Dave Tattum was the lead singer
of Angel Witch between 1984 and 1986, filling in for Kevin Hetbourne (who was
having vocal trouble at the time), having recorded two LP's with them:
Screamin' n' Bleedin' and Frontal Assault. We had a chat with Dave about Angel
Witch and his previous bands, as well as his new project Dave Tattum & The
Rattlesnake Bones.
Q. - Hello Dave! Tell us a bit
about the beginning of Skin Deep, how did it all start? How did you get in
touch with the other members?
Dave - I was in a scooter gang
with a guy called Ian Cramer and he had a drum kit in his garage. I had just
acquired a bass guitar and was trying to learn to play.
We decided to try and form a band
with him on drums and me playing bass and singing. We found a guitarist and formed
a three piece, but I found it hard to play bass and sing and also I was a very
bad bass player. The guitarist also was very poor.
We used to rehearse in an old
cinema which Ian’s Father owned and converted into a bingo hall.
We rehearsed in a room upstairs
and I would leave my gear and bass there.
After a few weeks I walked in on
Ian playing my bass and he was very good and so much better than me so we
decided to sack the guitarist and look for a replacement. Also we decided I
would sing and Ian would play bass and we would look for a new drummer.
Eventually we found a guy named
Dave Blackie to play guitar and a guy called John Farrow to play drums.
Dave Blackie came up with the
name Skin Deep named after the Louie Bellson drum solo.
We gigged around for a year or so
until farrow fell in love and left the band. To tell the truth he was a very
poor drummer, in fact the worst I have ever played with. He wasn’t a very nice
guy either.
We found a replacement in Steve
Williams who was excellent and a breath of fresh air.
We gigged around for a while
until Steve left to join Budgie.
We never recovered from Steve’s
departure and folded shortly after.
There were a few reincarnations
of Skin Deep such as The Skin Deep Band which was a six piece, but it was never
the same so I left and started auditioning for bands in London.
Q. - Was Skin Deep a punk band?
Were punk rock your major influence on you?
Dave - Skin Deep was mostly a
covers band as we were very young and hadn’t really got into writing our own
material.
Although I liked punk a lot it
wasn’t a major influence on me as I was a singer and was influenced by people
like Paul Rodgers, David Byron, Ozzy Osbourne, and Steve Marriot.
Q. - Around 1978 comes Bill The
Murderer, tell us a bit how did the band got together?
Dave - Bill the Murderer was
formed in 1977 from the remnants of Skin Deep and a band called Ted.
I was auditioning for other bands
when I was asked by a friend of mine Steve Aldridge, one of the guitarist in
Ted to come along to one of Ted’s gigs.
When I turned up to the club, Ted
were sound checking but the singer hadn’t turned up. Apparently the singer had
decided to go to a party with his girlfriend and just didn’t show.
The band asked me if I knew the
songs and if so would I help them out as the other guitarist Dave Blackie (Skin
Deep) struggled to sing them.
I told them I would as long as
they sacked the singer and gave me the job instead. They all agreed whole
heartedly, so that night I became the singer with Ted.
After a few months we changed our
name to Bill the Murderer and started writing our own material and travelling
further afield to gig.
Dave Blackie left and was
replaced by Pete Downes. The drummer was sacked and replaced by Ray Bibby who
was eventually replaced by Dave Pendrey.
So Bill the Murderer ended up
with the line-up – Steve Aldridge guitar, Pete Downes Guitar, Dave Tattum
Vocals, Ian Cramer Bass, Patrick Cramer keyboards.
Q. - How was the single "I'd
Find You / Spring Rain" received by the fans at that time? Did it have
airplay on radio stations?
Dave - The single was received
very well by our fans and sold at gigs but it wasn’t promoted very well and did
play on local radio a few times but our management did not push or promote us
towards a record deal. Also at this time Pete was getting a bit disillusioned
with it all and wanted to pursue his love of jazz.
Q. - Did you play regularly in
the UK back then or was it hard to be booked at that time?
Dave - We played all over North
Wales and the North of England as far up as Leeds and Sheffield, down to Stoke
on Trent. At one time we were gigging 4, 5 and sometime 6 nights a week.
Eventually Pete left and the band
folded due to a lack of interest and some member’s laziness in writing songs.
When you get two band members who are brothers and live in the same house and
never came up with one song or riff, it’s time to give up.
After we split I went for an
audition to London and got the job.
Q. - What about Blaque Jaque
Shallaque were you a founding member with Dave Hogg? Tell us a bit about the
beginning of the band.
Dave - I saw an advert in Melody
Maker for a singer to join the better half of Angel Witch which had Rob Downing
and Dave Hogg. I auditioned for the band and got the job. We rehearsed for
months and eventually went into Bronze Studios and recorded an EP. I couldn’t
see the band getting anywhere so I left but remained great friends with Dave
Hogg.
I then joined a great little band
called 11th Victim and gigged with them for a while until the drummer left. He
was Frank Darch (Ex More). I phoned Dave Hogg and he joined us on drums.
I had the name Blaque Jaque
Shallaque in my head and we decided to change the band’s name to that.
We gigged around London for a
while and again went into Bronze to record an EP. I don’t know where these
recording have gone.
We entered a Battle of the Bands
competition in Southend. Neil Murray and Fast Eddie Clarke were the judges and
we won it. We did and encore at the end of the night and Neil and Eddie got up
on stage and jammed with us.
Rod Downing played guitar at this
gig as our guitarist had gone on holiday.
Blaque Jaque Shallaque eventually
ran out of steam and split up.
Q. - Did you record any demo
tapes with Blaque Jaque Shallaque? Have you ever thought about compiling all
the " Blaque Jaque Shallaque " recordings in a cd release?
