Dave Hole

{{Short description|Western Australian slide guitarist}} {{Use dmy dates|date=January 2022}} {{Use Australian English|date=March 2013}} {{Infobox musical artist | name = Dave Hole | image = | image_size = | landscape =  | alt = | caption = | birth_name = Robert David Hole | alias = | birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1948|3|30}} | birth_place = Heswall, Cheshire, United Kingdom | origin = Perth, Western Australia, Australia | death_date =  | death_place = | genre = Blues, rock and roll | occupation = Musician | instrument = Slide guitar | years_active = 1965–present | label = Black Cat, Alligator, Festival, Provogue | website = {{URL|davehole.com/}} }}

'''Robert David Hole''' (born 30 March 1948, Heswall, Cheshire, England) is an Australian slide guitarist and singer known for his unique style of playing rock and roll and blues music.

In 1990 he issued ''Short Fuse Blues'' which brought him to the attention of United States label, Alligator Records. Two of his albums have appeared on ''Billboard'' Top Blues Albums, ''Steel on Steel'' (1995) peaked at No. 13 and ''Ticket to Chicago'' (1997) reached No. 15. His sixth album, ''Under the Spell'', appeared in April 1999 and won "Best Blues & Roots Album" at the ARIA Music Awards of that year.

Hole is noted for his unusual performance style, which alternates traditionally plucked notes and chords with the slide notes played by his hand draped over the guitar's neck. According to Australian rock music historian Ian McFarlane, Hole "is the most acclaimed blues guitarist Australia has ever produced... courtesy of his unorthodox slide guitar style, his rousing live shows and a series of hard-rocking, roadhouse blues albums... yet it took two decades of slogging around the Australian touring circuit before the local industry sat up and took notice".

==Biography== === 1948–1960s === Robert David Hole was born on 30 March 1948 in Heswall, United Kingdom, due to a mix up at the hospital he was named Robert when it should have been David. The family called him David and now he goes by David Robert Hole. When he was four years old his family moved to Perth, Western Australia.<ref name="McFarlane"/> He became interested in blues music after hearing a school friend's Muddy Waters' album when aged six.<ref name="Brennan"/><ref name="Hutchens"/> At twelve years old he received his first guitar and started to teach himself due to lack of availability of teachers.<ref name="Brennan"/> He used the albums of Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Blind Willie Johnson, Skip James, Blind Lemon Jefferson to learn.<ref name="Brennan"/> He later used work of Robert Johnson, Elmore James, and Mississippi Fred McDowell.<ref name="Brennan"/> Hole is left-handed and, after breaking a finger in a football accident, he played the guitar right-handed.<ref name="McFarlane"/><ref name="Brennan"/> "I had to have a cast on it. So I came up with this idea, just while I was recuperating, of jamming the slide on my index finger and hanging it over the top of the guitar – quite an awkward sort of style, really. It took me about three months before this cast came off. And over that time it started to feel good".<ref name="Hutchens"/>

In 1965 Hole formed his first group, Broken Habits, which included Daryl Upson on bass guitar.<ref name="McFarlane"/> The following year he created the earliest version of Dave Hole Band with Upson, Denis Crake on vocals and Jim Morris on drums.<ref name="McFarlane"/> In 1968 Hole joined The Beat 'n Tracks, a pop, blues, R&B band formed in early 1967 with Ace Follington on drums, Warren Morgan on keyboards and vocals, Ross Partington on lead vocals and Murray Wilkins on bass guitar.<ref name="McFarlaneC"/><ref name="Culnane"/> They played covers of The Beatles, Paul Butterfield, Motown and Vanilla Fudge material.<ref name="McFarlaneC"/> The group won the 1968 Perth heat of the national Hoadley's Battle of the Sounds and travelled to Melbourne for the final.<ref name="McFarlane"/> They also toured the eastern states before Hole returned to Perth late that year to continue his university studies.<ref name="McFarlane"/> He was replaced by Phil Manning (ex-Bay City Union, Laurie Allen Revue) on guitar and lead vocals – The Beat 'n Tracks evolved into Chain.<ref name="McFarlaneC"/><ref name="Culnane"/>

