David McAlmont (born 2 May 1967 in Croydon, England) is an English vocalist noted for his high vocal range.

Life and early career

He was born to a Guyanese State Registered Nurse mother and a Nigerian Law Student father. He lived in Wales in the early 1970s and then Gorleston-on-Sea, Norfolk before the family moved to Guyana in 1978.

David remained in South America for nine years, during which time his talents and his three-and-a-half-octave vocal range was honed in the choir of the local Pentecostal Church.

In 1987, back in Croydon, David earned a living doing several jobs, which included working for an insurance company.

He met his first musical collaborator by answering an advertisement in the Melody Maker and forming the duo 'Thieves' with Saul Freeman, basing the name on a single by Prince.

The group’s first single was called "Through The Door" and was released in December of 1992. It attracted critical acclaim and Melody Maker made it single of the week. Then followed their second, most successful, and final single "Unworthy". The pair split just as they had finished work on their debut album. With all the tracks completed, and David's voice on all of them, the album was eventually released under the name McAlmont in 1994.

Success

David began a solo career, which included providing support for Morrissey on tour, until he was approached by ex-Suede guitarist Bernard Butler. The collaboration produced The Sound of McAlmont and Butler, an album of songs, including the anthemic and defiant "Yes" (1995) which reached number 8 in the UK singles chart.

McAlmont and Butler did not tour and made only two public performances; one small show at the Hanover Grand and one appearance on BBC television's Top of the Pops. They also performed "Yes" on the BBC TV show 'Later with Jools Holland'. Another single, "You Do", was released later that year, and peaked at number 17. Shortly after David and Bernard went their separate ways in an acrimonious split, which was the subject of much music press coverage and speculation.

David McAlmont performing in London, December 2002

The producer David Arnold then worked with him on a version of "Diamonds Are Forever", for which David appeared in a high-camp video, dressed in a white cat-suit trimmed with fur and feathers. They went on to work together on David McAlmont’s first true solo album A Little Communication (1998).

In the years that followed David worked occasionally with Ultramarine and Craig Armstrong, and prepared his second solo album Be. Although hailed by The Guardian as "Britain's first Zen Pop album" it was shelved by his record company, Hut, which also chose to drop David from its artist roster. Although the album has yet to be released, some demo discs occasionally change hands at premium prices.

In 2001 Bernard Butler found himself writing songs that suggested the voice of David McAlmont, so he eventually plucked up the courage to call him. They got back together, were signed by EMI and created the album Bring It Back (2002) which spawned two single releases, "Falling" and "Bring it Back". This time they were more conventional in their approach to the music business, and took part in interviews, and completed a series of public performances throughout 2002.

Present and future

The duo were working during 2003 to record a follow-up album, and even showcased some tunes at low key appearances in North London. Bernard Butler was then approached by his former Suede songwriting partner Brett Anderson to reform under the name The Tears. As a result, the McAlmont and Butler project was put on hold.

As of 2004 David has chosen to spend the next 3 years creating and performing a series of 49 classics, simply called The Sets. Beginning with Set One, "You Go To My Head" was released in June 2005 on David's own record label, Canice. A wider release followed towards the end of the year.

External links

• Official website