DOWNLOAD NO.159 - DAVE BRIDGE

When Dave Bridge was nine years old, his parents bought him a guitar from a travelling salesman. He soon picked up the basics and showed such a keen interest that his parents decided to send him to top Sydney guitar teacher, Roy Royston. Within twelve months, Dave had made his debut on radio. By the age of fourteen he had become an accomplished musician, playing classical style guitar with a small group. When he left school, Dave took a job with a Sydney jewellery wholesaler where he discovered another of the boys working there shared his interest in music. The other lad was Col Joye and Dave encouraged him to learn how to play the guitar. Then, in 1957, Col formed the Joy Boys and Dave became the lead guitarist. The band rose to prominence as Col produced a string of hit records. They displayed a tighter, more professional sound than most other groups of the era. As the Joy Boys built a reputation, so too did Dave, as one of Australia’s most competent guitar players. Dave stayed with the group until he formed the Dave Bridge Quartet in 1961. The quartet consisted of Dave (guitar); Warren Foley (drums); Ken White (bass); and Ray Burton (guitar). (Ray later joined the Executives and also co-wrote Helen Reddy’s “I Am Woman”).

Dave wasted no time in achieving chart success with “Skip To My Lou” in July of that year. The Quartet became a highly acclaimed stage act and Dave became a regular on Bandstand and the Johnny 0’Keefe Show. By January 1963, he had again made the charts with his own composition, “Tornado”, and had reformed his band as a trio. The group included Terry Hearne (bass); Bruce Janson (drums); and Dave on guitar. Terry Hearne later went onto become part of the pop group The Allusions. The next single was Dave’s rocked up version of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake ballet simply entitled “The Swan”. The record sold steadily in all capital cities (with the exception of Melbourne) and the trio embarked on a national promotion tour. The year saw two more hits for the group: “Trail Blazer” and “Bondi Stomp“, before Dave began concentrating on session work. He went behind the scenes and became a music producer and arranger. He also kept busy as Musical Director at Sydney’s Western Suburbs Leagues Club.

Singles:

1961 SKIP TO MY LOU No. 4 13 weeks - HMV

1962 TOWN HALL SHUFFLE / SAN FERNANDO VALLEY - HMV

1963 TORNADO No.28 4 weeks - HMV

1963 THE SWAN No.22 6 weeks - HMV

1963 TRAIL BLAZER No.32 3 weeks - HMV

1963 BONDI STOMP No.25 6 weeks - HMV

1964 CAT BAY / GOLD COAST STOMP - HMV

1964 COTTESLOE STOMP / RAINBOW BAY - HMV

1964 RIDIN’ THE BOWER / BOOMER BEACH - HMV

1965 THE TIDE / WINKIEPOP - HMV

For download is "The Swan" one of Dave's biggest hits:

http://rapidshare.com/files/196065594/Dave_Bridge_-_The_Swan.mp3