Dylan White: Legendary Plugger Jumps The Fence!
Dylan White, Oasis, U2, Paul Weller, Suede, Arctic Monkeys, The Libertines…. all names that can rightly be placed together but, whilst there’s a connection, Dylan White was the odd one out: he was a record plugger working for these luminaries, rather than actively releasing music himself. Now, however, the gamekeeper has turned poacher as his own album ‘Unfinished Business’, recorded with multi-instrumentalist and producer Steve ‘Smiley’ Barnard [Robbie Williams, Joe Strummer, The Alarm] will be released on 15 September 2023 on ‘All The Cats Recordings’ available on CD and digital formats.
He’s already released three singles and had a raft of radio plays and plaudits from the likes of the late great Janice Long, Alan McGee, Johnnie Walker and Rodney Bingenheimer to name but a few. And to the description of Dylan White as a ‘plugger’, we can also add ‘time traveller’…
The album’s title comes from the fact that, before his adventures as a plugger began, he played and recorded songs. As he says himself, “From 1978 at the age of 20, to around 1988, I put my heart and soul into the desire of being a rock star and so began my adventure into the world of music. I formed various bands and would play gigs in London’s pubs and clubs, and try my hardest to write my own songs”.
As his radio plugging career took off in the 90s, those songs that hadn’t yet brought him the success he’d wanted, languished unheard in a drawer. When Covid hit, he realised that if he didn’t do something with all this old material soon, then he may never have the chance, so the first of his three singles (which he’d re-recorded in 2011 and sat on) was released!
Dylan says “It was time to wind the clock back 40 years, I went back into the 78-88 cassette box and re-recorded two further singles. I then started doing open mic nights which I now do on a regular basis, this is something I never thought I’d be doing again!”
It was now time to see if Dylan had enough old songs for an album, and sure enough ‘Unfinished Business’ has thirteen tracks. Twelve are lost songs taken from the old cassette tapes, plus there’s a cover of ‘Lost In Music’ which has more in common with The Fall’s version [which Dylan plugged] than the Sister Sledge classic!
As Dylan White says himself, “I can’t quite believe I’m doing this 40 years after creating these songs, but a good tune will never let you down and you’re only old when you stop dreaming!” ‘Unfinished Business’ indeed, in fact he’s only getting started.
