Dave Sharp

Dave Sharp drew his earliest creative drive from punk rock’s boisterous intensity and U2’s ardent intensity, beginning his professional path by playing guitar in the Alarm. He helped establish the band in 1981 alongside Mike Peters on vocals and guitar, Eddie MacDonald on bass, and Nigel Twist on drums. Throughout the 1980s the Alarm ranked among college radio’s leading acts, issuing a string of alternative hits such as “The Stand,” “68 Guns,” “Absolute Reality,” “Strength,” and “Rain in the Summertime.” Although “Rain in the Summertime” crossed over to mainstream stations in 1988, widespread commercial breakthrough remained out of reach. Following the group’s dissolution in the early 1990s, Sharp relocated to New York, where he encountered the New Jersey rockabilly group the Barnstormers; together they recorded his debut solo effort, Hard Travellin’, issued in 1991. Bob Johnson, whose prior credits included Bob Dylan’s Blonde on Blonde, John Wesley Harding, and Nashville Skyline, produced the album, steering Sharp away from the Alarm’s soaring, U2-styled anthems toward roots rock and folk. Critics praised Hard Travellin’, frequently likening its creator to Dylan. Between 1991 and 1993 Sharp toured extensively across the United States before delivering his follow-up album, Downtown America, in 1995.