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{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2015}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2013}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2013}}

{{Infobox musical artist
{{Needs more sources|date=May 2024}}{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Dave Vanian
| name = Dave Vanian
| image = Dave-Vanian.jpg
| image = Dave Vanian.jpg
| image_size = 250px
| image_size = 250px
| caption = Dave Vanian of [[The Damned (band)]] at the Russell Club in Manchester, 1979
| caption = Vanian performing live with [[The Damned (band)|the Damned]] in [[Cleethorpes]], 2006
| birth_name = David Lett
| birth_name = David Lett
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1956|10|12}}
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1956|10|12}}
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==Career==
==Career==
Born in [[Newcastle upon Tyne]], [[North East England]], Vanian moved with his parents to [[Hemel Hempstead]], [[Hertfordshire]] when he was a couple of months old. Vanian changed his name from Lett to Vanian in early life after a stint as a [[gravedigger]] – Vanian being a play on "[[Transylvania]]n". He remains one of the early influencers of [[Goth subculture|gothic]] fashion, wearing dark and otherworldly clothing both on stage and off. He is known to be a fan of [[renaissance art]], [[film noir]] and [[horror movies]], all of which manifest in his stage appearance.{{citation needed|date=September 2013}} In November 1976, the British music magazine ''[[NME]]'' stated that Vanian "resembles a runaway from [[the Addams Family]]".<ref name="NME Rock 'N' Roll Years">{{cite book|first=John|last=Tobler|year=1992|title=NME Rock 'N' Roll Years|edition=1st|publisher=Reed International Books Ltd|location= London, UK|page=294|id=CN 5585}}</ref>
Born in [[Newcastle upon Tyne]], [[North East England]], Vanian moved with his parents to [[Hemel Hempstead]], [[Hertfordshire]] when he was a couple of months old. Vanian changed his name from Lett to Vanian in early life after a stint as a [[gravedigger]] – Vanian being a play on "[[Transylvania]]n".
He remains one of the early influencers of [[Goth subculture|gothic]] fashion, wearing dark and otherworldly clothing both on stage and off. He is known to be a fan of [[renaissance art]], [[film noir]] and [[horror movies]], all of which manifest in his stage appearance.{{citation needed|date=September 2013}} In November 1976, the British music magazine ''[[NME]]'' stated that Vanian "resembles a runaway from [[the Addams Family]]".<ref name="NME Rock 'N' Roll Years">{{cite book|first=John|last=Tobler|year=1992|title=NME Rock 'N' Roll Years|edition=1st|publisher=Reed International Books Ltd|location= London, UK|page=294|id=CN 5585}}</ref>


In 1978, he was guest in the song "Don't Panic England", from the band [[Doctors of Madness]].
In 1978, he was guest in the song "Don't Panic England", from the band [[Doctors of Madness]].
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==Personal life==
==Personal life==
Vanian has kept his personal life out of the limelight, opting out of any input into the Damned biography, ''The Light at the End of the Tunnel'', by Carol Clerk. He married his first wife, Laurie, in 1977; they separated in the mid-1990s. He married [[Patricia Morrison]] in [[Las Vegas]] in 1996, after the Damned had toured Australia. The couple have one child, named Emily, and live in [[Harrow, London|Harrow]], Greater London.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://officialdamned.com/docs/bandmembers/patricia/interview.htm|access-date=July 16, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030423195645/http://officialdamned.com/docs/bandmembers/patricia/interview.htm|archive-date=23 April 2003 |title=Official Damned.com|website=OfficialDamned.com}}</ref>
Vanian has kept his personal life out of the limelight, opting out of any input into the Damned biography, ''The Light at the End of the Tunnel'', by [[Carol Clerk]]. He married his first wife, Laurie, in 1977; they separated in the mid-1990s. He married [[Patricia Morrison]] in [[Las Vegas]] in 1996, after the Damned had toured Australia. The couple have one child, named Emily, and live in [[Harrow, London|Harrow]], Greater London.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://officialdamned.com/docs/bandmembers/patricia/interview.htm|access-date=July 16, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030423195645/http://officialdamned.com/docs/bandmembers/patricia/interview.htm|archive-date=23 April 2003 |title=Official Damned.com|website=OfficialDamned.com}}</ref>

In an interview with Lady Amaranth on the 28th of July 2011, Vanian was asked about his inspriation for doing make-up:
<blockquote> "Reared on predominantly [[Gothic Fiction]], black and white [[german expressionist]] films from the twenties and thirties and my love for art and all things esoteric, these things worked their way insidiously into my subconscious until to me the graveyard pallor, the black lips, black hair and smoky coal eyes, seemed perfectly natural. Even though the reality was I was as far from the Gothic Towers of Romantic Fiction as I was to the moon, I saw no reason why you couldn’t aspire to a life less ordinary.

