Back in the early 1970’s I was given a copy of an album that would fast become one of my desert island discs. It was Bedside Manners Are Extra by Greenslade. It was an album that with the imagery of its artwork would capture my imagination as a teenager. I had little knowledge at that time of the rich heritage the band members had or the origines of the music. To me it was just evocative of the fantasy world portrayed in the Roger Dean masterpiece on the front of the sleeve.
A couple of years later whilst on a trip to Glasgow with my girl friend Val I wandered into a record shop and there was a copy of Greenslade’s first album imaginatively entitled Greeslade. I bought it there and then without a second thought and it still resides in my record collection to this day. However, it was easy at that stage to be easily distracted by the heady synthesiser soloing of Dave Lawson, who is, in his own right a very talented musician. It wasn’t until some time later on when I got to see the band live that it dawned on me how gifted the founder member Dave Greenslade was. I was moved to write this because Dave Greenslade passed away on June 14th 2026 leaving a wonderful legacy of music for us all to enjoy and remember him by. From all out blues playing with the legendary Colosseum to the prog and Prog jazz tinged era of Greenslade, to his Dave’s own solo work.
One of the things I have enjoyed the most about Dave Greenslade’s music is the conventional playing and instrumentation he used over the years, rarely flashy or in your face, but atmospheric and subtle. Needless to say, I along with a legion of his fans went on to buy just about anything with Dave playing on it. I was very fortunate to have been one of the many people to have met Dave Greenslade and found him to be a very quiet and unassuming man who had the gift of not only being a great keyboard player, but a musician that greatly enhanced the music and playing of those around him, whether it be in the studio or on a stage.
God bless you sir and thank you for igniting my imagination as spotty faced youth and infuencing my musical path through life. A day of Greenslade music will be held at chez Progmeister in commemoration of his legacy and to remind myself of much better days that he had a hand in making. Rest in peace Dave, and thank you.
Pictured are just a few of the albums played during my tribute to the late Dave Greenslade.
