It was with sadness I learnt of the passing of Dave Bennett on the 28th March 2010. Dave passed away (perhaps as he would wish it) in action, doing what he loved - having just finished playing Ragtime at one of his venues in Coventry.
In his own words -
"Dave started playing years ago when he was living in Aberystwyth and, influenced by Dylan, Tom Paxton,Joan Baez, et al, he concentrated entirely on fingerstyle guitar and became part of a folk group called the Pennyfarthing! While completing his PhD in Insect Physiology at the University College of Wales. In 1970 moved to Coventry and continued playing in folk clubs and music sessions. Was Sean Cannon's guitarist for a short while and even appeared on TV with him and made a cassette tape based on the TV programme. Met the Furey Brothers at "The Old Dyer's Arms" and developed his love of Irish music. Throughout the 70's and the 80's and 90's he played many solo/combo gigs throughout the UK and Europe. Many Solo/Duo/ Rock Band /Irish Showband/Country Band gigs and played until minutes before his demise!! Played with his partner Brenda, an unaccompanied traditional singer.
Influences
John James; John Hurt; Rev Gary Davis; Libba Cotton; Ralph McTell; Renbourne/Jansch; Stefan Grossman; Joan Baez; Bob Dylan; Bach; Beethoven; Debussy; Delius; Rachmaninov:Martin Carthy; Nic Jones; The Fureys; Sean Cannon"
I met Dave at the Rude Bear Folk at the Three Tons in Coventry in 1972. The club, run by Rod Felton and
Dave Coburn, soon moved to the Boatyard in Gosford St. and Dave was a regular. His accomplished Ragtime style influenced many a guitarist. It was a style hard to emulate easily but nonetheless caused many to work harder at their picking. Dave went on to establish his own club at the Old Dyers Arms and encouraged so many players including a young Pauline black who used to play under the name Pauline Vickers at the Old Dyers Arms. Pauline has acknowledged that Dave 'kickstarted' her entire career before Selecter. I remember seeing her play there circa 1978, doing a Stones and Joan Armatrading song and going over to give her the thumbs up. I never imagined that that was the start of a disguised musical career that would span Two Tone, TV and Radio and much else. A year later I saw her again at the Lanch Poly with Selecter who were just starting off.- the rest is history!.
More recently Dave has given guitar lessons to many including the brilliant Kristy Gallacher, one of the new upcoming Coventry singer songwriters. I
was lucky to see Dave one last time in 2009 when I went back to Coventry. He was supporting his daughter Sarah, also an impressive guitar player at Janine's Acoustic Escape session. Dave invited me to another one of his folk club initiatives (somewhere near the Belgrade) but unfortunately I had to return home before that.
To the end he was an influential personality and player on the Coventry music scene, running clubs, playing and encouraging a whole new generation of acoustic players. Practically every one remembers him as a nice ,friendly and encouraging bloke and an amazing guitar player. There are other posts on this site about Dave if you look in the index (see sidebar).
Dave's place in these annals of the Coventry music scene are more than well earned / deserved. Above there are some samples of his amazing playing.
"you are the man who kick started my entire career at the 'old dyers arms' in coventry....those were the days" Pauline Black - The Selecter
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