===1970s=== In 1972 Hole formed Dave Hole Blues Band with Upson and Al Kash on drums (ex-Blackfeather), the trio relocated to London and played in local pubs.<ref name="McFarlane"/> Hole returned to Perth in 1974, from that time for twenty years, he toured the Western Australian pub circuit with differing line-ups of Dave Hole Band.<ref name="McFarlane"/> By 1977 with Hole were Phil Bailey on bass guitar and Ian Ironside on drums. They provided two tracks, "Country Town" and "Still in Love with You", for a various artists compilation, ''The 6WF Rock Group Album'' which appeared in 1979.<ref name="McFarlane"/> Also that year Hole joined with Matt Taylor (ex-Bay City Union, Chain, Western Flyer) on lead vocals and harmonica to form Matt Taylor Band featuring Dave Hole, they were backed by Paul Pooley on bass guitar (Manteca) and Ric Whittle on drums (Fatty Lumpkin, Manteca).<ref name="McFarlane"/><ref name="McFarlaneMT"/> They toured Australia "playing some of the most electrifying blues rock ever heard in this country".<ref name="McFarlane"/><ref name="McFarlaneMT"/> By late 1980 the group dissolved without recording any material.<ref name="McFarlane"/><ref name="McFarlaneMT"/>

=== 1980–1990s === During the 1980s Dave Hole Band continued with various line-ups until 1988, when he established Short Fuse with John Wilson on bass guitar and Ronnie Parker on drums.<ref name="McFarlane"/> In 1990 they released an album, ''Short Fuse Blues'', which Hole had financed, produced, and recorded in three days. Bob Patient (ex-Matt Taylor's Chain) guested on keyboards and joined to tour in support of the work.<ref name="McFarlane"/> Rock music historian, Ian McFarlane, observed that it is "full of Hole's sinuous, hot-wired guitar work, which evoked the spirit of Elmore James and Blind Willie Johnson".<ref name="McFarlane"/> Hole sent a copy to United States magazine, ''Guitar Player'', its editor, Jas Obrecht, wrote an article in July 1991 praising Hole as the newest guitar wizard and comparing him with Stevie Ray Vaughan and Albert King.<ref name="Brennan"/><ref name="Obrecht"/> Soon a copy of the album was in the hands of Alligator Records president Bruce Iglauer who signed Hole up as the first non-US-based artist of their 26-year history.<ref name="Hutchens"/>

In November 1992 ''Guitar Player''{{'}}s critics, Art Thompson and Chris Gill, praised him – and fellow slide guitarists Sonny Landreth and Dave Tronzo – as "visionary" with a "distinctive technique" that "redefine[s] the art".<ref name="Thompson"/> While new fans were gained via radio play on more than 1000 stations. Reviews appeared in ''Guitar for the Practicing Musician'', ''Billboard'', ''Audio'', ''Spin'', ''Chicago Tribune'', ''The Denver Post'' and Associated Press. Hole signed a deal for the European market with Provogue Records, with albums and tours of the US and Europe helping increase his popularity further. Later tours of Europe have seen him headlining festival shows in Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, France and Switzerland with the Leverkusen Blues Festival in Germany televised nationally. He has also performed in Brazil, Sweden, Norway, Russia, Austria, Italy, Spain, Belgium and the UK. Two of his albums have appeared on ''Billboard'' Top Blues Albums chart, ''Steel on Steel'' (1995) peaked at No. 13 and ''Ticket to Chicago'' (1997) reached No. 15.<ref name="AMGAwards"/> In August 1997 Hole commenced his third tour of US blues festivals and displayed his "unique slide playing style which involves using his index finger rather than his pinkie".<ref name="Muret"/>

On 20 April 1999 he issued ''Under the Spell'', which won "Best Blues & Roots Album" at the ARIA Music Awards of that year.<ref name="ARIA1999"/><ref name="TallP1999"/> McFarlane noted that he "is the most acclaimed blues guitarist Australia has ever produced ... courtesy of his unorthodox slide guitar style, his rousing live shows and a series of hard-rocking, roadhouse blues albums ... yet it took two decades of slogging around the Australian touring circuit before the local industry sat up and took notice".<ref name="McFarlane"/> Although under-appreciated in Australia Hole was described by Robert Messenger in ''The Canberra Times'' as "a musical genius" and "in the US he is living blues legend".<ref name="Messenger"/>

===2000s=== In August 2004 Hole was interviewed by Brendan Hutchens for ABC's ''George Negus Tonight'' and recalled "It's very, very raw emotional music. And it communicates very strongly and it did to me. When I first heard blues, it bowled me over. And it's great. I love it. I love to be able to communicate with people through that, through the music".<ref name="Hutchens"/>

