Dave Gleeson

Dave Gleeson
Gleeson at Australian Commercial Radio Awards in October 2012
Background information
Birth nameDavid Sean Gleeson
Born (1968-06-03) 3 June 1968 (age 56)
Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia
GenresRock
OccupationSinger-songwriter
Instrument(s)Vocals, guitar
Years active1985–present

David Sean "Gleeso" Gleeson (born 3 June 1968) is the lead singer of Australian hard rock group The Screaming Jets. He was born in Newcastle, New South Wales and currently resides in Adelaide Hills, South Australia.

With the death of Screaming Jets co-founder and bassist Paul Woseen, he is currently the only remaining original member of the band.

Biography

David Sean Gleeson[1] was born in 1968 and grew up in Newcastle. He made his stage debut in 1978, with his school choir at the Abermain Eisteddfod. At 11 years old he won $10 in a talent contest at Cardiff Worker's Club singing "Monster's Holiday" with a friend. Gleeson formed his first rock band, Aspect, in 1985, with school pal, Grant Walmsley.

In January 1989 Gleeson on lead vocals and Walmsley on guitar were joined by Brad Heaney on drums, Richard Lara on guitar and Paul Woseen on bass guitar, to form The Screaming Jets as a hard rock band in Newcastle.[2][3][4] Within twelve months they had performed more than 280 live shows, they established a reputation for being one of the best young live bands in Australia, winning the praises and support slots of The Angels, The Choirboys and The Radiators.

By late 1989, The Screaming Jets had won youth radio station Triple J's National Band Competition. They signed a recording deal with the leading independent label rooArt. The Screaming Jets moved from their hometown Newcastle to Sydney's notorious Kings Cross district in early 1990, and recorded their debut album All For One in mostly midnight to dawn sessions at a local studio, after playing live shows seven nights a week.

In 2006, Gleeson appeared as the vocal coach for actress Kate Fischer in the televised celebrity singing competition It Takes Two. He returned to the show in 2007 and partnered with TV presenter, Julia Zemiro.

In early 2011 Gleeson was offered a radio show with the Triple M network. By mid-year he was hosting two shows, Access All Areas and Rock of Ages, interviewing artists including Jimmy Barnes and Don McLean, and giving an inside view of the music industry. Late that year Gleeson recorded an album, Take It to the Streets (31 August 2012), with his childhood idols, The Angels, as their new lead singer, and they completed a national tour.

In 2014, he recorded a second album with them, called Talk The Talk

On 19 June 2016, at the Governor Hindmarsh - Adelaide, Dave Gleeson was inducted into The South Australian Music Hall Of Fame, alongside The Angels.

On 31 January 2022, he returned to Australian rock radio station Triple M filling the 7-10pm nightly slot with his new show Triple M nights with Dave Gleeson broadcasting across Australia from Triple M Adelaide studio.

On 29 May 2023, he announced he would be leaving The Angels to focus on his Triple M nights radio show and on releasing a new studio album with The Screaming Jets.

References

  1. ^ "'Body Bag' at APRA search engine". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Archived from the original on 13 May 2014. Retrieved 12 May 2014. Note: User may have to click 'Search again' and provide details at 'Enter a title:' e.g Body Bag; or at 'Performer:' Screaming Jets
  2. ^ McFarlane, Ian (1999). "Encyclopedia entry for 'The Screaming Jets'". Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop. St Leonards, NSW: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1-86508-072-1. Archived from the original on 3 August 2004. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
  3. ^ Holmgren, Magnus. "The Screaming Jets". Passagen.se. Australian Rock Database (Magnus Holmgren). Archived from the original on 4 October 2012. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
  4. ^ Scott, Paul (1 July 2007). "There's no rush to fix the seam in Jets". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 12 May 2014.