DIABLO - HAVE A GREAT XMAS !

Thanks for another fabulous year everyone, we've had a brilliant time with you and the music! Thanks to George too for being such a great webmaster. Davy says, "Stay cool x"; Paul says "Thanks to all the folk who keep coming to see us play who in turn  make the gigs so enjoyable for us. Merry Xmas & A Happy New Year"; Steve says "Festive best wishes to all our Diablo fans, thanks again for your amazing support" and Dave says "Stay well and have a happy and healthy DIABLO Christmas and New Year! xxxx" Much love from all of us!

(December 2009)

DIABLO / SICKHOOSE NO.1 COMPETITION WINNER !

You'll remember Overplay's website for unsigned bands and original songs from last year where DIABLO charted for over 26 weeks and were voted one of Overplay's best five songs in their annual competition with "Only Fools Reign". Now another of Davy's songs does even better - winning at first attempt! "Take It All" co-written by China Drums' Adam Lee (who performed it live with DIABLO recently) is a product of a Davy / Adam side project called SICKHOOSE and has already enjoyed over 5000 Internet plays. Overplay judges described "Take It All" as "Punchy Biffy Clyro rhythms meet crunching Queens Of The Stone Age axe work in a breathless, unnerving and adrenalising onslaught. As dark, paranoid and full of energy as a spring lamb that keeps getting turned down at job interviews!"

The first prize includes 1000 CD albums pressed; radio plugging to over 60 radio stations worldwide; an interview on the Deuce Radio Show http://deucemp.com; album professionally mastered; the music promoted to 400 genre-specific internet radio stations, music magazines, music blogs and music podcasts!

(December 2009)

DIABLO - RADIO INTERVIEW!

We enjoyed a short radio interview with Caroline Lucas for Sunderland University's radio station Spark FM (http://sparksunderland.com). Caroline is at Sunderland Uni studying Media Production and as part of her work for radio, she interviewed DIABLO. We chatted for an hour and a half for a brief that would eventually last 4 minutes!! Caroline achieved this with remarkable success! Snippets from "Let's All Hear"; "Subdued" and "Spit Upon The Ashes" were played.

(November 2009)

DIABLO - NOVEMBER REVIEW!

November gigs were great! Returns to Callerton and Houghton Le Spring were fab fun and three new venues for DIABLO The Rose & Crown, Winlaton; Fat Ox Whitley Bay and The Normanby in Middlesbrough were outstanding with amazing receptions and DIABLO merchandise and CDs flying out the door! Let us wish you a happy Xmas and 2010 with upcoming gigs in December - Fri 4  Paddywhacks Irish Bar; Sat 12  Hardwick Hotel, Blackhall Colliery; Wed 16  O'Grady's Redcar; Fri 18  Blacksmiths Arms, Gosforth; Sat 19  The Old Tannery, Hexham (with special guests); Wed 23  Three Tuns, Gateshead; Sat 26  Hare & Hounds, Allendale; Thu 31  Adam & Eve, Prudhoe (Special New Years Eve gig with our pals BORDERLAND and all night buffet. TICKETS £12.00) and don't forget  New Year's Day Jan 1st 2010 at The Gold Medal, Gateshead - all great venues where we've played before. So for the first time, DIABLO are very busy at Xmas time with gigs the night before Xmas Eve; Boxing Day; New Years Eve and New Years Day. Bring it on! And it's all thanks to you, our DIABLO pals for even greater support than ever! Much love and all the best, Paul, Steve, Davy and Dave - not forgetting the sound kings Kevin and James xxx

(November 2009)

DIABLO - OCTOBER REVIEW!

