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‘NEW DAWN RISING’
NOW AVAILABLE ON VINYL!

And on streaming channels too!

Check out the Dawn After Dark ‘NEW DAWN RISING’ album sampler

Dawn After Dark’s magnificent debut album, ‘New Dawn Rising’ is out now on Chapter 22 Records. Check out the press reaction here (link to press area) You can order ‘New Dawn Rising’ at https://chapter22records.bigcartel.com/

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Store

Buy your Dawn After Dark merchandise here!

What we are
What We Are. From Dawn After Dark

  • 176 Page Full Colour Hardback A5 Book With Uv Varnished Cover
  • 36 Years In The Making!
  • Features 100s Of Exclusive Photos And Memorabilia From The Band And Fans.
  • 20,000 Word Exclusive Essay Written By H!
  • Special Thanks Section For All Fans Who ‘Liked’ The Original Facebook Announcement

Orange Hoodie
Crystal High Shop Poster

  • Poster/Print
  • Re-print of the original 1988 promotional shop poster for the Crystal High EP.
  • 30cm x 53cm
  • Ships out within 3 days
  • Edition of 50

Take Me Higher T-Shirt
Take Me Higher T-Shirt

  • T-Shirt/Apparel
  • Take Me Higher T-Shirt main photo
  • Available in Black & Red.
  • Printed on Gildan Heavy
  • ships out within 3 days

Revived Hard 'n Groovin T-Shirt
Orange Hoodie

  • T-Shirt/Apparel
  • Available for the first time ever, Dawn After Dark Hoodies. Limited stock left.
  • ships out within 3 days

Revived Hard 'n Groovin T-Shirt
Revived Hard 'n Groovin T-Shirt

  • T-Shirt/Apparel

Revived Hard 'n Groovin T-Shirt
Maximum Overdrive T-Shirt

  • T-Shirt/Apparel
  • Upgraded version of the 1989 classic tee.
  • Features the famous eagle front print and iconic ‘Birmingham England’ back print.
  • Ships out in three days or less.

Badge, keyring & sticker pack
Badge, keyring & sticker pack

pack contains:

  • x 1 sticker
  • x 1 badge (plastic)
  • x 1 keyring
  • ships out within 3 days

Due to the UK's departure from the European Union we sadly do not have any transparency with regard to customs and excise tariffs for products we are offering when they are shipped to Europe. If you order from outside of the UK there is a possibility that you will be liable for additional customs and tax charges. Unfortunately these need to be at the purchaser's risk. We didn't vote for Brexit!

DAWN AFTER DARK BIOGRAPHY

Dawn After Dark are back. The Birmingham band that made a massive noise in the ’80s with three EPs on the much-admired Chapter 22 label has finally returned with a new album, ‘New Dawn Rising’, and a sound that’s bigger and better than ever.

Between 1986 and 1989 the band toured all over the UK, playing many headline shows, as well as touring with Balaam And The Angel, Wolfsbane, Living Colour, and Fields Of The Nephilim. Dawn After Dark were recognised as one of the UK’s best live bands, but internal combustion saw the group implode in 1991.

Fast forward to 2019, and out of the blue a promoter called. Balaam And The Angel were playing a Birmingham show. Would DAD be interested in appearing? On 27 September 2019 Dawn After Dark appeared live on stage for the first time in almost three decades.

“It was incredible,” says drummer Tony Henderson. “There were people all over Birmingham wearing Dawn After Dark T-shirts. Amazing.”

Dean Brown, owner of Chapter 22, the label that first signed Dawn After Dark all those years ago, immediately asked the band to re-sign and “come back home.” It wasn’t a hard decision…

In October of 2021, Dawn After Dark released their first new music in 32 long years to all good streaming platforms. The single, ‘Maximum Overdrive’ – which the band has kept as a free download giveaway at their website, www.thedawners.com – was accompanied by a stunning video from director Oliver Fowler. The original version of ‘Maximum Overdrive’ was produced by AC/DC guitarist Stevie Young back in ’89.

A second single and video, ‘Nothing Can Fulfil Me (Without Your Love)’, was released in November. The band’s debut album ‘New Dawn Rising’, more than 35 years in the making and produced by Andy Taylor, was released in December of 2021. Featuring 11 superb Dawners cuts, this classic-yet-original rock album received fantastic press reviews. Classic Rock’s John Aizlewood decided that “these are big, heroic songs for timid times,” while Vive Le Rock editor Eugene Butcher stated that “Dawn After Dark have given us a huge slab of rock, full of big hooks and soaring guitars. It’s the dawn of a new age.”

With COVID restrictions having seen numerous gigs cancelled in 2021, Dawn After Dark are determined that 2022 will see the band performing live, thrilling old fans as they always have, and winning over many new supporters.

