The Soul Company is proud to announce an official release date for their debut album ''The Power of Soul'' of May 23rd, 2005.

Nothing should stop the countdown this time and the album will be available from good record shops across the UK from the 23rd. You will be able to place pre-orders in a couple of weeks time, ordering info will appear hear once the album hits the shops systems.

To coincide with the release date look out in the May issues of national music magazines for reviews and tune in to Radio 2 evening shows regularly for air-play from May 1st onwards.

Soul Company gigs will be announced as soon as bookings are confirmed.

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Tuesday's gig in Huddersfield was a small & perfectly formed affair. The Zephyr was the perfect venue for Dave's acoustic show.

Having built up a loyal custom of music lovers, it was great to see the regulars packing in to catch Dave perform. With standing room in short supply, even the usually dominant Troopers had to squeeze into a corner next to the man.

Able support was given by Paul Nolan, a young 19 year old with a powerful voice who is apparently already making a name for himself on the local scene.

Dave took up his stool at a little before 9:30, opening with the Soul Co track Love Magic. While the unsuspecting locals were introduced to the # classics such as ''Lookin This World Over'' & ''Last Smilin' Villain'', treats for the troops came in the form of three new songs, ''Shiny Dollar'', ''Again'' & ''Diesel On'' plus a rare encore outing for ''Criss Cross Affair Of The Heart''.

A Sharp gig is rare these days, but on this performance it's difficult to understand why. He won over an unfamiliar audience with ease, the combination of top quality songs from # & his musical idols with his immeasurable skill on the guitar being an irresistible force.

Dave says that now the Soul Co album release is on track, there should be both band & solo shows coming along over the summer. Watch this space.

Keep The Faith

Team #

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Hi Folks

Hope you all had a very cool Easter break!!

Still busy with plans for the full release of the album which we should be able to confirm shortly.

In the meantime I've agreed to do a one off gig in Huddersfield. It is to be at a little place called the Zephyr Bar on the 19th April. I'll be onstage at 9pm.

If you're in the area, look out for a piece in the Huddersfield Examiner near to the date.

The Zephyr Bar opened in August 2003. The owner Lee is very keen on helping develop the local music scene, putting on regular acts mid-week, with Tuesdays being acoustic nights. The policy is to not charge at the door.

Thanks to Mr Steve Woodhouse who has helped set this one up.

Hope to see you there

Dave #

(See tour info for more details)

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Dear Sharp & Soul Co fans,

As of 26th February, the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) are closing their Tsunami appeal, following on from the American Red Cross' similar action some weeks ago.

We wanted to take the opportunity to thank all the fans who have donated to the appeals through the banners we have displayed on the sites. A donation was also made from the proceeds of the recent SoulCo.org shirts.

As you will know both the US & UK appeals have had an incredible response to an event which made making music insignificant. Dave, the Soul Co & the web team are proud to know that the fans have been part of this response.

Of course, there is still long term work to be done in the Tsunami region and it is still possible to donate to UNICEFs long term rebuilding programme.
www.musicforrelief.org are now supporting UNICEF & Habitat for Humanity and you can donate via their site.

DEC are now focussing their attentions on others in need around the world particularly in Sudan. Please visit www.dec.org for more infomation or to donate.

Thanks again.

Dave Sharp & Soul Co Web Team

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It was a godsend indeed to get a call from my old friend Joe D'Urso last Friday inviting me to step over to the Manchester Hard Rock Cafe to jam with him and his band 'Stone Caravan'. A most welcome break indeed from the craziness of campaigning for the Soul Company!!!

I first met Joe in New York at the offices of Premier Talent in the late 80's. He formed 'Joe D'Urso and the Stone Caravan' not long after. He hit the road and has been touring ever since. The Caravan are a Springsteen influenced brigade of New Jersey rockers who's songs cut to the heart in finest Springsteen tradition. Joe invited me along to the Hard Rock and Tele in hand I set off to sing a couple of songs with D'a Man!!!

It tuned out to be a late night, Joe taking the stage at about 11.30pm and as the band fired up the room began to bop!!! The audience was in fine form and up for a great night and before too long the place was rockin'!! Joe called me up and we all launched into a swamp version of Credence's ''Run Through the Jungle''. The fellas banged down on the groove, we sent it and the crowd got it!!! I had a chance to stretch out on a little lead playing...something which I'm looking forward to when the Co hits the road. And pretty soon we were into a sweet slice of ''Sylvio''. Well it's been a while and after a bit of a muck-up on the lyrics we were oiled up and seriously gettin' on down. Joe took centre stage and I backed up on Neil Young's ''Rockin' in the Free-World'' and we finished off the segment with John Fogerty's ''Have you Ever Seen the Rain''.