A whopping eight appearances in October in a very varied but interesting month. We met our first hassle in four years when the manager of The Station Redcar shamefully didn't pay us owing to a bounced cheque - so other bands beware! Despite constant efforts, we have not yet been paid - how dishonourable is that. Blackhall Colliery Club was an excellent venue with a very receptive audience and we wish them well for the future. Like several venues in the North East they are struggling to pull crowds in  but thankfully, they told us DIABLO pulled the largest crowd they'd had in a while. We apologise for the long wait at The Star, Newcastle show, when our PA packed in and it took sound man Kevin nearly an hour's patience and diligence before he got it up and running again. It was fun to play Bill Quay and The Tavern at Blyth for the first time and rewarding to play to packed new venues The Falcon in Prudhoe and The Station at Langley Moor. November gigs include returns to the Poachers Cottage, Callerton, The Britannia at Houghton and three new venues for DIABLO in The Rose & Crown, Winlaton; The Fat Ox Whitley Bay and The Normanby in Middlesbrough. A lovely young lady called Caroline Lucas is interviewing DIABLO for Spark FM Radio as part of her Media Production project at Sunderland University so we look forward to that. Our recent appearance at The Allendale Festival contributed towards raising £3000 for The Macmillan Nurses and Great North Air Ambulance so well done to all our Allendale pals for their great efforts. Our four appearances on You Tube (forgive the quality, they were taken on phones mainly) have now had over 1500 views. Tickets for our New Years Eve show at The Adam & Eve will be on sale now - please check with the venue direct.

(November 2009)

DIABLO - SEPTEMBER REVIEW!

Six gigs in September and pretty much packed out! Hexham's Tannery was very busy with the usual great reaction and the lively Star appearance is noted elsewhere. Bubbles Ashington was packed for our gig and The Blacksmiths at Gosforth was its traditional welcoming crowd. The two new venues were good to play with Ye Olde Horseshoe in Crook on the phone the very next morning for return gigs for 2010. We've played Allendale stacks of times to great acclaim but The Hare & Hounds there had DIABLO for the first time and it too was very spirited if not spoilt by half the band having flu! We got through it though - what martyrs! October sees DIABLO with eight gigs, three of which are at The Station pub and each in a different place - so make sure you pick the right one near you! We look forward to seeing everyone at The Station Redcar, The Station Langley Moor and The Station Killingworth! We have a fast return to the bouncing Star in Newcastle and new venues Bill Quay Cricket Club, Gateshead, Blackhall WMC, Blackhall Colliery, The Royal Tavern, Blyth, The Falcon, Prudhoe and the earlier mentioned The Station at Langley Moor. Looks a fun month!

(September 2009)

DIABLO - ONLY FOOLS REIGN GERMAN REVIEW!

Open Wire USA'S website carried a review of "Only Fools Reign" (Can't Rain All The Time") from Germany ... "Good song. But only one! Why always only
one song? 9 points out of 10. I can only say: respect. This song could have been written by Bon Jovi: It sounds powerful and very emotional. The workout
of the song is, simply said, genius, the song catches and moves me. And, in addition to this all, a singer who comes very close to Bon Jovi. Respect.
But anyhow: I really want more than only one song. That's why only 9 out of 10 points. P.S.: Too bad that you can't be found under conventional
searching such as "ballads", "rock" etc. otherwise this pearl of a song gets lost in the Jamendo-marsh." FesselndEr, Mönchengladbach, Germany
 

(September 2009)

DIABLO STAR AT THE STAR!

Our Star Newcastle gigs are always lively but September 13th's was wilder than ever! Paul Reay wrote, "The band were on top form & as a Muse fan, your
cover of their new song was simply awesome! I really enjoyed Davys new song." Lizzy Rayner said, "DIABLO never fails to please and always makes me
want more - see you again soon." Another lady who bought DIABLO's albums, said "Runaway" is unbelievable, it should be a No. 1 single"  With thanks to
the lovely Ann, here's evidence of one of DIABLO's rare equipment disasters! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69ooYu_Q3VM But the lights, microphone stand, mike and our Paul are still working! Thanks to our happy snapper John Jobling, here's a new video from the packed gig. Our pal Adam Lee singer/drummer from the iconic China Drum joins Davy and Diablo on stage to share vocals on a brand new co-written song "Take It All" which has had a
Radio One play already. The song is one of a number Davy and Adam have been working on as a side project called "Sickhoose". These original songs can be heard at http://www.myspace.com/sickhoose and "Take It All" will be included in all DIABLO shows once the rest of us can sing it as well as Adam! Please bear with the sound on the video, don't have it too loud as it distorts a bit, it's the best we could get at a busy gig. Adam commented, "I enjoyed the whole gig, its been some time since I stared at lots of faces, I thought TIA sounded great, Thanks for letting me 'ave a go. Davy's voice is mint - he really can belt it out." Check out the link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXzSWoh9bvg

