David Charles Gregory (born 21 September 1952) is an English guitarist from

Swindon Swindon () is a town in Wiltshire, England. At the time of the 2021 Census the population of the built-up area was 183,638, making it the largest settlement in the county. Located at the northeastern edge of the South West England region, Swi ...

, best known for his work with the

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band

XTC XTC were an English rock band formed in Swindon in 1972. Fronted by songwriters Andy Partridge (vocals, guitars) and Colin Moulding (vocals, bass), the band gained popularity during the rise of punk and new wave in the 1970s, later playing ...

. He was a member of the group between the single " Life Begins at the Hop" (1979) and early sessions for the album '' Apple Venus Volume 1'' (1999), contributing guitar, keyboards, and occasional string arrangements.

Career

In '76/'77, before

Gregory was lead guitarist for Dave Heap's Forest of Dean based band, Gogmagog along with Jim Leach on keyboard. He was also in the Swindon-based band Dean Gabba and the Gabbadeans. He joined XTC as guitarist immediately prior to the

recording A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, re ...

of the ''

Drums and Wires ''Drums and Wires'' is the third studio album by the English rock band XTC, released 17 August 1979 on Virgin Records. It is a more pop-orientated affair than the band's previous, '' Go 2'' (1978), and was named for its emphasis on guitars ("w ...

'' LP in 1979, when he replaced Barry Andrews, eventually leaving the band in 1999. He also contributed keyboards and backing vocals to their work. Since leaving XTC Gregory has been much in demand as a

session musician A session musician (also known as studio musician or backing musician) is a musician hired to perform in a recording session or a live performance. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a reco ...

with a number of

artist An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating the work of art. The most common usage (in both everyday speech and academic discourse) refers to a practitioner in the visual arts o ...

s, including

Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English singer, songwriter, musician, and human rights activist. He came to prominence as the original frontman of the rock band Genesis. He left the band in 1975 and launched a solo career wit ...

Aimee Mann Aimee Elizabeth Mann (born September 8, 1960) is an American singer-songwriter. Over the course of four decades, she has released ten studio albums as a solo artist. She is noted for her sardonic and literate lyrics about dark subjects, often d ...

, Cud,

Marc Almond Peter Mark Almond (born 9 July 1957) is an English singer-songwriter and musician. He is the lead vocalist of the synth-pop/ new wave duo Soft Cell. He has a distinctive soulful voice and androgynous image. He has had a diverse career as a ...

, Bingo Durango, Johnny Hates Jazz,

Jason Donovan Jason Sean Donovan (born 1 June 1968) is an Australian actor and singer. He initially achieved fame in the Australian soap ''Neighbours'', playing Scott Robinson, before beginning a career in music in 1988. In the UK he has sold over 3 millio ...

, Martin Newell, Louis Philippe,

Lulu Lulu may refer to: Companies * LuLu, an early automobile manufacturer * Lulu.com, an online e-books and print self-publishing platform, distributor, and retailer * Lulu Hypermarket, a retail chain in Asia * Lululemon Athletica or simply Lulu, a C ...

Mark Owen Mark Owen (born 27 January 1972) is an English singer and songwriter best known for being a member of pop group and band Take That; as of 2024, the group have sold 14.4 million albums and 14 million singles in the UK. In Owen's solo career, he h ...

, R. Stevie Moore and others. Gregory, who has been regularly involved in

Steve Hogarth Steve Hogarth (born Ronald Stephen Hoggarth, 14 May 1956), also known as "h", is an English musician. Since 1989, he has been the lead singer of the rock band Marillion, for which he also performs additional keyboards and guitar. Hogarth was f ...

's h-Band, has also contributed to works by

Porcupine Tree Porcupine Tree are an English rock band formed by musician Steven Wilson in 1987. During an initial career spanning more than twenty years, they earned critical acclaim from critics and fellow musicians, developed a cult following, and became ...

, including

string String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...

arrangement In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestr ...

s on their sixth album, '' Lightbulb Sun'', and for Dublin group Pugwash. On 16 August 2009, English

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...

band

Big Big Train Big Big Train are an English progressive rock band formed in Bournemouth in 1990. The current line-up includes band founder Gregory Spawton (bass, guitars and keyboards), along with Nick D'Virgilio (drums, vocals, guitars and keyboards), Rikar ...

announced on their official blog that Gregory would be appearing as a guest musician on their sixth studio album, '' The Underfall Yard''. Gregory subsequently appeared on Big Big Train's '' Far Skies Deep Time'' EP. He was first listed as a full band member on '' English Electric Part One'' (2012) and is on all subsequent albums since until early in 2020, when he decided to step down from Big Big Train, at least for the international performances, although he stated "I am proud of the role I have played within Big Big Train and have enjoyed the last decade with the band immensely. I look forward to remaining associated with Big Big Train in the future". Gregory was also a member of the group Tin Spirits, which featured ex Stamford Amp singer Mark Kilminster and also guitarist Daniel Steinhardt and drummer Douglas Mussard. The band released their first album, ''Wired to Earth'', on 1 April 2011. Tin Spirits supported

Marillion Marillion are a British neo-prog band, formed in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, in 1979. They emerged from the post-punk music scene in Britain and existed as a bridge between the styles of punk rock and classic progressive rock, becoming the mo ...

during the Marillionweekend at Port Zélande on 27 March 2011 in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. Gregory also guests on the 2012 album ''Not the Weapon but the Hand'' by

and

Richard Barbieri Richard Barbieri (born 30 November 1957) is an English musician, composer and sound designer. Originally a member of new wave band Japan (and their brief 1989–1991 reincarnation as Rain Tree Crow), he became the keyboard player in the prog ...

. In 2013, Gregory contributed to the book ''1001 Guitars to Dream of Playing Before You Die''.

References

External links

Dave Gregory's web pages

Dave Gregory 2 hour audio interview on Rundgren Radio

The Dave Gregory Story interview by Mark Powell
at

Cherry Red Records Cherry Red Records is a British independent record label founded in Malvern, Worcestershire by Iain McNay in 1978. The label has released recordings by Dead Kennedys, Everything but the Girl, The Monochrome Set, and Felt, among others, as w ...

tinspirits.co.uk

Big Big Train's official site

Dave Gregory Full Interview w/ Liam Hair
YouTube Video, 1:12:54 min, September 2023 {{DEFAULTSORT:Gregory, Dave 1952 births Living people English rock guitarists English male guitarists English rock keyboardists Musicians from Swindon XTC members English session musicians Big Big Train members