David Flett is a Scottish rock guitarist, best known for performing with

Manfred Mann's Earth Band Manfred Mann's Earth Band are an English rock band formed by South African musician Manfred Mann (musician), Manfred Mann. Their hits include covers of Bruce Springsteen's "For You (Bruce Springsteen song), For You", "Blinded by the Light" an ...

and

Thin Lizzy Thin Lizzy are an Irish rock band formed in Dublin in 1969. The band initially consisted of bass guitarist, lead vocalist and principal songwriter Phil Lynott, drummer Brian Downey, guitarist Eric Bell and organist Eric Wrixon although Wr ...

Career

Early years and Manfred Mann

Flett began his career with local groups in Aberdeen such as Cat Squirrel, Once Upon a Band and Pinto. He later moved to London and joined an all-Aberdeen group called Jock. While he was living in London, he was recommended to

Manfred Mann Manfred Mann were an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. They were named after their keyboardist Manfred Mann (musician), Manfred Mann, who later led the successful 1970s group Manfred Mann's Earth Band. The group had two l ...

and subsequently joined Manfred Mann's Earth Band, with whom he made his debut on their 1975 autumn tour of America. He performed on two Earth Band studio albums, '' The Roaring Silence'' and ''

Watch A watch is a timepiece carried or worn by a person. It is designed to maintain a consistent movement despite the motions caused by the person's activities. A wristwatch is worn around the wrist, attached by a watch strap or another type of ...

'', which featured two hit singles in "

Blinded by the Light "Blinded by the Light" is a song written and recorded by Bruce Springsteen, which first appeared on his 1973 debut album ''Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.'' A cover by British rock band Manfred Mann's Earth Band reached number one on the Billb ...

" and "Davy's on the Road Again" respectively.

Thin Lizzy

After leaving Manfred Mann's Earth Band in 1978, he briefly toured as a temporary member of

after

Gary Moore Robert William Gary Moore (4 April 19526 February 2011) was a Northern Irish musician. Over the course of his career, he played in various groups and performed a range of music including blues, blues rock, hard rock, Heavy metal music, heavy ...

left the group following a concert on 4 July 1979.Alan Byrne, "Thin Lizzy: Soldiers of Fortune", Firefly, 2004 After

Midge Ure James "Midge" Ure (; born 10 October 1953) is a Scottish singer-songwriter and record producer. His stage name, Midge, is a phonetic reversal of Jim. Ure enjoyed particular success in the 1970s and 1980s in bands including Slik, Thin Lizzy, ...

initially replaced Moore, Flett was recruited in early September 1979 as lead guitarist alongside

Scott Gorham William Scott Gorham (born March 17, 1951) is an American guitarist and songwriter who is one of the "twin lead guitarists" for the Irish rock band Thin Lizzy. Although not a founding member of Thin Lizzy, he served a continuous membership after ...

for a tour of Japan, while Ure switched to keyboards. Playing his first show with Thin Lizzy in

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

on 24 September, Flett performed at five shows before the band returned home. During this tour, he and the band performed a number of songs that later surfaced on the ''

Chinatown Chinatown ( zh, t=唐人街) is the catch-all name for an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, Asia, Africa, O ...

'' album the following year, such as "Didn't I" and "Sweetheart". In December he played a few Thin Lizzy shows that were arranged to compensate for missing the Reading Festival earlier in the year, and he left the group shortly before Christmas. He had wanted to remain with Thin Lizzy, but instead

Snowy White Terence Charles "Snowy" White (born 3 March 1948) is an English guitarist, known for having played with Thin Lizzy (permanent member from 1980 to 1982) and with Pink Floyd (as a backing guitarist from 1977 to 1980), and later for Roger Waters' ...

was chosen as his permanent replacement, who went on to record two albums with the band. Flett described his short tenure with Thin Lizzy as "Great times with extremely talented, generous guys."Scott Gorham and Harry Doherty, "Thin Lizzy: The Boys Are Back in Town", Omnibus Press, 2012, p. 134. After leaving Thin Lizzy, Flett formed a short lived band called Special Branch, with Matt Irving. On 11 August 1981, Flett joined Thin Lizzy onstage at a concert in his hometown of Aberdeen, as part of the Renegade tour. He said, "I did guest on a few numbers with them... tshowed there were no hard feelings."

Later life

Flett is an addictions counselor in central Florida, and in 2004, spoke out to prove his identity amid false stories spread by a man impersonating him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Flett, Dave 1951 births Living people Musicians from Aberdeen Scottish rock guitarists Scottish male guitarists Manfred Mann's Earth Band members Thin Lizzy members British rhythm and blues boom musicians British lead guitarists