I thoroughly enjoyed a swift nine holes and promptly repaired to the bar whilst the Caravan rocked the house and wrapped up the night. It was a great night out and a welcome break from the action surrounding the Soul Co Album release. Check out Joe D's site www.jdcaravan.com and be sure to grab on when next the Caravan hits town (they've got a couple more dates left on their UK tour before heading back to the US of A).

Well that's all folks!!

Cheers

Dave

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After Friday nights joint performance with Mike Peters, on Saturday night Dave took to the stage in solo capacity.

Opening with a pacey run through ''Lookin This World Over'', the set mixed fan favourites with tracks from The Power Of Soul album.
Dave was joined by James Stevenson on slide guitar for a very laid back & blues soaked ''Drivin Hard Rain'', before closing the set with a medley of Love Magic and the album title track, Dave leaving the stage while the crowd sang the 'I Don't Know, But I Been Told...' refrain.

Dave told the audience that he's been putting blood, sweat and tears into the album over the past twelve months, but that everything is now in place for the official UK release of the album in March, supported by a simultaneous single release to radio. A release in America is planned for later in the year. Dave said he believes this album is the best thing he's ever done and he couldn't have done it without the support of the fans so far and hopes that the fans will continue to support it over the coming months. ''What it does is only as good as the support from you guys''

Earlier Dave attended the afternoon session at the North Wales Conference Centre and had a great time meeting with fans old and new.

Of the whole weekend, Dave says he enjoyed it very much. ''I thought Mike was great and I think the band sounds better than ever - Rescue Me was the bees knees. I was blown away both nights....''
''The crew and staff were out of this world and my hat is definitely doffed to each and every one of them. Thank you one and all!!!''

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Last night in Llandudno, Dave Sharp & Mike Peters recreated their acclaimed Alarmstock joint set.

Taking to the stage together, Dave (complete long dark rock and roll hair) and Mike played a selection of songs from The Alarm songbook. Alternating vocal duties, they took on tracks including One Step Closer To Home, Unsafe Building, My Land Your Land, Strength.

Following their joint set, Dave stayed on the stage when joined by James Stevenson, Steve Grantly, Craig Adams & Steve Allen-Jones for a couple of full band songs, opening up with The Stand. Dave later returned to encore with a band version of Blaze Of Glory.

Tonight, Dave plays a solo set in which he promises to include a number of the 'fan favourites' recently voted for on the DaveSharp.org Message Board.

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A limited edition of www.SOULCO.org polo shirts and t-shirts are now available exclusively through this website.

Shirts are heavy weight ''Fruit Of The Loom'' varieties and are black with an embroided www.SOULCO.org logo. T-shirts cost £12, Polo shirts £15.

To order, please go HERE.

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To purchase other Dave Sharp merchandise, including clothing, posters and of course CDs, please visit our partners at Townsend Records.

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For the third year in a row, Dave Sharp has been invited and accepted an invitation to appear at Mike Peter's Gathering event in Llandudno, North Wales.

Dave first appeared at The Gathering 11 in 2003 with two solo acoustic sets and an encore appearance with Mike and his band.

In 2004, Dave again opened Friday night with a solo set before taking The Soul Company onto the Llandudno stage the following evening for the performance which would form the basis of the ''Power Of Soul'' album.

After a nervous initial appearance at what had become a legendary event in Alarm circles, Dave has come to love the Gathering due to the combination of a real music loving audience while on stage and the friendship all around while off.

He is looking forward to appearing again in 2005. After last year's Soul Co set, Dave is again hoping to bring something new to the Gathering. While his sets will undoubtedly include some old favourites, Dave would also like to hear what the fans think he should play at The Gathering. Your suggestions are welcome, either in the topic set up for the purpose in the new davesharp.org Message Board or by e-mail to info@davesharp.org.

This year's Gathering takes place on 28th & 29th January at the North Wales Conference Centre, Llandudno. As with every year, it has unfortunately been sold out for many months and Dave regrets that he is unable to obtain tickets for Dave Sharp fans who wish to attend to see him perform.

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Hope you all had a very merry Christmas.

Back in October, Dave Sharp appeared on Halton FM's Midnight Ramblers show, chatting to the hosts over the best part of two hours and playing a number of songs live in the studio. We're now pleased to be able to bring you a recording of the full interview on www.davesharp.org

To listen to it (Real Player required) click HERE

The three songs Dave performed live in the Halton FM studio are also available in the davesharp.org downloads section. As the sound quality isn't really up to standard, these will only be available for a limited time.

Dave continues to beaver away behind the scenes with plans for promoting Soul Company & The Power Of Soul in 2005 - all will be revealed in due course. Meanwhile we've also been working on some new features for davesharp.org & soulco.org, some of which are already in place, but the major part of which we hope to have ready in the next couple of weeks.

Best wishes for the New Year from Dave, Mo, Keith, Jim and Paul & from all of us at the websites.

Thanks for keeping the faith in 2004, may 2005 bring you all The Power Of Soul.

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DEC Tsunami Earthquake Appeal
http://www.dec.org.uk/

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