Celebrating my friend Dave Scantlebury, 11th December 1957 to 20th January 2009.
We shared a birthday and a voracious, genre-defying appetite for music. We knew each other for less than a decade and a half, worked together for less, but those times were crammed full of music swaps, nights out and the occasional gig. Today's selection barely scratches the surface, yet also sums up what connected us.
Dave would have turned 69 on 11th December this year, and I'm sure he would still have been the life of the party, still doing 100-mile charity bike rides and still enthusiastically waving his latest music purchase at me, wanting to know if I'd heard it too.
I wish I'd seen Dave more often, had more days and nights out together, I wish he was still around to share music with. He still inspires.
69 Police is a rather on-the-nose reference to the age that Dave would have reached in 2026, and it's also a nod to the fact that we were both huge fans of David Holmes, pre- and post- his move into big budget Hollywood soundtracks.
I first heard Bow Down To The Exit Sign via a CD-R rip that Dave gave me, although I bought my own legitimate copy on CD soon after. 69 Police is a joy and we were both particularly taken with Kieran Hebden's remix, then in that transitory period between leaving Fridge and finding his own audience as Four Tet.
Needless to say, we were also obsessed with everything that Andrew Weatherall did, musically speaking. Two Lone Swordsmen was perhaps very niche and bit too much for those that wanted him to repeat Screamadelica ad nauseum. That was never going to happen and we both loved these increasingly harder edged excursions into electro. 2000 album Tiny Reminders (another 'preview' rip from Dave before I got my own CD) is arguably the perfect distillation of this and one we got very excited about when it was released.
Spiritualized was arguably a group that I liked but really grew to love through our friendship as Dave would wax lyrical in the pub over the genius of Jason Pierce. Amazing Grace in 2003 - and another 'try before you buy' gift from Dave - was an astonishing reaction to the increasingly expansive, densely orchestrated, out there albums that had been built up through the 1990s, a scuzzy, abrasive, quick-and-dirty sounding album that still followed the Spiritualized blueprint to brilliant effect.
A memorable gig that Dave and I went to in 2000 was at Fiddlers, the site of a former prison (c. 1740) in a suburb south of central Bristol. Touring their collaborative album Stop The Panic were electronic wunderkind Luke Vibert and legendary pedal steel guitar player B.J. Cole. It was as brilliant a show as it was a joy just to see the expression on their faces, especially B.J.'s, when they realised how much the audience were enjoying it.
Not only that, but the support was a set from Mike Paradinas, better known to us for his association with Aphex Twin and recordings under a plethora of aliases, most notably µ-Ziq. So, a pick from each to commemorate a great night out.
Dave selected Mott The Hoople and Culture to be played at the service celebrating his life, delivered by journalist, news presenter and interfaith minister Susan Osman. I shared the entire list in my post from 2022 and featured Two Sevens Clash by the latter, which reappears today, albeit an alternative version from a John Peel session in 1983.
Although I didn't explicitly mark Dave's passing in 2024, instead posting a 'chart history' selection from 20th January 1974, the latter also featured Mott The Hoople. I am taking this as a sign that following a two-year cycle in 2022 and 2024, Mott The Hoople had to appear again in 2026 and therefore they are also included in this selection.
Dave and I were both at the Massive Attack gig at Bristol Harbourside in August 2004 and - you guessed it - massive fans, whilst we previously got to have an awkward exchange with Moby in February 2000 as part of the pre-show prize for my winning a pair tickets for his University of Bristol concert, courtesy of local newspaper, the Evening Post.
Dave also switched me on to DJ mix CDs, particularly the Essential Mix, Late Night Tales and Fabric series, the latter boasting an especially fine set from mutual favourites, Glasgow duo Slam. Their dub of Seventeen by Ladytron was a standout selection and I've included the full length version here.
The last gig that Dave and I went to was billed as a Green Gartside solo set, which in fact turned out to be a full band Scritti Politti gig in the intimate surround of the Arnolfini arts centre on Bristol's harbourside. It was an unforgettable experience and the few of us there, including Mrs. K and a couple of friends, knew we had witnessed something special. I had no idea that this would be the final time that I would see live music with Dave, yet it was perfect in every way.
The selection ends inevitably with another act that we both loved, and another album that Dave loaned me. We were both hooked on The Future Sound Of London and when they released The Isness as Amorphous Androgynous in 2002, it was just next-level greatness.
Even the packaging was sublime, what I can only described a Chinese puzzle box-inspired CD flip box that required some thought and effort to unlock the 'secret' drawer to reveal the shiny disc within. No CD-R preview this time, Dave lent me the precious artefact so that I could enjoy the full immersive experience.
I love The Isness and, when I finally managed to get my own copy of the limited edition CD, it became the soundtrack to my and Mrs. K's summer, shared nights sat on the somewhat precarious rooftop terrace of our home at the time, glugging red wine and enjoying the journey from sunset to warm summer night. Admittedly, occasionally interrupted by the sound and light of a police helicopter chasing down the latest car jacker, but otherwise as blissful as you could imagine.
So many happy memories, either directly with or indirectly because of Dave. He was universally loved by everyone that I knew, which I guess is evident by how his presence remains with me, to this day.
Cheers, Dave, and thanks for everything.
1) 69 Police (Kieran's Remix By Kieran Hebden): David Holmes ft. Sean Gullette (2000)
2) Death To All Culture Snitches: Two Lone Swordsmen (2000)
3) She Kissed Me (It Felt Like A Hit): Spiritualized (2003)
4) Roy Castle: µ-Ziq (1995)
5) Hipalong Hop: Luke Vibert & B.J. Cole ft. Mexeena Carlos (2000)
6) Thunderbuck Ram: Mott The Hoople (1970)
7) Two Sevens Clash (John Peel Session): Culture (1983)
8) Daydreaming (Instrumental): Massive Attack (1990)
9) Seventeen (Slam Dub): Ladytron (2002)
10) Porcelain (Torsten Stenzel's Edited Remix): Moby (2000)
11) Robin Hood (Album Version): Scritti Politti (2006)
12) Go Tell It To The Trees Egghead: Amorphous Androgynous (2002)
1970: Mad Shadows: 6
1987: The Peel Sessions EP: 7
1990: Daydreaming EP: 8
1995: Trance Europe Express 3: 4
2000: Porcelain EP: 10
2000: 69 Police EP: 1
2000: Stop The Panic: 5
2000: Tiny Reminders: 2
2002: Seventeen EP: 9
2002: The Isness: 12
2003: Amazing Grace: 3
2006: White Bread Black Beer: 11
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