On 19 May 2007, Hole issued his tenth album, ''Rough Diamond'', which ''Sing Out!''{{'}}s Gary von Tersch compared with Muddy Waters and Duane Allman as "spirited" and showed "incendiary blues and rock slide guitar".<ref name="Tersch2"/> As well as releasing ten albums, Hole has continued to tour worldwide for six months each year, returning to his home in the Darling Scarp of Western Australia for the other six months.<ref name="Hutchens"/>

== Discography == ===Studio albums=== {| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" border="1" ! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:11em;"| Title ! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:17em;"| Details ! scope="col" colspan="1" | Peak chart positions |- ! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;" | AUS<br><ref name="AUS Charts">{{cite book|last=Ryan|first=Gavin|title=Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010|year=2011|publisher=Moonlight Publishing|location=Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia|edition=pdf|pages=131}}</ref> |- ! scope="row" | ''Outlines'' <br> (as Dave Hole Band) | * Released: 1980<ref name="NLA1"/> * Format: LP * Label: Dave Hole Band | — |- ! scope="row" | ''Short Fuse Blues'' | * Released: 1990<ref name="Obrecht2"/> * Format: LP, CD, cassette * Label: Black Cat Records (BCD 1001) | — |- ! scope="row" | ''The Plumber'' | * Released: 1992<ref name="Thompson2"/> * Format: CD, cassette * Label: Festival Records (D 30911) | 83 |- ! scope="row" | ''Working Overtime'' | * Released: 1993 * Format: CD, cassette * Label: Festival Records (D 31050) | — |- ! scope="row" | ''Steel on Steel'' | * Released: 1995 * Format: CD, cassette * Label: Festival Records (D 31383) | — |- ! scope="row" | ''Whole Lotta Blues'' | * Released: 1995 * Format: CD, cassette * Label: Festival Records (D 31383) | — |- ! scope="row" | ''Ticket to Chicago'' | * Released: February 1997 * Format: CD * Label: Festival Records (D 31745) | — |- ! scope="row" | ''Under the Spell'' | * Released: April 1999 * Format: CD * Label: Black Cat Records (BCD1006) | — |- ! scope="row" | ''Outside Looking In'' | * Released: June 2001 * Format: CD * Label: Black Cat Records | — |- ! scope="row" | ''Rough Diamond'' | * Released: 19 May 2007 * Format: CD * Label: Black Cat Records (BCD1009) | — |- ! scope="row" | ''Goin' Back Down'' | * Released: 15 June 2018 * Format: CD, download, streaming, LP * Label: Black Cat Records (BCD1010) | — |}

===Live albums=== {| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" border="1" ! Title ! Album details |- ! scope="row" | ''The Live One'' | * Released: 11 March 2003<ref name="Tersch"/> * Format: CD * Label: Black Cat Records (BCD1008) |}

===Compilation albums=== {| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" border="1" ! Title ! Album details |- ! scope="row" | ''Whole Lotta Blues'' | * Released: 1996 {{small|The Netherlands}} * Format: CD, cassette * Label: Provogue (PRD 70932) |}

==Awards== ===ARIA Music Awards=== The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music.

{{awards table}} |- | 1999 | ''Under the Spell'' | Best Blues & Roots Album | {{won}} |- {{end}}

===West Australian Music Industry Awards=== The West Australian Music Industry Awards are annual awards celebrating achievements for Western Australian music. They commenced in 1985. Hole was inducted into its Hall of Fame in 2005 after winning Most Popular Original Blues Act in 2001.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.apra.com.au/publications/APRAP_Au/APRAP_Au.asp|title=APRA AMCOS|website=Apra.com|access-date=11 July 2024}}</ref>

{{awards table}} |- | 2001 || Dave Hole || Most Popular Original Blues Act || {{won}} |- | 2005 || Dave Hole || Hall of Fame || {{yes2|inductee}} |- {{end}}

== References == {{Refbegin}} ;General * {{Cite encyclopedia | last = McFarlane | first = Ian | authorlink = Ian McFarlane | encyclopedia = Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop | title = Whammo Homepage | archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20040405231007/http://www.whammo.com.au/index.asp | url = http://www.whammo.com.au/index.asp | archivedate = 5 April 2004 | accessdate = 23 March 2013 | year = 1999 | publisher = Allen & Unwin | location = St Leonards, NSW | isbn = 1-86508-072-1 }} Note: Archived [on-line] copy has limited functionality. * [http://www.blindpigrecords.com/index.cfm?section=artists&artistid=80 BlindPig] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070817163258/http://www.blindpigrecords.com/index.cfm?section=artists&artistid=80 |date=17 August 2007 }} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20070409091956/http://bluesrockers.ws/davehole.html Blues Rockers] * {{cite news | title = Dave Hole – Interview with Blues Musician | work = Blues News | location = Perth, W.A. | volume = 4 | date = February–March 1994 | page = 3 }}

