Slade drummer Don Powell releases his debut album, backed by all-star line-up of Nordic hitmakers, The Dreamers
A founding member of the English iconic rock band Slade, Don Powell has a background in the business of making hit records. This year, he returns with his band The Dreamers for their debut album – part blues, part rockabilly, but all defiance and gusto – It’s Never Too Late to be a Rockstar.
Having dominated the UK singles charts during the 1970s with Slade, often outperforming chart rivals such as Wizzard, T. Rex, Suzi Quatro, Roxy Music, and even David Bowie, Don achieved twelve Top 5 hit singles in the UK, three of which went straight to #1. Now decades after the success of his career in glam rock and still enjoying a life of making music and regular live shows, Don is back with the new project and hoping to experience even more success!
The Dreamers are a newly-assembled outfit of Norwegian and Danish musicians, Helge Solberg, Knud Moller, Henrik Littauer and Erik Ove Anderson (in Scandinavia known as Curly Erik). They are the latest in an impressive string of Don Powell’s collaborators including Ringo Starr and Suzi Quatro. Powell opts for an old-school show of musicality, with the five-piece documenting their sound live in the studio.
The album title is inspired by the slogan of an urban mission house in the world’s northernmost university city, Tromsø in Norway, where it promotes an encouraging worldview among the mission’s socially exposed users.
“We like the message. We’re really just a bunch of old lads doing what we like, and it’s inspiring to feel, that even at our age there is no lack of energy in our musical output, and to see that people actually have a great taste for it. So I guess it is never too late to be a rock star,” says the ever-humorous Don Powell.
Never mind the name, the band members are no strangers to the big stages. Taken to together the members of Don & The Dreamers appear on more than 1000 different albums, EP’s and singles.
True to their background, most tracks on the upcoming album are played ‘out of the box’ with only a few added features such as gospel singers, saxophones, harmonica, as well as organ by the true rock legend Mick Gallagher (Animals, Clash, Blockheads).
Homage is paid to The Animals, with a cover of ‘Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood’ kicking off the record, and Don harks back to the Slade days with a refreshed arrangement of ‘Far Far Away’, first released in 1974. The band’s legacy is alive and well: Don proves on this record that his zest for their brand of uplifting rock music is about as likely to disappear as Slade’s presence in the end-of-year charts.
ABOUT DON & THE DREAMERS
A band formed of hugely successful musicians in their own right, Don & The Dreamers: Curly Erik (vocals), Don Powell (Drums), Henrik Littauer (Piano), Knud Møller (Guitar) and Helge Solberg (Bass) appear on more than 1000 records combined. Now making the rock & roll music that they love to listen to, the group are continuing their passion, less concerned with commercial success and just enjoying their craft.
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