Dave Lewis (British musician)

Dave Lewis
Dave Lewis performing live in Belfast in 2009
Background information
Birth name	David Llewellyn Lewis
Born	1951 (age 65–66) Belfast, County Antrim, Northern Ireland
Genres	Rock, blues, soul
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter, musician
Years active	1967–present
Website	davelewismusic.com

Dave Lewis (born 1951) is a singer-songwriter and musician from Northern Ireland. He was a member of the bands Method, Andwella's Dream, and Andwella.

David Llewellyn Lewis was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland. He started writing and performing songs during his childhood. By the time he was 12, his mother was getting him guest spots in Belfast social clubs and bars at a time when people like comedian Frank Carson were headlining. Having mastered both guitar and piano, he left school at 15 and starting working in Belfast's main music shop Crymbals, which was the epicentre of the Belfast music scene at that time.

At 16, Lewis joined his first band the Method managed by George Mechan. Method were a 5 piece soul band who were becoming popular in Dublin and fans around that time included Phil Lynott from the band Skid Row. A guitarist named Gary Moore (who was 16 at the time) stood in for Dave for a few weeks while he was in hospital and subsequently joined Skid Row.

The Method changed their name to Andwella's Dream after moving to London in 1968. They were signed to a new management and recording company Reflection Records, headed by Andrew Cameron Miller. In 1969 the band released their first album Love and Poetry (CBS) with all the songs penned by Dave Lewis before his 18th birthday. The album did not achieve wide recognition but is featured in the Record Collector's Book: 100 Greatest Psychedelic Records. After changing the name again to simply Andwella the band released two more albums; World's End (1970) and People's People (1971). Lewis wrote all the songs on the Andwella albums with the exception of the World's End Theme Part 1, which was written and arranged by Bobby Scott of He Ain't Heavy He's My Brother and Taste of Honey fame. During this period Lewis also made a private pressing of 500 copies of a promotional album in 1970 entitled The Songs of David Lewis which was never intended for general release, it was simply a vehicle to showcase his songs.

After Andwella split up Lewis pursued a solo career as a singer-songwriter. In May 1975 he supported Don McLean at a concert in London's Hyde Park in front of an audience of 85,000. That same year, he also toured with Fairport Convention playing to packed audiences all over the UK. During 1975 Dave also wrote a hit song for Demis Roussos; Happy To Be on an Island in the Sun, the song shot to No.1 all over Europe and went platinum.