;Specific {{Refend}} {{Reflist|colwidth=30em|refs= <ref name="McFarlane">McFarlane, {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040806231656/http://www.whammo.com.au/encyclopedia.asp?articleid=910 |date=6 August 2004 |title='Dave Hole' entry }}. Archived from [http://www.whammo.com.au/encyclopedia.asp?articleid=910 the original] on 6 August 2004. Retrieved 23 March 2013.</ref>

<ref name="Brennan">{{cite web | url = {{AllMusic |class=artist |id=p30086 |pure_url=yes}} |title=Dave Hole – Music Biography | last = Brennan | first = Sandra | publisher = AllMusic | accessdate = 23 March 2013 }}</ref>

<ref name="Hutchens">{{cite web | url = http://www.abc.net.au/cgi-bin/common/printfriendly.pl?http://www.abc.net.au/gnt/people/Transcripts/s1179314.htm | title = Dave Hole | last1 = Hutchens | first1 = Brendan | last2 = Negus | first2 = George | authorlink2 = George Negus | work = George Negus Tonight | publisher = Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) | date = 17 August 2004 | accessdate = 24 March 2013 }}</ref>

<ref name="McFarlaneC">McFarlane, {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040823035341/http://www.whammo.com.au/encyclopedia.asp?articleid=182 |date=23 August 2004 |title='Chain' entry }}. Archived from [http://www.whammo.com.au/encyclopedia.asp?articleid=182 the original] on 23 August 2004. Retrieved 23 March 2013.</ref>

<ref name="Culnane">{{cite web | url = http://www.milesago.com/artists/chain.htm | title = Chain | last1 = Culnane | first1 = Paul | year = 2007 | last2 = Kimball | first2 = Duncan | publisher = Milesago: Australasian Music and Popular Culture 1964–1975. Ice Productions | accessdate = 23 March 2013 }}</ref>

<ref name="McFarlaneMT">McFarlane, {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040826130357/http://www.whammo.com.au/encyclopedia.asp?articleid=711 |date=26 August 2004 |title='Matt Taylor' entry }}. Archived from [http://www.whammo.com.au/encyclopedia.asp?articleid=711 the original] on 26 August 2004. Retrieved 23 March 2013.</ref>

<ref name="Obrecht">{{cite journal | last = Obrecht | first = Jas | title = Dave Hole: Deep Blues and Devastating Slide from Down Under (Profile) | journal = Guitar Player | date = 1 July 1991 | publisher = NewBay Media LLC | volume = 25 | issue = 7 | pages = 21–2 | issn = 0017-5463 }}</ref>

<ref name="Thompson">{{Citation | last1 = Thompson | first1 = Art | last2 = Gill | first2 = Chris | title = New Slide Visionaries – Landreth, Tronzo & Hole Redefine the Art (Guitarists Sonny Landreth, Dave Tronzo and Dave Hole) (Cover Story) | journal = Guitar Player | date = 1 November 1992 | publisher = NewBay Media LLC | volume = 26 | issue = 11 | pages = 88–91 | issn = 0017-5463 | quote = The three guitarists have distinctive techniques, so each plays slide differently. Each discusses his career, musical influences and bottleneck preferences}}.</ref>

<ref name="AMGAwards">{{cite web | url = {{AllMusic |class=artist |id=p30086/awards |pure_url=yes}} |title=Dave Hole – Awards | publisher = AllMusic | accessdate = 24 March 2013 }}</ref>

<ref name="Muret">{{cite magazine | last = Muret | first = Don | title = Guitarist Dave Hole Returns to U.S. for Third Tour of Blues Events | magazine = Amusement Business | date = 16 June 1997 | publisher = Nielsen Company. (Prometheus Global Media) | volume = 109 | issue = 24 | page = 31 | issn = 0003-2344 | quote = Australian slide guitarist Dave Hole will begin a US tour in Chicago, IL, on Aug 1, 1997. The blues musician will promote his fourth record marketed by Chicago-IL-based Alligator Records, 'Ticket to Chicago'. Hole has played professionally for approximately 30 years. He has a unique slide playing style which involves using his index finger rather than his pinkie}}.</ref>

