Dave Russell was the vocalist for a band named April 16th. They were active for a few years from the mid-1980s until the early 1990s chasing the rock star dream as it remained generally out of reach. Style-wise I suppose you could say honest to goodness straight up rock/NWOBHM.
About 18 months or so ago, Chris Harris, one of the band’s guitarists got in touch and sent me a copy of their Epitaph CD. If you’d like to check that out, read my review in this post.
Chris mentioned that Dave was in the process of writing a book about his and the band’s adventures back in the day and that he’d send me a copy. True to his word – he has. That book by Dave is titled The Ghosts of April with a tag line of: the life and times of the ugliest man in rock.”
What an excellent read it is too. Encompassing how Dave came to join April 16th and what he and the band got up to whilst hoping to break out from the South London gigging scene in to full blown international mega stardom.
Dave’s descriptive writing style and wry, dry sense of humour shine through on every page. It’ll make you laugh and at times it’ll make you a little sad as the band battle through various setbacks yet keep plugging away until realising the dream is not going to come true.
If you’re of a “certain age” and remember the days of hanging around in pubs when the bloke with the wicker basket would come round before last orders selling various seafood such as cockles, whelks and crabsticks (a personal favourite…..) usually closely followed by the Salvation Army selling their War Cry you’ll be right at home reading the book straight away. I miss those days though that’s another story.
Dave auditioned for the vocalist slot with April 16th and then the book looks at what happened next. Lots of hard work, hard rehearsals and not a little beer here and there saw them pick up gigs, build a reputation locally, cut an album, do a Friday Rock Show session (who misses that show?) and even manage a bit of TV exposure.
Despite all that the breakthrough never came. However read the book and enjoy Dave’s tales of how it never quite worked out for April 16th. Some of it very Spinal Tap – for example how Dave got that “ugliest man in rock” tag, acquiring a “tour bus” of sorts, hiring National Express coaches to take fans to gigs at a venue in Cardiff, how they laid claim to being an international band after being invited to play in France and the journey itself.
And many more besides with perhaps the biggest Spinal Tap style happening being the story of the backdrop and the unfurling if it on its inaugural use at a gig. The unfortunate Nigel Tuffnell’s ability to distinguish between feet and inches for the Stonehenge stage set pale in to insignificance by comparison…..
Musically April 16th had plenty to offer. You may have difficulty finding their album (Sleepwalking) however the Epitaph CD Chris sent to me has the original masters of the album and a session.
Check out the band’s web site and Facebook pages for more:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/85429856021/about
https://sites.google.com/view/april16throckbandofficialsite/home
Whether you’re an old rock fan like your reviewer who is still stuck back in the 1970s/1980s or anyone who likes a good entertaining read – do check out Dave’s book. It’s on Amazon in paperback and Kindle formats.