(September 2009)

DIABLO - AUGUST REVIEW!

A short but interesting month as ever for DIABLO with just four gigs owing to annual holidays - three favourite venues and a new one for us in South Shields at The Lord Clyde. We had a goodly crowd of DIABLO fans at The Clyde but where were the people of South Shields? We knew everyone in the room! Had a fun night though. It was back to Prudhoe, West Moor and Allendale for the balance of the month and all were as hospitable as always and thanks for everyone making the Allendale Festival as great as ever. Apologies again to anyone who planned to go to DIABLO's gig  on Saturday 8th August at The Royal Stanley and to the management of The Royal, when we couldn't make it owing to a bereavement.  September sees DIABLO back in action six times with returns to Hexham, Ashington, Newcastle and Gosforth with new venues at Crook and Allendale which we're looking forward to - check out the Gig Listings page for full details. DIABLO songs were once again played by Barry Wilson of local station NE1FM's AlterNation show (Mondays 7.00 -9.00 pm).

(August 2009)

DIABLO - GIG CANCELLATION

Apologies to anyone who planned to go to DIABLO's gig  on Saturday 8th August at The Royal Stanley -  we had to cancel at very short notice. We'd just finished loading the equipment for the gig at 4.00 when we got a call that Lynda, our closest and best family friend of many years, had died of a massive heart attack just two hours before. We just couldn't do the gig and we're sorry if we let anyone down. It doesn't happen easily. We hope to reschedule the gig sometime soon. We all send our heartfelt sympathies to Lynda's husband John and son John (Jr) and the rest of the family. Our thoughts are with you and we will miss Lynda tremendously.

(August 2009)

DIABLO AT THE FESTIVAL !

DIABLO has one of their busiest weekends of the year coming up this week. Thursday sees us at one of our favourite venues The George Stephenson in West Moor, before our first visit (on Saturday) to the popular Lord Clyde in South Shields which we are looking forward to. Then on Sunday we headline the annual Allendale Beer Festival with beer and bands on all day! Several DIABLO pals have asked about t-shirts again this year. Well, we are repeating last year's silver logo on black and we will have a small quantity with us this weekend. I guess t-shirt season is coming to a close, so we don't have many, but we have an arrangement with our suppliers that they will print to order - any size, any colour, ladies or men's shirts. We have also added a small number of DIABLO baseball caps which are logo'd in DIABLO's silver and the caps themselves (one size fits all we are told) will be available in black, red or green. So we are not left with unsold items, we are largely doing merchandise to order and it usually takes 7/10 days, so please let us know. T-shirts and caps are £7.00 each and if you can't make an imminent DIABLO gig, as ever we'd be happy to post them to you. The live double album "Weighed, Measured & Found Wanting" is nearly sold out and Davy's solo album "Quietly In The Background" will be sold out in the next couple of weeks. DIABLO's original album "Violet Scent Of Rose" will of course, be available at all gigs. Look forward to seeing you on the weekend, have a good week!

(August 2009)

DIABLO - JULY REVIEW!