Down After Dark
Howard

Howard ‘H’
Johnson

Vocals

Ollie

Ollie
 

Lead guitar

russ

Russ
Frame

Rhythm guitar, acoustic guitar, backing vocals

Drew

Drew
Gallon

Bass

tony

Tony
Henderson

Drums, backing vocals

HOWARD ‘H’ JOHNSON – VOCALS

Howard ‘H’ Johnson was already an established and respected music journalist for Kerrang! magazine when he first joined together with guitarist Rich Bardsley and bassist Dave Askey to form Dawn After Dark back in 1986. With Tony Henderson installed on drums and George Craig on lead guitar, ‘H’ fronted Dawn After Dark through the recording of three much-loved ‘80s EPs and countless bouts of touring, before the inevitable ‘personal differences’ led to him being ousted from the band at the start of 1990. Almost 30 years later H and Tony put together a new Dawn After Dark line-up to perform with close friends Balaam And The Angel in the group’s old stomping ground of Birmingham, and the audience reaction was so overwhelming that H felt the band simply had to carry on. “Our fans hadn’t forgotten about us after 30 years, so we knew there was unfinished business,” he says. “There were so many awesome DAD songs that were never recorded, so making a debut album after more than three decades seemed like the natural thing to do!” He points to ‘Maximum Overdrive’ as proof positive that the band has never sounded better and can’t wait for December, when the debut Dawn After Dark album will be released and the band will also be on the road taking it to the people.

OLLIE – LEAD GUITAR

Ollie – yes, just Ollie – played guitar in a band called blew in the early to mid- ‘90s and came close to signing a major label deal that in the end proved to be sadly elusive. Having opted to concentrate on making music in his home studio, Ollie “eventually came to realise that I missed being part of a great band.” When the chance to play with Dawn After Dark came up Ollie knew that here was band that ticked all the boxes. “Big guitars, a solid groovy rhythm section and strong, catchy vocals.” Ollie grew up listening to an eclectic mix of rock, punk, reggae and Motown, but the first gig he attended was Monsters of Rock in 1988, at which point he immediately set his heart on becoming a musician. Ollie’s soulful lead work and ability to lock seamlessly into a groove makes him the perfect lead player for Dawn After Dark.

RUSS FRAME – RHYTHM GUITAR

When Russ Frame reached the milestone year of 10 punk happened, swiftly followed by new wave, and it was then that he just knew he had to play guitar. But rock soon began to take a hold too, as Russ got turned on to the likes of Thin Lizzy and Bernie Tormé. After sharing rehearsal space with the original Dawn After Dark and playing some shows supporting them in another band back in the ‘80s, Russ and DAD drummer Tony Henderson started working together when the Dawners split in 1991. 28 years later there was talk of a DAD reformation – and Russ jumped at the chance to add his distinctive rhythm playing to the band’s unmistakable sound! He made his Dawn After Dark live debut at the reformation gig in Birmingham supporting Balaam And The Angel in September 2019 and simply describes it as “a fantastic experience.” As you can hear on the ‘Maximum Overdrive’ single, Russ’s rhythmic groove has added a whole new dimension to the DAD sound.

DREW GALLON – BASS

Drew has known H since the early ‘90s when he was playing bass in a Newcastle band called Forgodsake alongside guitarist Chris McCormack, brother of Wildhearts bassist Danny McCormack. Chris went on to play in 3 Colours Red. H always kept Drew in the back of his mind and was his first call when the position of bassist in Dawn After Dark became available. “When H asked me to join it seemed like it was meant to be,” says Drew. The bassist is an unreserved fan of punk, so DAD’s music “isn’t like anything I’ve played before, but the minute I heard them I really liked the tracks. There are songs with a push on the drums that take things away from straight fours and give the sound a real groove.” Drew says he’s “been wanting to get back up on stage for quite a while, and I hear the Dawn After Dark crowd is a great one to play for, so this is the perfect band for me.”

TONY HENDERSON – DRUMS

Tony’s love affair with the drums started when he was a kid after seeing The Who’s Keith Moon on TV. Against his better judgment Tony’s granddad bought the 14-year-old a John Grey Autocrat drum kit from a second-hand store in Birmingham. “I played all day and would have played all night if they’d let me,” laughs Tony. Loving AC/DC, Motörhead and “anything else that was dirty, noisy and required minimal grooming,” Tony joined Dawn After Dark in 1986 when he was just 19 years old. His time in the band was, he says, “an amazing experience.’ Tony recorded all three DAD EPs in the ‘80s before the band imploded in 1991. He’s since played in many other bands and has appeared on eight albums. Nothing has come close to his love for Dawn After Dark, though. Playing the band's 2019 reformation gig with his son Felix on bass, and then recording a debut album with him are the highlights of his musical career. “With a new band line-up now in place to take us forward, these are exciting and wonderful times,” says Tony. “And I intend to enjoy every minute.”

Catch up with all the latest on The Dawners

Live Shows

Where you can see Dawn After Dark live

Date Venue Location Info
26 November, 2022 WinterStorm Buy ticket Troon
27 December, 2022 O2 Institute 2 Buy ticket Birmingham

Media

See, hear and read about Dawn After Dark

Check out the dawn after dark ‘NEW DAWN RISING’ album sampler

You can order either CD or vinyl at https://chapter22records.bigcartel.com/.

New single "Maximum Overdrive"

From the upcoming album.

New single "Nothing can fulfil me (without your love)"

From the upcoming album.

Tony and H discuss the Dawn After Dark Book!