Ian Dench
| Ian Dench | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Ian Alec Harvey Dench |
| Born |
7 August 1964 Cheltenham, United Kingdom |
| Occupation(s) | Songwriter |
| Instruments | Keyboards, guitar |
| Associated acts | EMF |
Ian Alec Harvey Dench (born 7 August 1964, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England) is an English songwriter and musician. Dench was the guitarist and principal songwriter for EMF, who scored a major international hit reaching number 1 in the United States with "Unbelievable" in 1991. It was voted one of BBC Radio 2's 'Greatest Guitar Riffs'.
Dench began his music career playing in a Gloucester City punk band called Curse although his father, Harold Dench, taught Ian classical guitar. He formed the Gloucester based band Apple Mosaic who were signed to Virgin Records and released the single "Honey If".
In 1989 Dench met the other members of EMF (band) and within a few months of playing together they were signed to a major label. Their debut hit, Unbelievable, was written by Dench although credited as EMF and rocketed to number three in the UK chart. Six months later, the song broke in America.
In an interview with Spin in September 1991, Dench commented on the dynamics within the band, stating that: "I'm the Musical Director, but I couldn't do it without them. They provide so much attitude. Derry's the least active in a musical sense, but he's so involved. I take a tune in and he says turn it up or make it more manic. They're simple observations but they're important because I get a bit wrapped up in the writing."
The band split in 1997 due to musical differences.
After leaving EMF, he found independent success with the band Whistler, signed to Wiiija Records. Whistler released two albums, Whistler and Faith in the Morning.
In 2007, Dench wrote the duet "Beautiful Liar" for Beyoncé and Shakira, and "Tattoo" for American Idol winner Jordin Sparks with Amanda Ghost with whom he had worked since 1995 when they wrote for Ghost's Ghost Stories album. Beyoncé's 2008 album I Am Sasha Fierce saw a further three Dench and Ghost collaborations: "Disappear", "Ave Maria", and "Satellites".
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