There was to me nothing feminine about what I did. I never thought of myself as wearing’ girls make-up’, it was ‘male grooming’ and you make the best of your features either way."<ref>Dave Vanian interview by Lady Amaranth - http://www.fashionsalternative.com/articles/interview-with-dave-vanian/ Retrieved on 15th May 2023</ref></blockquote>


==Discography==
==Discography==
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{{The Damned}}
{{The Damned}}
{{Authority control}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Vanian, David}}
{{Authority control}}{{UK-singer-stub}}{{DEFAULTSORT:Vanian, David}}
[[Category:1956 births]]
[[Category:1956 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Living people]]

Latest revision as of 21:58, 6 May 2024

Dave Vanian
Vanian performing live with the Damned in Cleethorpes, 2006
Vanian performing live with the Damned in Cleethorpes, 2006
Background information
Birth nameDavid Lett
Born (1956-10-12) 12 October 1956 (age 67)
Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England
OriginHemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England
Genres
Occupation(s)
Instrument(s)
  • Vocals
  • keyboards
  • guitar
  • tambourine
Years active1976–present
Labels
Member ofThe Damned
Formerly of
Websiteofficialdamned.com

David Vanian (born David Lett, 12 October 1956) is an English rock musician, and lead singer of the punk rock band the Damned. Formed in 1976 in London, the Damned were the first British punk band to release a single, release an album, have a record hit the UK charts, and tour the United States. With a fluid line-up since their founding, Vanian has been the only ever-present member. Vanian's baritone singing voice, dark lyrics and vampire-themed costumes, were a major influence on the goth subculture.[1]

Career[edit]

Born in Newcastle upon Tyne, North East England, Vanian moved with his parents to Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire when he was a couple of months old. Vanian changed his name from Lett to Vanian in early life after a stint as a gravedigger – Vanian being a play on "Transylvanian". He remains one of the early influencers of gothic fashion, wearing dark and otherworldly clothing both on stage and off. He is known to be a fan of renaissance art, film noir and horror movies, all of which manifest in his stage appearance.[citation needed] In November 1976, the British music magazine NME stated that Vanian "resembles a runaway from the Addams Family".[2]

In 1978, he was guest in the song "Don't Panic England", from the band Doctors of Madness.

In 2004, he and fellow Damned member Captain Sensible turned on the Christmas lights in Cambridge, causing some controversy.[3]

Vanian sang with MC5 for their 40th anniversary singing "Looking at You", which was released as part of Revolution: A Celebration of the MC5. In 2008, Vanian with the band the Throb, performed on "Let's Get Lost (Sailor Jerry's Story)" for the compilation album, The Original Sailor Jerry Rum – Music To.... Outside of the Damned, Vanian has led the gothabilly band Dave Vanian and the Phantom Chords, hosted Dave Vanian's Dark Screen on the UK-based television channel Rockworld TV and composed the soundtrack for the 2009 film, The Perfect Sleep.[4]

Personal life[edit]

Vanian has kept his personal life out of the limelight, opting out of any input into the Damned biography, The Light at the End of the Tunnel, by Carol Clerk. He married his first wife, Laurie, in 1977; they separated in the mid-1990s. He married Patricia Morrison in Las Vegas in 1996, after the Damned had toured Australia. The couple have one child, named Emily, and live in Harrow, Greater London.[5]

Discography[edit]

Studio album

References[edit]

  1. ^ Thompson, Dave (1 November 2000). Alternative Rock. Miller Freeman Books. ISBN 0-87930-607-6.
  2. ^ Tobler, John (1992). NME Rock 'N' Roll Years (1st ed.). London, UK: Reed International Books Ltd. p. 294. CN 5585.
  3. ^ Church fury at Damned's switch-on, Bbc.co.uk; accessed 12 September 2015.
  4. ^ Profile, Theperfectsleep.com; accessed 12 September 2015.
  5. ^ "Official Damned.com". OfficialDamned.com. Archived from the original on 23 April 2003. Retrieved 16 July 2015.

External links[edit]

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