Essex born singer songwriter Dave Giles, 26, launched himself as a solo artist in September 2010 after playing guitar for an underground indie rock band for a number of years. He has since toured around the UK performing his own brand of acoustic folk rock which has been influenced by acts like The Beatles, Frank Turner, The Divine Comedy, Kate Nash, Blur and Billy Bragg. It is clear that Dave revels in the freedom of being his own boss after years of band politics, resulting in him quickly establishing himself as an unforgettable performer who makes the most of his catchy songs, quick wit and incomparable stagecraft.
Just thirteen months after he embarked on his solo career, Dave Giles self promoted his first headline tour of England, playing nine cities in nine days backed by a four-piece band. The Touring For Tea tour attracted over 1200 people all of whom received a free cup of tea. The London show, at The Borderline, sold out a month before the tour was due to start - a clear indication that Dave has already built himself a very strong, loyal and established fanbase. In February of this year he completed his second UK headline tour, a six date tour featuring cities that weren't included in October and over 800 people attended.
This fanbase was built in part due to two support tours earlier in 2011, in which Dave took to the road with just his acoustic guitar and ukulele opening up for Ivyrise on their January tour, and Room 94 on their summer tour. He built his fanbase further by embarking on his revolutionary ongoing "Living Room Tour", which involves completing private gigs for fans at their homes. Dave has also had the pleasure of playing with incredible acts like The Candle Thieves, Ben Marwood and FranKo.
Dave Giles has released two EPs on his own record label, Cheeky Chimp Records Ltd, which he set up in November 2007. "The First Seven" was released on October 30th 2010 and Tales Of A Social Misfit was released on July 18th 2011. Both EPs feature seven songs and were originally released as a limited edition double disc package containing both the full band versions and acoustic demos of the songs. These limited edition releases sold out very quickly, and only a single disk package with the full band tracks can now be purchased, although all the tracks are available on iTunes, Spotify and all other major download sites. Dave has produced two music videos for his songs 'Another Fine Day' (in January 2011) and Bangarang (in February 2012). The song Another Fine Day was used by Leukemia and Lymphoma Research in their video for the London Bikeathon in 2010 which was used to promote the 2011 event. This inspired Dave to commit 20% of his revenue of download sales for his first EP to the charity.
It is difficult to describe exactly what happens at a Dave Giles gig, because he always pulls out a new idea or attempts things that other singer songwriters would not dare do, so his fans never really know what treat he is going to give them next. In the past he has encouraged his audience to tweet him onstage, enabling him to show off his personality and sharp humour as he deals with the banter and witty observations of the crowd. He has also been known to recreate 'circle time' with crowds of up to 300 people by leaving the stage and asking everyone to sit on the floor surrounding him whilst he plays a song. Whilst performances are always supported with a variety of props and the use of humour, it is backed up with memorable songs with quirky lyrics about Facebook stalking, bromance, unrequited loved, the Peter Pan complex, rejection and of course - drinking tea.
Dave Giles is a new name in the UK music scene, he has rapidly established himself and his fanbase continues to grow at a fantastic pace across the United Kingdom. As 2012 takes shape, Dave Giles is making sure he'll be the name on everyone's playlist.
