Alternative Rock / Folk Rock / Garage Rock
Fenland, England, United Kingdom
Dan Donovan is a British singer, songwriter, and guitar player. Born in 1960 to a Welsh preacher, he produces music which uses metaphor extensively to draw on spiritual themes.
Donovan's music career began around 1980 singing and played bass for a band called Sword with heavy riffs like Black Sabbath. He then left his hometown to join a pop post punk band called The Reps around 1983 or 1984. The Reps toured the United Kingdom playing in schools and Christian festivals. They also played a few festivals with The 77s. Around 1986, Donovan formed a band called Back to Jordan which recorded one EP and one album. Back to Jordan mostly played around the London club scene and the yearly Greenbelt Festival. Donovan got tired of band politics, so after Back to Jordan he went solo. But at first he didn't want the name “The Dan Donovan Band,” so he called the new project Tribe of Dan. Tribe of Dan is described on the King Kool website as “cult greb goth outfit” and elsewhere as “swamp rock”. The band split after recording only one studio album, and their US label folded shortly after their first release. Following this event he released albums independently, and his sound shifted toward an acoustic feel.
Donovan has also been involved with bands such as The Swamp Cranks and King Kool. King Kool is described as baseless blues - the band features Donovan and a drummer, but no bassist. The original drummer was Matt Middleton, who had worked with Donovan in several bands, including Tribe of Dan. Currently, Donovan is recording music under The Dan The D.
1993 | Dan Donovan | Trashbone Thang | Sticky Music |
1995 | Dan Donovan | Dust Shaker | |
199? | Dan Donovan | Root | |
1998 | Dan Donovan | The Leaven Dell | |
2000 | Dan Donovan | The Hex The Ghears | |
2003 | Dan Donovan | Ga-rage | |
2016 | Dan Donovan | 12_12 Acoustic Sessions | |
2018 | The Dan The D | Mojave Session EP | |
2019 | The Dan The D | Mojo Del Rancho |
1993 Sticky Music (GUM24CD)
Dan Donovan - Vocals, guitar, bass, sounds [Mellow Moothie, Creaks, Moans’n’ Rattling And a Snach of Key Poking]
Matt Middleton - Drums, percussion
Steve Butler - Keyboards
Dot Reid - Keyboards
David Birss - Blues Harp
Charlie Irvine - Sounds [Water Breath Native Whale’n’Noise Loading Thang]
Drew McCulloch - Tambourine
1995 Independent
199? Independent
1998 Independent
2000 Independent
2003 Independent
2016 Independent
The 12 songs from Donovan's 12 albums re-recorded in 2015 is a retrospective project with gritty blues, folk renditions from his back catalogue.
2018 Independent
(note that this ep is no longer available except at a few streaming music sites)
2019 Independent
(upcoming release scheduled for October 2019 - this will be the complete recorded session of Donovan's time in the Mojave Desert)