Dave Townsend
Dave Townsend is a British songwriter, lyricist, and singer, and was born in Somerset, in South West England. Aside from a solo career, he was also a vocalist for The Alan Parsons Project, singing lead vocals on "Don't Let It Show" on the album, I Robot (1977), and "You Won't Be There" from Eve (1979). Townsend was the singer for the Taunton band Phoenix Press before going solo.
Dave Townsend
- Born
- 1954
- Nationality
- United Kingdom
- Occupation
- composer
- Languages
- English
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
VALÉORINE documentary reading
Documentary summary
Dave Townsend is a British songwriter, lyricist, and singer, and was born in Somerset, in South West England. Aside from a solo career, he was also a vocalist for The Alan Parsons Project, singing lead vocals on "Don't Let It Show" on the album, I Robot (1977), and "You Won't Be There" from Eve (1979). Townsend was the singer for the Taunton band Phoenix Press before going solo.
Admitted source layer · organised and presented by VALÉORINE
Reference Check
Propose documentary evidence for Dave Townsend. A contribution is never written directly as fact: identity, source, rights and evidence gates still decide.
Sign in to contribute
World of VALÉORINE
Documentary connections
Only confirmed graph relationships appear here. Images are shown only when their identity and reuse rights both pass the documentary gate.
Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q5230011 · wikipedia · Dave Townsend
In this article
Biography
He wrote the song "Miss You Nights" in 1974 while his girlfriend was away on holiday, and recorded it on an album for Island Records, but the label shelved the album and offered the songs to other artists as covers. Cliff Richard recorded it in September 1975, and Townsend (as the composer) was nominated for an Ivor Novello Award in 1977 for "Best Middle of the Road Song," although the winner was John Miles for "Music.", a fellow vocalist with The Alan Parsons Project. His debut album, Making Up the Numbers, was produced by Robin Geoffrey Cable and released on the Mercury label in September 1978, under the name David Townsend. A single, "When I Kiss You," backed with "High Endeavours," was released on 23 June 1978. The label promoted Townsend to record shops in Music Week as "an imaginative composer, an inventive lyricist and a stylish singer," telling proprietors that they were "going to hear a lot of requests for the album from your customers, so stock up now." As a songwriter, he most notably wrote tracks for: • Cliff Richard – "Miss You Nights" • Jimmy Ruffin – "That's When My Loving Begins" • Elaine Paige – "Far Side of the Bay" Townsend formed his own music publishing company, Cappy Rat Music. Lyrics for many of his songs are on his official website.
The recorded working language is English.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Back cover (liner notes) for 45rpm single, "When I Kiss You," Mercury 6008 103, 1978; accessed 18 November 2016.
- 2."Mystery of the miss-ing muse: Sir Cliff Richard springs a surprise on the former Taunton composer of his classic 'Miss You Nights' hit on local radio shortly," Somerset County Gazette, 21 September 2001; accessed 4 April 2023.
- 3.TheIvors.com. The Ivors 1977.
- 4.45cat.com. David Townsend - When I Kiss You.
- 5.PicClick UK. DAVID TOWNSEND MAKING UP THE NUMBERS 1978 Music Week Advert like poster flyer.
- 6.Encyclopaedia Projectologia. Dave Townsend.
- 7."Britten's faith in Dave Townsend," Music Week, 11 March 1978): 35; accessed 4 April 2023.
- 8.Dave Townsend. Dave-townsend.com.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 02 September 2026.
Elsewhere in Music memorabilia
42,866 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Dave SwarbrickPerson
- Dave TarrasPerson
- Dave TaylorPerson
- Dave ToughPerson
- Dave ValentinPerson
- Dave Van RonkPerson
- Dave WecklPerson
- Dave WeinerPerson
Best supported in this field
For owners
Own a work by Dave Townsend?
A specialist will read what you send and tell you what the house can establish, what it cannot, and whether the object is suited to sale. There is no charge and no obligation. The object stays with you throughout; nothing is shipped to us unless it is arranged in writing beforehand.