David Sinclair

Vocals/guitar

BIOGRAPHY

David Sinclair began his musical adventure as a drummer with London bands Blunt Instrument and London Zoo before joining TV Smith’s Explorers, playing on singles including Tomahawk Cruise and the album The Last Words of the Great Explorer. He later moved to the front of the stage as a singer, songwriter and guitarist. His first two albums were produced by Gareth Parton (The Go! Team), while 2011’s Take Me There was produced by Jordan Fish, later of Bring Me The Horizon, and featured Paul Jones on harmonica. Robin Trower produced the album’s lead track Living Like a Yo-Yo.

Alongside his own music, David has pursued a long career as a music journalist, writing for The Times of London (1985-2015) and many other publications. He formed his own group at a recording session in Shepherd’s Bush on New Year’s Eve 2004 and has led it to this day.

Q&A

What was the record, musician or gig that first established the direction you were heading in musically?

There were three. Come On by the Rolling Stones in 1963. I remember seeing them perform it on Thank Your Lucky Stars, although the memory may have grown in the telling. Then came John Mayall’s Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton in 1966. The “Beano” album was a gamechanger, musically and sonically, and my introduction to the blues. And then Are You Experienced by the Jimi Hendrix Experience in 1967. Hendrix was the complete singer-songwriter and guitar virtuoso in one celestially romantic package. That set the direction.

How did DS4 begin - and when did it first feel like a real band rather than simply your own musical project?

It began as a David Sinclair recording session at the Stone Room in Shepherd’s Bush on New Year’s Eve 2004. I’d been offered some studio downtime and went in to record Dusted & Rusted with Drew Farmer on drums and Elizabeth Kinder on bass, produced by Gareth Parton. It felt like a band immediately. When George Andrew replaced Elizabeth on bass and vocals we became the David Sinclair Trio. Drew was later replaced by my son Jack Sinclair, on drums and vocals. Then in 2013 Geoff Peel sat in with us at the 100 Club and played another gig with us a few days later at the Tropic in Ruislip. That was the point at which DS4 was born.

What do you enjoy most about playing in DS4?

The band is the creative dynamo of my life. It gives me the incentive to keep writing songs, making records and playing live. For all the different things I do - singer, songwriter, guitarist - I think being a bandleader may be the most important. I’ve always admired John Mayall for that. He marshalled all these musicians, many of whom were technically much better than he was, and kept his band going. He was a facilitator as much as the marquee name. Keeping my own band together continuously since the final day of 2004 is probably my defining musical achievement.

Apart from your instrument, what do you bring to DS4?

The songs - and specifically the lyrics. I never thought there was anything particularly special about my lyrics. Songs needed words, so I wrote them. Then in 2005 Alan Levermore at Proper told me it was the lyrics that had swung their decision to distribute my first album, which surprised me.

People come up after gigs and say they hear the words and remember them. I think it’s important that the songs come from where I actually live. “I’ve been around, I had a long career / I’m not American, I come from here.” (Sweet Georgina)

Which DS4 song do you most enjoy playing, and why?

Right now, I’d say Perfect In Every Way. It’s been through a lot of different incarnations. Whenever I sing it I’m taken back to the rehearsal studio in Bath where I wrote it, and to the girl that inspired it. George supplied an amazing bass line and harmony to the original recording. And Geoff has now made the guitar part and BVs very much his own.

What’s the best or most memorable DS4 moment you’ve experienced so far?

We were playing in Scotland in October 2025 and were driving south from Edinburgh towards the M6. We came through this mist and suddenly the sun broke through. There was something magical about simply being on the road with the band, heading home after the shows. I remember thinking: this is it. We’re living the dream.

There have been bigger moments - selling out the Borderline for the Yellow album launch in 2015 and headlining the 100 Club in 2026 - but that quiet moment on the road somehow captured it for me.

What do you take almost as seriously as music?

Tennis. I compete in the West Middlesex league.

What happens to a song when you take it from writing it alone to playing it with DS4?

There are two main routes. Sometimes I send a song to Jack, who has great ears and the technical ability to hear what a basic track could become. At a very low point I sent him a one-verse guitar-and-vocal sketch called Apropos Blues, really just to give myself something to do. Jack added drums and bass and suddenly it sounded like a record. It became the title track of our sixth album. That album probably wouldn’t exist without that demo.

The other route is to play something to Geoff and keep working on it together. Sweet Georgina took months. We changed middle-eights, lyrics, all sorts of things. At one point it was called Anglicana. Geoff suggested Sweet Georgina - exactly the same scan, but suddenly we had a girl and a much better song title.

After more than 20 years of keeping the band going, what are you still trying to achieve with it?

The next stage. Headlining the 100 Club in 2026 was the biggest gig we’d played in our own right, and in 2027 we’re booked for blues festivals in Blackpool, Carlisle, Whitby and Glasgow. I want DS4 to become better established and get our foot onto the next rung of the ladder