July was smack in the middle of holiday season so we weren't surprised to see crowds down just a little but we still had fun at new venues like Bedlington, Langley Park, West Moor and lovely Wendy & David's wedding party at Sunderland - every happiness to you both! We also enjoyed returns to Silksworth, Newcastle, Sunderland and Killingworth. On the DIABLO songs news, many thanks to Barry Wilson of local station NE1FM's AlterNation show (Mondays 7.00 -9.00 pm) who in respective weeks, played "Far Less Than You", "Say What You Wanna" and "Only Fools Reign" from the "Violet Scent Of Rose" album. The latter track has increased its performance to 329 plays and 45 downloads on the American Openwire website and DIABLO's  John Jobling photo montage on You Tube of "Far Less Than You" has risen to 202 views. DIABLO's website has just passed 8000 visitors - a rise of over 400 this month and DIABLO's biggest three "hits" on MySpace are "Spit Upon The Ashes" (3416 plays), "Only Fools Reign" (855 plays) and "Stand Up" (601 plays). Back to the live shows and August sees us returning to Prudhoe and West Moor then to new venues in Stanley and South Shields before headlining this year's Allendale Beer Festival on August 16th - check out the Gig Listings page for full details.

(August 2009)

DIABLO - R&R MESSAGE FROM THE STATES

"I've been busy doing a single too -  I'm making some money but by looking at your website, is seems like DIABLO are having more fun.  I like your original material." (George Katsakis, Tenor Sax The Royaltones USA July 2009) NB: The Royaltones, a R&R instrumental band from Michigan, had two US hits - "Poor Boy" No. 17 in 1958 and "Flamingo Express" No. 82 in 1961.)

(July 2009)

DIABLO DOWN THE AMAZON

Well nearly! We mentioned last week that DIABL0's songs had hit iTunes.  Well, if you already deal with Amazon (to get your Nectar points!), you can buy DIABL0's songs separately on Amazon! Remember though, for this purpose only (downloading) - it's DIABL0 (with a zero)!
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_ss_w_h_?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Diabl0

(July 2009)

DIABLO ON iTUNES !

All DIABLO's songs are now available to buy on iTunes so if you need any tracks and buy them from Itunes, we could chart!! HOWEVER, iTunes rang us to
say there are so many Diablo's they are calling us Diabl0 with a zero on the end.  So basically we will be in the official charts if anyone buys them
from there!  You can buy the albums or the individual songs. Help us spread the news but make sure - for this purpose - it's DIABL0 (with a zero)

(July 2009)

DIABLO GUITAR MANIA!

Paul Diablo is on a mission! He's acquired several new axes of late including this one, a rare white Yamaha SG2000 of which there has been only 50 manufactured worldwide with only ten available in the UK. Paul says, "Had to have!". Davy meanwhile has returned to his Gibson after selling his Firebird to a guitarist in Holland. Steve still in love with his two Rickenbackers and Dave Drums has no guitar at all! (But quite happy with his vintage Premier Genista kit.)

(July 2009)

DIABLO - JUNE REVIEW!

June saw DIABLO busy with a number of returns to favourite areas like Heddon, Gosforth and Sunderland and two cracking new venues - Finchale Abbey! (for a corporate do in a marquee) -  and a great new pub we found in The Masons Arms, Easington - were very receptive to DIABLO's music. July saw us open a brand new music room in Movies, Bedlington, lovely place, excellent acoustics but poor turn-out despite the venue's hard work in opening up a live music venue in the town. (It was a Thursday night on a REALLY hot evening!) We do wish them well and hope the people of Bedlington get behind this. July sees a continuation of DIABLO's new found direction of being asked to do a lot of ticket-only nights with presentations at Langley Park and West Moor before returning to popular haunts in Killingworth, Silksworth, Newcastle and Sunderland.  On the music side, "Can't Rain All The Time (Only Fools Reign)" has had 294 plays and 43 downloads on the American Openwire website; DIABLO's video of "Creep" taken from 2007's Stormin' The Castle Festival on You Tube has enjoyed 724 views; and (thank you John), the new John Jobling photo montage on You Tube of "Far Less Than You" from the DIABLO "Weighed, Measured And Found Wanting" live album has seen 124 views since it was put on You Tube two weeks ago. DIABLO's website seems still to be the best place to visit for latest gigs and band news and we have had nearly 7,600 visitors since it began.

