributions

*(co-producer) '' Dark Arts'' (2016) –

*(co-producer) ''Filthy Apes and Lions'' (2017) –

*(co-producer) ''Eternal Reach'' (2018) – The Brummies (feat.

Kacey Musgraves Kacey Lee Musgraves (born August 21, 1988) is an American country singer. She has won six Grammy Awards, seven Country Music Association Awards, and three Academy of Country Music Awards. Musgraves self-released three solo albums and one as Texa ...

) *(co-songwriter) ''Segl'' (2020) -

Eivør Eivor, Eivør or Øyvor is a female given name in the Nordic countries. In Sweden, 4,922 people bear the name. The average age is 78. The name perhaps originated from either the Proto-Norse word ''auja'', which is thought to mean "good luck", o ...

*(producer and performer) ''Kenzo Cregan'' EP (2021) - Kenzo Cregan *(producer) ''Fake Flowers'' EP (2021) - Kenzo Cregan

Discography

Albums

*''Over There, Jean-Pierre'' (1999) *''Here Comes The Bright Light'' (2001) *'' Amber and Green'' (2005) *'' Running With Knives'' (2007) *''Fake Fur Coat'' (2009) *'' There Are Debts'' (2010) *''Overlook'' (2018)

EPs

*''Scared Rabbit EP'' (2004) *''Merry Christmas My Love EP'' (2005)

Soundtracks

*"Amber & Green" – '' National Lampoon's Van Wilder: The Rise of Taj'' (2006) *"Summer Song" – '' The Year of Getting to Know Us'' (2008)

Other

*''Onda (Music for Chakras)'' (1992) – Joint project with Eric Albiez & Ljubo Majstorovic *''Tangara'' (1995) – Joint project with Eric Liorzou *''Reekus Christmas Compilation'' (2010) – "Merry Christmas My Love"

References

External links

David Hopkins Music on CDBabyIrish Label Reekus Records SiteBombay Heavy Music on Bandcamp
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hopkins, David 1971 births Living people Irish keyboardists Irish male singer-songwriters Irish singer-songwriters Musicians from Dublin (city)