The Dave Howard Singers

The Dave Howard Singers
OriginToronto, Ontario, Canada
GenresAlternative rock, indie rock
Years active1981–1992, 2007-present
MembersDave Howard
Past membersPat Aherne
Martin Heath
Nick Smash
Bernadette Keeffe
Simon Walker
T. Daniel Howard
Christian Hayes
Kev Hopper
Bevin Burke
Anand Gary "Subs" Subassa
"Max"
"Wendy"
"Sarah"

The Dave Howard Singers is a cult Canadian alternative rock band/project originally formed in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The project is based around the talents of singer-songwriter Dave Howard (the only consistent member) and the signature sound of his Ace Tone organ. During the second half of the 1980s, the band were resident in (and drew many members from) Britain, where they were a cult act making several appearances on nationwide television.

Howard's work is noted for its mixture of eccentric humour and sincerity, and its persistent attempts to marry extremely disparate and clashing elements of light popular music (lounge-pop tunes, crooner vocals) and industrial/electronic avant-garde music (rapid electronic rhythms, noise, screaming). Howard’s vigorous stagecraft and highly emotional performance style has led him to be described as a "surreal revolutionary", "a vaudeville entertainer for the post-apocalyptic age" and "damned irresponsible and depraved". His songs have been described as "evoking a singular world both comforting and cruel." Howard himself has admitted “I've always had a passion for exploring extreme emotions, especially in my work. Extremely deranged, delighted, demented, deluded, you name it.”