(July 2009)

DIABLO TO HEADLINE ALLENDALE BEER FESTIVAL 2009 !

DIABLO is delighted to be asked back to Allendale, Northumberland to headline their Beer Festival Day on Sunday 16th August - families welcome, a great day out, bring your cameras! Diablo will appear sometime after 4.00.  The entry fee is £5.00, which includes six bands and a free glass. It takes place once more on the Show Field and is for charitable causes, and has been growing apace over the last few years.  This year, for you hardened drinkers, they have even more kinds of real ale, and the Festival's reputation is growing.aa

(June 2009)

DIABLO - Weighed, Measured and Found Wanting - The Live Album - A NOTE!

Some DIABLO pals have been slightly baffled about CD2 on the live album, pointing out there is no break in some of the tracks. This is actually how it was intended! On the night that we recorded the performance, we were running out of time, and desperately trying to get as many numbers into the recording as we could. You will know from seeing us play live, that "7 Nation Army" runs immediately into "Take Me Out" without a break the way Davy does it. We wanted to get "Spit" on the CD of course, but feared if we recorded all of it (with the usual rap in the middle) we wouldn't get it on the CD. So we performed it without the rap. Then (keeping a close eye on the recording engineer in the room) we saw a nod to say we could get the rap in! So Davy quite wisely, decided to rush it in on its own. The drums then kicked in immediately into "Chelsea Dagger" - it really was every second counting on the night! "Time Of Your Life" is only short so we managed to squeeze that in. When we went to the studio a few days later to start mixing, we asked if they could find space to fit in the bonus track of the recorded "Runaway". (The original was on Davy's solo album, but we had only recorded the version with Paul's Spanish guitar on a download single last year). We hoped in this way then, to capture the atmosphere that we create in the second half of any DIABLO show i.e. very little in-between song chat - not even time for my legendary (?!?) jokes and just get as many numbers into the second half as possible. We think on reflection what we got wrong was the actual track listing - we should have used the word "medley" (as in joining songs together), so the tracklisting could have made more sense like this:

Seven Nation Army / Take Me Out Medley
Mr Brightside
Spit Upon The Ashes
Paul's Rap / Chelsea Dagger Medley
Time Of Your Life
BONUS track Runaway

Hope it doesn't spoil the enjoyment of the CD even if you do use a bit of judicious fast forwarding!

(June 2009)

DIABLO - MAY REVIEW!

May kept us on our toes with a mix of gigs from Newcastle to Teeside including a crackerjack gig at Seghill Rugby Club to a really warm reception - so thank you all - we sold 19 'Live' albums and we did exactly the same at the album launch at another amazing gig at The Star in Toon! The Wheatsheaf in Palmersville was a success with again, 13 new albums sold. We're pleased to report that half live albums have gone and we expect to sell out by end June, so if you haven't already done so, grab yours now - £10 at all DIABLO gigs and if you can't make one imminently, we'll post it to you! June looks busy too with shows at new venues (so please come along and support them if you can) Bedlington and West Moor, and returns in Newcastle, Sunderland, Silksworth and Killingworth and we expect more to be added. This will definitely be DIABLO's busiest year yet, we imagine over 100 shows in 2009 and gig enquiries are building up very nicely for 2010. And our 250th gig will be in the next few weeks.

(June 2009)

DIABLO - APRIL REVIEW!

April was a busy month with appearances at new venues - the very pleasant Poachers Cottage at Callerton which was successful prompting four return gigs including three for 2010; one of the most friendly welcomes we've got 'south of the water' at O'Grady's Redcar again resulting in return shows; the packed crowds at The Gold Medal, The Adam & Eve and The Old Tannery never let us down and they were three cracking nights; The Station, Killingworth was another popular night and that too has resulted in more appearances later in the year. The Old Fox at Felling was a neat little venue where we seemed to be plagued with technical hitches but which didn't spoil the night thankfully and we had a good trip to Saltburn, to play at The Victoria there. May (check gig listings for full details)  sees DIABLO  returning to Brotton, Stanley and Crawcrook and playing two new venues in Seghill (tickets only and heading towards sold out we understand) and Palmersville (Newcastle). We have another return to the fab Star in Newcastle on Saturday May 9th where we intend launching DIABLO's new live album - so be there! Just a quick reminder on shows, PLEASE check with DIABLO or the venue before you set off. We've been surprised again this month with news of venues stopping bands at very short notice, or even closing down altogether - without even bothering to tell the bands! It seems with new appearances and cancelling of old ones that our gig list changes on a weekly basis!

