Wikipedia:Introduction (historical)

JSDWKS

acronym for: Jon Sucks Dick While Kevin Sings.

DAVID A. DUKES

David Andrew Dukes is a singer-songwriter and cult musician.Raised in Birmingham and Tamworth,West Midlands,he was classically trained as a chorister/boy soprano and studied under the leading church music scholars of the day.Born in Ireland of Welsh parentage he was badly bullied as a schoolboy and underwent therapy lasting eight years.His exact age is a mystery but it is thought he is,today,in his mid thirties.He played drums in the bands "The Void" (a rock n roll revivalist group named after a Beatles lyric) and "The Bunions" with future novelist and playwright Steve Smith.In 1990 he was fired from the latter following a row about his overt homosexuality,following this he began to write his own material and learned to play several instruments.In 1991 his E.P "Seven Tenths Wet" was released independantly and quickly became popular,the Midlands music press showed great enthusiasm and for a while he was a local celebrity.His refusal to perform live was eventually worn down by the need to make his name known.He struggled,however,in an enviroment almost completely inhabited by metal acts and became fustrated.A second E.P was again self released with the title "Boule de Suif" (Ball of Fat) at the end of 1991.In early 1992 he was castigated for berating a Tamworth audience and throwing his guitar into the crowd before storming from the stage,he became known as an awkward and difficult individual prone to bouts of severe depression.His early recordings are thought to feature in the John Peel archive.Gigs were frequently shambolic and in 1992 he declared himself "sick of the whole bloody nonsense",commencing a year long self imposed silence.The following year he was invited to join the Christian rock band Manna following his own drift to the church,they were live favourites in the midlands before disbanding under the weight of constant performing.Dukes was also,at this time,a regular "musician for hire" on the Christian worship music scene,he said "I have the gospel groups to thank for making a musician out of me,before then i was hopeless".He gigged regularly at church venues all over the U.K and has commented that the pressure could have contributed to his future health problems."I never had a night off" he said of the time "If we werent playing somewhere we were rehearsing.It was non-stop.I quit everything in 1996 to try and save my sanity".1997 saw a complete mental breakdown and hospitalisation followed by a diagnosis of Schizophrenia,it was five years before the right cocktail of medication was found.Having crept back into songwriting via folk clubs he recorded the album "Fat Boris presents Chief Spitting Feathers" in 2005 and it was released on the small label Lane Discs,based near his Warwickshire home.It quickly became celebrated and earned the praise of classical composer Andrew March who arranged wind,brass and strings and also wrote a piece based on the song "Its No Good".Dukes is known to be currently at work on an instrumental album and marries his long term partner in September 2007."I work very slowly" he confessed recently "But its nice to know that there are those who appreciate what i do".Dukes has drawn criticism for his use of extreme language in otherwise gentle songs and has declared himself "utterly disinterested in being famous".He is a passionate defender of liberal Christianity and of free speech,having formerly served as a member and activist within the Liberal Party."Having an illness like this puts stuff in perspective" he said in 2006 "I play quiet little shows and doodle endlessly in my home studio,i rather like what i do.It would be nice to work on a bigger stage but then you see what comes with it,do i really need that ?".Dukes is also a cat lover,a Beethoven enthusiast and a member of a choral society.