Dave Warner (musician)

For other uses, see David Warner (disambiguation).

Dave Warner
Warner in Sydney, November 2007
Warner in Sydney, November 2007
Background information
Birth nameDavid Robert Warner
Born1953 (age 70–71)
Bicton, Western Australia
GenresPost punk, rock 'n' roll
Occupation(s)Musician, author, screenwriter
Instrument(s)Vocals, guitar
Years active1973–present
LabelsMushroom
WebsiteOfficial website

David Robert Warner (born 1953) is an Australian rock musician, author and screenwriter. He lives in Sydney with his wife and three children.

Biography

Dave Warner was born David Robert Warner[1] in Bicton, Western Australia in 1953. He attended Aquinas College[2] and then the University of Western Australia where he graduated with a B.A. (Hons.), majoring in psychology.

Musical works

In 1973, he formed the band Pus, which was influenced by radical 1960s New York activist band, The Fugs. Warner describes this band on his website[3] as "Australia's first punk band". Warner's song writing[1] created his first version of "Suburban Boy" in 1976. He gained a wider popularity with his next band, From the Suburbs, which he formed in January 1977. The band gained an underground following and was subsequently signed by Mushroom Records.

As Dave Warner's From the Suburbs, they re-released "Suburban Boy" (1978) as a single and then Mugs Game (1978) with some tracks recorded live at Melbourne University,[4] it was certified Gold within a month of its release.[5] Free Kicks (1979) followed, but then From the Suburbs disbanded. With a new line-up, Warner released Correct Weight (1979) and This is My Planet (1981; reissued as This is Your Planet in 1996).

After This is My Planet, Warner diversified from writing and performing music full-time. Instead, he started to write plays, novels and screenplays.

Theatrical works

In 1982, his revue, The Sensational Sixties started to tour large suburban hotels. Written and produced by Warner, the show was successful. In 1985, Warner wrote and appeared in a musical, The Sixties and All That Pop. Later that year Planet Pres, a rock musical written by him, was produced by the WA Theatre Company,[6] and performed at the Playhouse Theatre.[7]

In 1987, Warner managed and wrote songs for a female trio, Pleasure Principle. He performed (and wrote) a one-man show, Australian Heroes. He had a small parts in the movies Boundaries of the Heart (1988) and Boys in the Island (1989).[8]

Screen works

The first feature film written by Warner, Cut (2000), was a teen slasher starring Molly Ringwald and Kylie Minogue. He followed up with Balmain Boys (TV movie) and Garage Days (both 2002) and then Ravenswood (2006) starring Stephen Moyer and Teresa Palmer. He was one of the chief writers of the drama TV series Going Home and the short TV feature Roll, as well as writing more than ten episodes of McLeod's Daughters.[9] Warner wrote in an episode of Packed to the Rafters that featured his single Suburban Boy in a storyline starring Craig McLachlan as a faded 1980s rock star. In 1994 he hosted the ABC Sunday morning football program Ballzup!.[10]

Literary works

Warner has written both fiction and non-fiction. His first novel, a crime story called City of Light, was published in 1995. It was the winner of the Best Fiction Work award at the Western Australian Premier's Book Awards in 1996. In the same year his second book, Footy's Hall of Shame also came out, featuring cartoons by Steve Panozzo. In 1997, Warner's second crime novel, Big Bad Blood was published. He then wrote the first one in a series of humorous crime novels in the style of Agatha Christie, Murder in the Groove. Published in 1998, the book featured Andrew "The Lizard" Zirk, a former rock star turned detective. In the same year were also published Racing's Hall of Shame (co-written with Nicolas Brasch), Cricket's Hall of Shame (again with cartoons by Panozzo) and 25 Years of Mushroom Records. The second novel featuring "Lizard" Zirk, Murder in the Frame, was published in 1999. In 2000, Warner published eXXXpresso, a novel about an ex-criminal who intends to build a chain of prison-themed cafés, and Murder in the Off-Season, the third "Lizard" Zirk novel.

Bibliography

Fiction

Andrew "Lizard" Zirk series

  • Murder in the Groove (1998)[11]
  • Murder in the Frame (1999)[12]
  • Murder in the Off-Season (2000)[13]

Dan Clement and Snowy Lane series

Other works

  • Big Bad Blood (1997)[17]
  • Great Australian Bites (edited by) (1997)[18]
  • eXXXpresso (2000)[19]
  • River of Salt (2019)[20]
  • Summer of Blood (2023)[21]

Non-fiction

  • Footy's Hall of Shame (1996)[22]
  • 25 Years of Mushroom Records (1998)
  • Cricket's Hall of Shame (1998)
  • Horseracing's Hall of Shame (1999)

Discography

Studio albums

List of studio albums, with selected details and chart positions
Title Album details Peak chart positions
AUS
[23]
Mugs Game
(as Dave Warner's from the Suburbs) 		23
Free Kicks
(as Dave Warner's from the Suburbs)
  • Released: April 1979[25]
  • Format: LP, cassette
  • Label: Mushroom (L 36910)
 34
Correct Weight
(as Dave Warner's from the Suburbs)
  • Released: November 1979[26]
  • Format: LP, cassette
  • Label: Mushroom (L 37124)
 78
This is My Planet
  • Released: December 1981
  • Format: LP, cassette
  • Label: Mercury (6437146)
 75
When
  • Released: 2016
  • Format: CD, DD
  • Label: Ocean Studios (333903)
 —

