Denis Hegarty (born 13 September 1954) is an Irish

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...

doo-wop Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a subgenre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, ...

and

a cappella Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...

singer, television presenter, and psychology lecturer.

Biography

Darts (1976–1978)

At an early age Hegarty moved to

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

, England. Hegarty formed the 1950s styled band,

Darts Darts is a competitive sport in which two or more players bare-handedly throw small projectile point, sharp-pointed projectile, projectiles known as dart (missile), darts at a round shooting target, target known as a #Dartboard, dartboard. Point ...

in August 1976, along with vocalists Rita Ray, Griff Fender and sax player Horatio Hornblower, all of whom he had played with in the band Rocky Sharpe & the Razors (pre- Rocky Sharpe and the Replays).Hardy, Phil & Laing, Dave (1998) ''Encyclopedia of Rock'', Schirmer, His role in Darts was as the

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

singer, songwriter, arranger and music director. Described as "wild eyed", "wild haired and manic", "maniacal", and as a "kinetic and charismatic performer", Hegarty gave the group a distinctive, anarchic edge. As the former BBC radio executive Lesley Douglas later recalled of a 1970s gig: "I remember sitting in the front row terrified of the Darts singer Den Hegarty, because all the papers had said that he was the mad man of music and that he would dive into the crowd". Music journalist

Will Hodgkinson Will Hodgkinson is a journalist and author from London (born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne), England. He is the chief rock and pop critic for ''The Times'' newspaper and contributes to ''Mojo (magazine), Mojo'' magazine. He has written for ''The Guardian ...

recounted another incident, during a Spanish eurovision TV show in 1979, where "the grandiosity of the whole affair proved too much for the bug-eyed Hegarty, who felt compelled to jump into a fountain and roll around in it, mid-performance", before taking off his socks and wringing them down the neck of actress Sylvia Kristel.

Dave Haslam Dave Haslam is a British writer, broadcaster and DJ who DJed over 450 times at the Haçienda nightclub in Manchester and has since DJed worldwide. He has written for the ''New Musical Express'', ''The Guardian'', the ''London Review of Books' ...

recalled how Hegarty "had a thing for clambering on the speaker stacks at the side of the stage (by far the highlight of the set)".

After Darts (1978–)

Hegarty left Darts in 1978. He signed to

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. Mercury Records released ...

and released a solo single "Voodoo Voodoo" in March 1979 which was his only solo hit, reaching number 73 in the UK Singles Chart.Den Hegarty
, Chart Stats. Retrieved 3 July 2010 The following year, he made a guest appearance on

The Clash The Clash were an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1976. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they are considered one of the most influential acts in the original wave of British punk rock, with their music fusing elements ...

's album '' Sandinista!''.Gilbert, Pat (2005) ''Passion Is a Fashion: The Real Story of the Clash'', Da Capo, , p. 279 Hegarty moved into broadcasting, hosting the Tyne Tees Television show '' Alright Now''.Clarkson, Wensley (1996) ''Sting: The Secret Life of Gordon Sumner'', Blake, , p. 85 After working for

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...

(presenting ''Talkabout''),From the Music Capitals of the World: London
, ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'', 21 April 1979, p. 64 and featuring in three series of Jack Good's final television show, ''Let's Rock'', he moved on to host the final series of '' Tiswas'' along with DJ Gordon Astley, comedian/ impressionist Fogwell Flax, and Sally James.Pied Pipers
", Tiswas Online. Retrieved 3 July 2010Tiswas – the TV show
,

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

. Retrieved 3 July 2010 Hegarty's contributions included "inexplicably sitting in a bathtub full of baked beans or providing loud 'BONG's in his booming bass tones for a section aping the 10 o'clock news called News At Den". After the demise of Tiswas, Hegarty became a cable show quizmaster, and then took another direction providing voices for animated characters in television advertisements. Hegarty lives with his wife and one son in

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

. As of 2014 he was working as a lecturer in psychology at Exeter College and with the

Open University The Open University (OU) is a Public university, public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by List of universities in the United Kingdom by enrolment, number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate ...

, but he is still singing. He has fronted an a cappella band called Slackapella, plus a 15-piece outfit called Soul Traders, and still sings with the

pers, The Metrotones. Hegarty helped revive Darts in 2006 and still performs at occasional gigs with the reformed band.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hegarty, Den 1954 births Living people Singers from Dublin (city) Irish male singer-songwriters Irish singer-songwriters Television personalities from Dublin (city) 20th-century Irish people 21st-century Irish people