Dave Mackin (By Diamond Dez)

The multi-instrumentalist of the band, as well as keyboards he plays guitar and probably most impressively the trumpet. In fact I've overhead several conversations alleging that he can play a tune on any part of a women's body.

When Dave kicks in with the trumpet solo for Night Boat to Cairo, a seemingly subdued gig can be transformed into a manic festival of dance. There always seems to be a 30 something slightly over weight bloke who is taken back in time to his youth and who just can't resist the temptation to spontaneously start to dance. With a pint of lager in one hand and a cigarette in the other they start to run on the spot, raising their knees as high as their body will allow after several drinks. Of course it's probably been years since they subjected themselves to such a vigorous workout, but none the less with all credit they somehow manage to get though the entire song without the aid of once resorting to an oxygen mask.

However, Dave didn't always have this impact on his audience. My first memory of him was when he was the lead singer playing with the other members of the band aged about 19 wearing a trilby hat and singing in a painfully high voice. Dave has never been afraid to try new ideas, and the whole performance followed a theme of the New York gangster scene (at least I think that's what it was meant to be) with sound effects to match. I think I'm right in saying that this concept was lost on virtually everyone watching, myself included. None the less Dave was determined that the band were totally original and it was just a matter of time before a record company snapped them up. At least he was half right.

Nowadays Dave is no longer allowed to impose his shocking musical concepts and bad taste onto the rest of the world. That's why we stick him in the corner behind the biggest speaker we have in the hope that he'll not resort back to his old ways.

Dave takes one day at a time and he fights a relentless battle against his inner demons.