Live albums

List of live albums, with selected details
Title Details
Suburbs tn the '70s
(as Dave Warner's from the Suburbs)
  • Released: 1990
  • Format: 2xCD
  • Label: DRAW Music (DRAW 333894)

Compilation albums

List of compilation albums, with selected details
Title Details
Suburban Sprawl
(as Dave Warner's from the Suburbs)
  • Released: 1990
  • Format: 2×LP, cassette, CD
  • Label: Mushroom (L 30415)
Correct Planet
(as Dave Warner's from the Suburbs)
  • Released: 2016
  • Format: 2xLP, Cassette, CD
  • Label: DRAW Music (DRAW333901)

EPs

List of extended plays, with selected details
Title Details
Meanwhile in the Suburbs
  • Released: 1988
  • Format: Cassette, CD
  • Label: Musicland Releases (MUS MLP 2003)

Singles

List of singles, with selected chart positions
Title Year Peak chart positions
AUS
[23]
"Suburban Boy" 1976 —
"Summer '78"
(as Dave Warner's from the Suburbs) 		1978 —
"Suburban Boy"
(as Dave Warner's from the Suburbs) 		31
"(We Got) Nothing to Lose"
(as Dave Warner's from the Suburbs) 		1979 —
"Free Kicks" —
"Wimbledon" —
"Kookaburra Girl" 1981 73
"Half Time at the Football" —
"A Million Miles from Home" —
"Tonight" —
"Key to the City" 1989 —

Awards

West Australian Music Industry Awards

The West Australian Music Industry Awards are annual awards celebrating achievements for Western Australian music. They commenced in 1985.

Year Nominee / work Award Result
1992 Dave Warner Rock 'n' Roll of Renown inductee

References

  1. ^ a b "Australasian Performing Right Association". APRA. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 11 November 2007.
  2. ^ "Dave Warner (Class of 1970)". Old Aquinians' Association. 3 March 2012. Archived from the original on 15 April 2013. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
  3. ^ "Home". davewarner.com.au.
  4. ^ "Dave Warner's Official website". Dave Warner. Retrieved 11 November 2007.
  5. ^ Austin, Steve (14 February 2005). "Dave Warner in conversation". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 11 November 2007.
  6. ^ "Biography". Dave Warner. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
  7. ^ Cassette cover, Planet Pres soundtrack
  8. ^ "Internet Movie Database Dave Warner (II) entry". IMDb. Retrieved 11 November 2007.
  9. ^ "Internet Movie Database Dave Warner (I) entry". IMDb. Retrieved 11 November 2007.
  10. ^ Wilmoth, Peter (10 April 1994). "Goodbye to all that". The Sunday Age.
  11. ^ Warner, Dave (1998), Murder in the groove, Pan Macmillan, ISBN 978-0-330-36077-7
  12. ^ Warner, Dave (1999), Murder in the frame, Pan Macmillan, ISBN 978-0-330-36155-2
  13. ^ Warner, Dave (2000), Murder in the off-season, Pan Macmillan, ISBN 978-0-7329-1064-8
  14. ^ Warner, Dave (1995), City of light, Fremantle Arts Centre Press, ISBN 978-1-86368-098-1
  15. ^ Warner, Dave; Warner, Dave (2015), Before it breaks, Fremantle Press, ISBN 978-1-925161-20-5
  16. ^ Warner, Dave (2017), Clear to the horizon, Fremantle, W.A. Fremantle Press, ISBN 978-1-925164-46-6
  17. ^ Warner, Dave (1997), Big bad blood, Vintage Australia, ISBN 978-0-09-183448-7
  18. ^ Warner, Dave; Warner, Dave, 1953- (1997), Great Australian bites, Fremantle Arts Centre Press, ISBN 978-1-86368-191-9{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  19. ^ Warner, Dave (2000), Exxxpresso, Picador, ISBN 978-0-330-36190-3
  20. ^ Warner, Dave (2019). River of salt (1st ed.). Fremantle, WA: Fremantle Press. ISBN 978-1-925591-56-9. OCLC 1052586170.
  21. ^ Warner, Dave (26 September 2023). Summer of Blood. Fremantle Press. ISBN 9781760992200. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
  22. ^ Warner, Dave (1996), Footy's hall of shame, Fremantle Arts Centre Press, ISBN 978-1-86368-158-2
  23. ^ a b Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 333. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  24. ^ "TRUE-BLUE NEW WAVE". The Canberra Times. Vol. 53, no. 15, 755. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 10 November 1978. p. 25. Retrieved 1 January 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  25. ^ Warner, Dave; Dennison, John; Durant, Tony; Leopard, Johnny; Noonan, Paul; Johnstone, Howie (1979), Free kicks : Dave Warner's from the suburbs, Mushroom, retrieved 1 January 2019
  26. ^ "ROCK MUSIC MUSIC NOT UP TO THE LYRICS". The Canberra Times. Vol. 54, no. 16, 130. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 23 November 1979. p. 25. Retrieved 1 January 2019 – via National Library of Australia.