<ref name="ARIA1999">{{cite web | url = http://www.ariaawards.com.au/history/year/1999 | title = ARIA Awards – History: Winners by Year 1999 | publisher = Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) | accessdate = 23 March 2013 }}</ref>

<ref name="TallP1999">{{cite web|url=http://alldownunder.com/oz-p/aria/1999-aria.htm |title=Australia 1999 ARIA Awards |publisher=ALLdownunder.com |accessdate=23 March 2013 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100917092844/http://alldownunder.com/oz-p/aria/1999-aria.htm |archivedate=17 September 2010 }}</ref>

<ref name="Messenger">{{cite news | title = Australians might not fully appreciate the musical genius of Dave Hole, but in the US he is a living blues legend, the man who made the 'wrong' way of playing the guitar sound so right | first = Robert | last = Messenger | work = Asia Africa Intelligence Wire. The Canberra Times | date = 17 May 2003 | publisher = Financial Times Ltd. Fairfax Media | url = http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/122148668 | accessdate = 24 March 2013 | quote = Australia is a world champion when it comes to singing the praises of its sporting world champions. It's pretty good, too, at claiming world-famous actors ... }}.</ref>

<ref name="Tersch2">{{cite journal | last = von Tersch | first = Gary | title = Dave Hole: ''Rough Diamond'' (Sound Recording Review) (Brief Article) | journal = Sing Out! | date = 22 September 2007 | publisher = Sing Out Corporation | volume = 51 | issue = 3 | pages = 126–127 | issn = 0037-5624 | quote = Following in the spirited footsteps of incendiary blues and rock slide guitar heroes such as Muddy Waters, Duane Allman and Mississippi Fred McDowell, ... }}.</ref>

<ref name="NLA1">{{Citation | last = Hole | first = Dave | title = Outlines '' [sound recording] / Dave Hole Band'' | date = 1980 | publisher = D. Hole. National Library of Australia | url=http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/157568389 | accessdate=24 March 2013 }}</ref>

<ref name="Obrecht2">{{cite journal | last = Obrecht | first = Jas | title = ''Short Fuse Blues'' | journal = Guitar Player | date = 1 April 1991 | publisher = NewBay Media LLC | volume = 25 | issue = 4 | page = 122 | issn = 0017-5463 }}</ref>

<ref name="Thompson2">{{cite journal | last = Thompson | first = Art | title = ''The Plumber'' | journal = Guitar Player | date = 1 December 1993 | publisher = NewBay Media LLC | volume = 27 | issue = 12 | pages = 110–111 | issn = 0017-5463 | quote = Just when you got used to the stakes raised by Hole's highly acclaimed debut, ''Short Fuse Blues'', the Aussie bottlenecker twists the throttle and shows he isn't going to be any easier to catch th ... }}.</ref>

<ref name="Tersch">{{cite journal | last = von Tersch | first = Gary | title = Dave Hole: ''The Live One'' (Sound Recording Review) | journal = Sing Out! | date = 22 June 2003 | publisher = Sing Out Corporation | volume = 47 | issue = 2 | page = 122 | issn = 0037-5624 | quote = Australian slide guitar hero, Dave Hole has finally released an 'in concert' album. Since signing with Alligator records in 1992 (their sole overseas act), he's wowed critics ... }}.</ref>

}}

== External links == * {{Official website|http://www.davehole.com/}} * [http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/167539397?q=%22Dave+Hole%22&c=picture Pictures]: "Poster advertising performance by Dave Hole at The Continental Café, Prahran, Victoria" [http://digital.slv.vic.gov.au/view/action/nmets.do?DOCCHOICE=1053577.xml&dvs=1364081900466~148&locale=en_GB&search_terms=&adjacency=&divType=&usePid1=true&usePid2=true 1997]{{Dead link|date=August 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, [http://digital.slv.vic.gov.au/view/action/nmets.do?DOCCHOICE=1103777.xml&dvs=1364081983192~188&locale=en_GB&search_terms=&adjacency=&divType=&usePid1=true&usePid2=true 1999]{{Dead link|date=January 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, both held at State Library of Victoria, accessed 24 March 2013.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hole, Dave}} Category:1948 births Category:Living people Category:ARIA Award winners Category:Australian blues guitarists Category:Australian male guitarists Category:Australian blues rock musicians Category:Electric blues musicians Category:Australian slide guitarists Category:Musicians from Perth, Western Australia Category:English emigrants to Australia Category:People from Heswall Category:Provogue Records artists