Daniel Woodgate
| Dan Woodgate | |
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Woodgate performing live with Madness at Manchester Arena, 2014
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Daniel Mark Woodgate |
| Also known as | Woody Woodgate |
| Born |
19 October 1960 Kensington, London, England |
| Genres | 2-Tone |
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| Instruments |
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| Years active | 1978–present |
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| Website | woodywoodgate |
Daniel "Dan" Mark Woodgate or Woody Woodgate (born 19 October 1960) is an English musician, songwriter, composer and record producer. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Woodgate came to prominence in the late 1970s as the drummer for the English ska band Madness and went on to become a member of the Anglo-American alternative rock band Voice of the Beehive in the late 1980s. Woodgate began his solo career in 2015, while still a member of Madness, releasing the album In Your Mind.
Daniel Mark Woodgate was born on 19 October 1960, in Kensington, west London, England. As children, he and his younger brother Nick lived with their divorced father in a big house in Camden Town, north London and were cared for by nannies. Dan Woodgate attended from 1972–1978. After leaving school, he worked for a time as a sign writer/printer and then as a building work/labourer.
Woodgate received his first drum kit when he was 12 years of age. When Woody was 14, he and Nick started their first band called Steel Erection. Interviewed by the Daily Express in 2013, Woodgate recalled: "We were really close and spent every hour of every day together. When Nick was about 10, dad realised he had a real talent for playing the guitar. I couldn't play a thing so I took up the drums and we formed a band together called Steel Erection." The two went on to play in other bands.
Nick and Dan Woodgate continued to have associated music careers. Nick is credited as a co-writer on the Madness songs "No Money", "Kitchen Floor" and "Leon". He also played all the instruments minus drums and provided vocals for the demo version of "Kitchen Floor".
Woodgate encountered Madness after being introduced at a rehearsal by their bass guitarist Mark Bedford. In 1978 he joined the band, replacing Gavin Rodgers. After briefly changing their name to Morris and the Minors, the band renamed itself as Madness in 1979.
Madness went on to achieve most of their success in the early to mid-1980s. The band spent 214 weeks on the UK Singles Chart during that decade, holding the record for most weeks spent by a group in the 1980s UK Singles Chart. Since forming, Madness have had 15 singles reach the UK top ten. One of these is the UK number-one single ("House of Fun") and two were number-ones in Ireland, "House of Fun" and "Wings of a Dove".
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