David Richard Parsons was born July 2, 1966 (though I've also heard 1965, 1964 & 1962 - getting younger are we, hmm?) in Hillingdon, West London. Dave grew up with his mother, Annie Gration, and his four siblings, Ralph (older brother), Trudi (older sister), Fleur (younger sister), and Rosie (younger sister.) Dave surprisingly doesn't like ice cream, and his favorite color is blue. He likes to play football (soccer), hike and climb in his spare time. Dave used to be an clerk in a clothes shop, but since then has gone on to play bass for two of the biggest bands to hit planet Earth.

"Some friends of mine, when I was still in school, had a band and they were losing their bass player," Dave Parsons recalls about his initial foray into the world of music, "And I wanted to play in a band, and I said 'I'll do it. I'll do it.' And I never really played in one before, but I was so enthusiastic, that they gave me the part and I had to pick the bass up and I learned it from there."

Dave had a knack for playing bass, and became a member of quite a few bands over the ensuing years. Among the bands he played with was Midnight, The Beautiful People, King's Blank, the Partisans, and Dig, Dig, Dig. Dave has noted that some of his biggest musical influences over the years have been David Bowie, Iggy Pop, Sex Pistols, The Clash, and Bob Marley.

There is a rumor called the Graffiti Myth that was circulated in the publications of the time, that still perpetuate on many Internet fan sites today. The rumors suggest that Dave Parsons and Tex Axile were graffiti artists when they were stumbled upon by Wendy James and Nick Sayer. Wendy and Nick were looking to put a band together and needed a drummer and a bass player. Dave and Tex volunteered, and magically the two heretofore non-musicians learned to play instruments in the soon to be tidal wave band. Of course, that's not what happened, but the band loved to smirk and let the tale go around as it would. Not that they haven't done graffiti, but that was AFTER they became Transvision Vamp.

Dave actually joined Transvision Vamp after Wendy and Nick had moved to London and had signed a record deal with MCA in the winter of 1986. Dave met up with the two between a pub he frequented and the flat Wendy and Nick were recording in. Turns out Tex lived next door, and when he investigatingly found out they were in need of a keyboardist and drummer, Tex signed up as well. Thus the core members of Transvision Vamp were formed.

Two months after forming Transvision Vamp, the band did "Revolution Baby", followed by the video, and then concentrated on being a successful live band. By 1988 and 1989, Transvision Vamp was on top of the punk/pop/rock world with huge hits including "I Want Your Love", "Baby I Don't Care", and no less than nine other charting songs. They were #1 in the UK and Europe, they were phenomenally huge in Australia and Japan. Transvision Vamp toured the world, and filled stadiums of up to 50,000 screaming fans.

1991 brought Transvision Vamp's third album. It was intelligent, showed new growth and direction from the band, and was to be their triumphant entry into the American market. Sadly, it was ill received by the British press, who by then had enough of Wendy fame and confidence. The first singles failed. MCA announced they would not release the album in the Vamp's home country of England. In America, the shining hope of conquering new shores, listeners turned their ears to a new sound from the Northwest as Grunge swept the nation, and Transvision Vamp's days were numbered.

Dave Parsons, however, was a musician, and he would once again rise to the top of the bass playing world. In 1992, singer Gavin Rossdale and guitarist Nigel Pulsford had hooked up, and in a strange Vamp deja vu, soon added drummer Robin Goodridge and good ol' Dave on bass to the lineup.

"We held some of the strangest jobs in the world while we waited for the band to break," recalls Dave. "We painted houses, worked in a take-out sushi restaurant, and were short order cooks. Believe it when I tell you that being in a successful band is a lot more fun than any of that!"

Bush had little success in England, but were perfectly timed for the alternative rock scene in America that had been born out of Grunge's success. Bush signed with an American label, and had an momentum gaining smash record in 1994 and 1995 with "Sixteen Stone." Bush has sold over 30 million albums since 1994, including follow-ups "Razorblade Suitcase", "Deconstructed", and "The Science Of Things". Dave has toured the world with Bush, which has been tremendously well received, and has had an immense impact on the music scene.

Bush and Dave still continue into the new millennium. On June 9, 2000, Dave Parsons and his girlfriend Sarah Chope gave birth to a healthy baby girl named Eden. On October 23, 2001, Bush will be releasing a new album titled "Golden State."

The huge success of Bush with songs like "Comedown", "Everything Zen", "The Chemicals Between Us", "Machinehead", and on and on make reforming Transvision Vamp in the foreseeable future a doubtful event. No matter, we wish Dave all the best, and love Bush as well! As Dave said, "You do the best you can...and when people like it, it's really great. It's like the best compliment you can get."

More Dave Quotes:

"In some ways I feel a sense of guilt, because every dollar I've got is that many times more than what my friends have."

"I'm not loud enough."

"The sad thing about music, is that sometimes it's more about fashion and what's fashionable rather than what's good to listen to."

(About live performances)
"I always thought we play too loud, but actually I think the audience is too loud. They deafen you before you deafen yourself."

(When asked if there was anything "fun" on The Science Of Things)

"My dog is on 'Altered States'. He barks, in time, on an offbeat. He was in the studio when I was singing and someone must have come in, so he barked, and he barked in time 'cause he's so cool."

(When asked about taking time off during touring)
"We can afford to be slower than we used to be. We can afford to say, 'Okay, I'd like two weeks off in Jamaica, please'."

(When asked about producers and engineers)
"I think after 3 albums, the songs have got better and we've got better at arranging them, and we've got better at getting the sounds we want, so we need less and less assistance."