Damien "Damo" Lovelock (born 1954, Amersham UK) was an Australian musician, sports broadcaster and writer. Lovelock had fronted the hard rock band, The Celibate Rifles, since 1980 as their lead singer-songwriter. The band released nine studio albums. In 1988, Lovelock released his debut solo album, 'It's A Wig Wig Wig Wig World', on which he even abandoned the hard rocking sound to include a version of the gentler "Chilly Winds" that Bill Lovelock had written originally for Nina Simone. In 1990, Lovelock released the single, "Disco Inferno", and in 1991 the album 'Fishgrass', as well as the single "The Dalai Lama". The last of these was written as a result of his raising money for Tibetan refugees and led to Lovelock's meeting with the Dalai Lama on his visit to Australia in 1992. According to the singer, he suggested to His Holiness then "that one way of garnering great support for Tibet in their struggle for recognition on the world stage and to get a little of their share of human rights and (dare we say it) land back from their Chinese landlords, was to get a Tibetan soccer team to play in the World Cup".
The studio band recruited for these solo recordings was made up of musicians from several bands' Among them the bassist Rick Grossman was included for a special reason. Sympathising with Grossman from having gone the same journey as himself many years before, Lovelock supported and encouraged him while he was recovering from addiction to drink and drugs. An earlier Lovelock recording came about during his relationship with the surfer Pam Burridge. In 1984 they appeared together on the single "Summer Time All Round The World" under the name Pam and the Pashions. It was from her international activities too that Lovelock got the idea to take The Celibate Rifles on tour abroad. The first of their visits to the US was in 1986 in the wake of a slump in public interest in the band at home. On a later occasion Lovelock got caught up in an armed bank raid in the Netherlands while on a European tour. Shot in the hand by a stray bullet, he still went onstage for that evening's performance. Lovelock died of cancer in 2019.
The studio band recruited for these solo recordings was made up of musicians from several bands' Among them the bassist Rick Grossman was included for a special reason. Sympathising with Grossman from having gone the same journey as himself many years before, Lovelock supported and encouraged him while he was recovering from addiction to drink and drugs. An earlier Lovelock recording came about during his relationship with the surfer Pam Burridge. In 1984 they appeared together on the single "Summer Time All Round The World" under the name Pam and the Pashions. It was from her international activities too that Lovelock got the idea to take The Celibate Rifles on tour abroad. The first of their visits to the US was in 1986 in the wake of a slump in public interest in the band at home. On a later occasion Lovelock got caught up in an armed bank raid in the Netherlands while on a European tour. Shot in the hand by a stray bullet, he still went onstage for that evening's performance. Lovelock died of cancer in 2019.
References
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damien_Lovelock
In 2019, Jello Biafra fronted the Celebate Rifles, in a wake of sorts, for Lovelock. Yes, my life partner & I discovered that gig after it happened & missed & were not happy about that. In a sentiment shared by many, cancer itself, needs to die ! Power in peace to Lovelock !
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