Dave - We recorded two demos as I
have previously stated and maybe one day someone will compile a cd. I haven’t
got all the recordings but I believe Dave Hogg may have them.
Q. - How did you end up being
Angel Witch lead singer?
Dave - After BJS split, Dave Hogg
and I remained great friends and hung out together. Then Dave got the call from
Kevin Heybourne to reform Angel Witch. As I was had a keen interest in drumming
(Drums are my favourite instrument, even though I don’t play) Dave asked me to
be his drum tech when he gigged, which as I was doing nothing at the time I
accepted.
Kevin was struggling with his
voice as he constantly screamed which if not controlled can destroy your
singing voice. I would sing at the sound checks just to save his voice for the
gig.
Then I had a phone call from
Kevin asking me if I would like to become the singer in Angel Witch, of course
I accepted.
Q. - What memories do you keep
from the "Screamin' n' Bleedin'" recording seasons and following
tour?
Dave - I remember having a very
short time to prepare for the recording which put me at a bit of a disadvantage
as we didn’t gig before going into the studio so I couldn’t really get a feel
for the songs.
I don’t believe I sang my best on
that album as I was under quite a bit of pressure and under the spotlight from
the rest of the band.
I wish I could record my voice on
that album again.
I can’t remember much about that
tour only that we lived on the road very roughly in very poor and dirty Bed
& Breakfasts and dirty cheap hotels.
It was quite a strain as we
burned the candle at both ends and I didn’t get the proper rest a singer needs.
My first gig was at a Hell’s
Angels club in Oxford which was quite an experience as the showed no appreciation
between songs.
I was told afterwards that they
really enjoyed our show but it wasn’t cool to applaud and they would have let
us know in no uncertain terms if they didn’t like us!
Q. - Did you tour with Angel
Witch after the release of "Frontal Assault"?
Dave - We did a short tour with a
new drummer (Spencer Holman) as Dave Hogg had been sacked a couple of months
after the Screamin’ n Bleedin’ tour. I can’t go into the reasons why I’m sorry.
One of the gigs on the tour was
in The Marquee Club in London which was great for me as I had always wanted to
sing there.
Q. - Do you think that Screamin'
n' Bleedin' and Frontal Assault, can be reissued on CD, in the near future?
Dave - I have no idea Paulo. It
would be nice to see them re mastered and out on CD. There are a lot of people who have been in
contact with me asking questions about re mastering and re issuing the albums.
I wish I could go back and do it all over again. I really miss those days.
Q. - Was it hard task, to replace
Kevin as Angel Witch’s frontman? How did you feel about that?
Dave - Of course it was a
difficult job to take over duties from Kev and I felt very honoured to be given
the task, but I had a professional mind-set and gave it my best shot.
I found some of the old AW songs
challenging as Kevin screamed a lot on some of those songs and I am not really
a screamer. I had taken singing lessons for about four years before I joined
AW, so I knew how to sing but having being trained as a singer I was taught to
sing from the stomach and the head and not from the throat which had damaged
Kevin’s voice.
It was challenging but I think I
did ok, and I felt I grew into the job. There were a few that hated me taking
over from Kevin, and you can see those in some of the comments on You Tube.
Things like AW should always be a three piece and that I never should have took
over from Kev.
Q. - Did you start Jack Flash
after you leave Angel Witch?
Dave - No I started Jacflash in
2011 with Steve Aldridge (Bill the Murderer) as just a bit of fun really playing
covers around the local pubs.
I had moved back home to North
Wales a year or so after my AW departure and played in a few bands but then
retired for a few years.
I was building a rehearsal studio
in my garden for my young son who was just learning drums and was very good
even if I say so myself.
I was building this soundproof
studio so he could practise without annoying our neighbours.
After it was finished I looked
around it and thought this is wasted on one person so I formed Jacflash so we
could use the studio to rehearse.
Q. - Did you stay in touch with
each other’s all over the years?
Dave - I saw Pete Gordelier last
year when he came up to play a gig near where I live. I am not in contact with
Kevin or Spencer Holman. I used to be friendly with Dave Hogg but I think he
has fallen out with me due to me not attending one of his birthday parties in
London.
I was quite sick at the time and
couldn’t attend and I don’t think he has forgiven me, which is a shame.
I am in touch with other members
of other bands I was in but there are some members of previous bands I never
want to see again and wouldn’t be responsible for my actions if I did. To tell
the truth I wouldn’t give them the steam off my piss.
Q. - Tell us a bit about
"The Rattlesnakes Bones", how did the idea of recording this album
came up? Which other musicians do you play with in this album?
Dave - I was in Leuven in Belgium
having a drink with my friend Dirk Lekenne who owns Studio Fandango in
Boutersem in Belgium and he asked me if I fancied writing some songs with him
and maybe recording them.
We sent each other music and
lyrics and over the next few months we had written 15 songs.
I went over to his studio in
March 2019 and recorded all the songs with Dirk.
He had all the tracks already recorded
by musicians he knew and also by my old friend drummer Rik Volkaerts.
All I had to do was to put down
vocals and backing vocals and put on a bit of harmonica.
I thought of the name ‘The
Rattlesnake Bones’ for the guys who played on my album.
They are: - Dirk Lekenne Guitars,
Rik Volkaerts Drums, Pieter Akkermans Keyboards and Luc de Graff.
Q. - Do you have already any
plans for the future, or it’s just too soon?
Dave - I am going to continue to
write and record with Dirk Lekenne and am looking to start something bluesy in
the near future. I doubt if I will get the chance to sing metal again but who
knows? Never say never!
Thank
you for your time, and wish you all the best for the future!
