Talk:Dave Greenfield

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Untitled[edit]

This is a bit of a disappointing entry for Dave Greenfield. He probably did for keyboard playing what the early cheap fender guitars did for rock music i.e make it more accessible. At the time when stadium rock bands were using hamond organs and expensive banks of synthesisers he was using very cheap (I know because I bought one so the band I played in could cover no more heroes) keyboards like the hohner pianette but making it sound huge by using his distinctive arpeggio style that characterised the stranglers (eg duchess, no more heroes, strange little girl). That was contrasted with his almost ambient but effective use of simple chord sequences when other less adept musicians would have been piling on the sound - a great exmaple of this is "hanging around" where the simple keyboard layers are juxstaposed brilliantly with the guitar riffs,Ericmakesthree 12:32, 29 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I would agree with most of what you say. However, the trick is finding evidence to support these statements; and thus include the relevant facts into the article ie. [citation needed]. Good luck !
Derek R Bullamore 17:52, 29 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Del boy, thanks for the encouragement - will do Ericmakesthree 11:55, 8 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I should state that I regard Dave Greenfield as probably the most distinctive keyboard player ever but the reasons he has never achieved the plaudits he deserves are two-fold in my opinion. Firstly, he had very little main writing input into the songs (with the honourable exception of Golden Brown) and secondly, he is such a quiet retiring man he is almost an anachronism in a band renowned for their outrageous views and behaviour. It is extremely rare to find an interview with him and even more unusual to actually hear him speak on television or radio. He does however do a rather funny turn on the free single that came with "Feline" called "Aural Sculpture" where he reads out the specifications of an Oberheim synthesizer in a very fast garbled style in between Cornwells tongue in cheek pomposity. I have added this detail to his main page.
(Whistlekiller 09:47, 20 May 2007 (UTC))[reply]

"Peasant in the Big Shitty"[edit]

I've changed this from Rattus Norvegicus to No More Heroes. Although I understand it was probably recorded in the Rattus sessions and is subsequently included in the newer CD releases as a bonus track, it was first released on Heroes (I think! Feel free to correct me...) Chris 16:54, 5 July 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I have the original vinyl version of No More Heroes, (it shows my age, I think) and you are quite correct. As the main article states, Greenfield sang lead vocals on this track.
Derek R Bullamore 17:52, 29 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Derek, you are correct, Peasant was originally on No More Heroes but was recorded at the Rattus sessions as were many of the songs on Heroes. According to Hugh Cornwell's book, Stranglers Song by Song, Greenfield was usually brought in to sing the lead vocals when the parts played by Cornwell and Burnell made vocal duties too difficult. I think that if you listen to the songs in question this statement is definitely born out - especially Genetix.
(Whistlekiller 09:47, 20 May 2007 (UTC))[reply]
A live version of "Peasant in the Big Shitty" was first released as the B-side to "Choosy Suzy", the Free Single that came with Rattus. I believe the version on Heroes was rerecorded for that album. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.161.142.165 (talk) 07:41, 10 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Keyboard[edit]

Why does Wikipedia cite Dave's Hohner keyboard (in his original keyboard rig setup) as a Hohner Cembalet, it was infact a Hohner Clavinet D6, which can be seen in the Sweden video. Tried editing this but gets reverted back to the cembelet. As such, this open source material (apparently) with it's incorrections gets copied & pasted around the world. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 59.37.30.109 (talk) 16:24, 26 April 2013 (UTC)[reply]

It was actually a Hohner Cembalet. The Clavinet sounds like a harpsichord, Cembalet is the sound on I'm a Believer by the Monkees and all the Stranglers records up to the Raven, when Dave's was stolen. It was then replaced with a Yamaha CP-30 , later IMP Dynamic Piano, and then the PPG.

The video you are looking at has them miming along to a recording. There are videos of him behind a Rhodes and Clavinet, though neither made it onto any recordings. More Likely for these mime along videos they just used what was at the TV Studio, rather than drag the whole keyboard rig to the taping.

Around MENINBLACK he also used two EDP Wasps a Gnat Sequencer, and an Oberheim OB-1, along with the regular keyboards. ````


The KORG VC10 only appears on Dreamtime, the meninblack voices were done with an Eventide 910 Harmonizer, NOT the Vocoder. A Vocoder has a way different sound than a Harmonizer. The "Awww" blasts in the bridge of "Always the Sun" are the Korg Vocoder. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2604:2000:1000:71:3065:6399:FE6B:B715 (talk) 07:37, 13 August 2020 (UTC)[reply]

& before the keyboardy folks start adding the yamaha cs-1x into the list, take a close look at how they're cabled up in that infobox pic from paris; all three are wired as controllers, with no audio cables coming from any of them. the middle one has a pedal plugged in too. would love to know what he was controlling.

duncanrmi (talk) 16:35, 30 May 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Playgroup[edit]

I read that Dave played a few sessions with Playgroup, but there isn't much record of it. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 50.12.11.152 (talk) 20:33, 21 April 2015 (UTC)[reply]

The Windmill Pub - citation needed[edit]

Dave Greenfield definitely ran the Windmill Pub in Somersham with his wife (?), and he also still lives in Somersham. Reference. I used to go in the Windmill pub and have occasional chatted to him in there. After his tenure at the Windmill he also performed behind the Black Bull Pub in Somersham with the Stranglers. Cannot remember the date though. The Black Bull is now a Tesco Extra. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 217.36.46.35 (talk) 12:16, 12 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]

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Korg VC-10[edit]

On the songs the article mentions there is Korg VC-10 Vocoder, there is none. IT was used to a vocal shot on the middle 8 of Always the Sun. The Meninblack voices were done with an Eventide Harmonizer at Front of House live, and in the studio. Is there a source that mistakenly said the Korg was used on this? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2604:2000:1000:71:C42D:3F3F:5ED4:B80 (talk) 19:54, 4 May 2020 (UTC)[reply]


the citation is a self-proclaimed synth expert who's written extensively but with many second-hand sources rather than interviews or studio visits. I had a vc-10 myself, & don't believe that even with third-party enhancements it would've made the noises we hear on the recordings mentioned. can you cite the eventide somehow? where did you see it & in what context, & can you find evidence that meets wp criteria?

duncanrmi (talk) 16:40, 30 May 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Austism[edit]

The article says: "He was a musical perfectionist and could be awkward in social situations; observations consistent with his diagnosis, never made public during his lifetime, as a very high-functioning autistic."

The single source, Dave Simpson in The Guardian, says this:

""We always knew Dave was special, but we didn't realise how special," smiles Burnel... "They’ve got a name for it now. Very high-functioning autistic."
This condition – undiagnosed for years and never made public – left Greenfield endearingly awkward in social situations."

Does "undiagnosed for years" mean it was officially diagnosed at some unknown date? Or that it was never diagnosed, and is just Burnel's best guess? The source doesn't look very compelling. The wording in the article might need to be adjusted slightly? And maybe the Category:Musicians with autism reconsidered? Martinevans123 (talk) 18:49, 29 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

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