(April 2009)

DIABLO LIVE ALBUM and NEW YEAR'S EVE

Two great bits of news!

Firstly, DIABLO's long awaited 'live' album will be out mid-May - we are aiming to have it ready for our gig at The Star, Newcastle. It will be a TWO CD set at a special price of just £10.00 and will be available from all DIABLO gigs or if you'd prefer one by post, we can arrange that too.

Secondly, we are delighted to be asked back for the third time, to the Adam & Eve Pub in Prudhoe for their Big New Years Eve Party 2009! As in previous
years, this will be a double header with our great mates BORDERLAND and once more, there's an all-night buffet included in the ticket price. 2008's show sold out and we understand this years tickets will be available from the venue around October time. Furthermore, if you're not totally hung-over and still seek more music, DIABLO are playing New Years Day at another of our favourite venues, The Gold Medal in Gateshead, so we believe a happy new year is guaranteed!

(April 2009)

DIABLO - MARCH REVIEW!

March gigs for DIABLO seemed to introduce the party season! Wild crowds were dancing their hearts out at all of The Fox in Guisborough; The Star, Newcastle; Paddywhacks, Sunderland and The Sand Dancer at South Shields. The Sunday afternoon sessions at Egypt Cottage, Fox & Hounds Crawcrook and The Star (where we sold 27 albums and packed the place!) were all great fun. Equally, it was good to visit Darlington, Holystone, and Blackhall Colliery for the first time. Bubbles, Ashington photos are available at http://www.scooby-snaps.co.uk/dispreview.asp?id=00064 . DIABLO's third album - our 'live' set - will be out in May and is being mixed as we speak and "Only Fools Reign (Can't Rain All The Time) has been downloaded 31 times on the American website Openmusic.com.

April sees us back at four of our favourite venues Thur 9th Gold Medal, Low Fell;  Sat 18th Adam & Eve, Prudhoe; Thurs 23rd The Station, Killingworth and Sat 25th Old Tannery, Hexham.  On top of this DIABLO continue the search for new places to play and are delighted to be playing four more in April - Thur 2nd O'Grady's Redcar; Sat 4th Old Fox, Felling; Sun 12th The Victoria, Saltburn and Sun 19-Apr Poachers Cottage, Callerton  NB Callerton is an early (8.00pm) START!
 

(April 2009)

DIABLO - FEBRUARY REVIEW!

Well, if it was a quiet January, then February went with a bang and March looks to be even busier for DIABLO. February saw us having to reschedule The Coach & Horses Wrekenton when Davy caught a sore throat earlier in the week and we went to one of our favourite venues The George Stephenson therefore with a trepidation. We shouldn't have worried, a full room and sales of 16 albums were most welcome and we had a great time. The following week, we were still in North Tyneside just around the corner from West Moor at The Station, Killingworth which turned out to be wild! A jammed packed audience with pals from the earlier gig and lots of new people who had not seen DIABLO before and here we sold a further 13 albums while making lots of new fans. Our first visit to Billingham was The Swan - it turned out to be a nice venue which we enjoyed, and DIABLO went down well but it was quiet for a Thursday night. It did warm us up for the next day - the recording of DIABLO's 2009 'live' album at The Three Tuns, Gateshead. If we haven't thanked you already, then thanks so much for making the trip to another packed show. The month finished with another lively crowd at The Britannia, Houghton Le Spring where we had a fun night. We had, during the month, 124 downloads of "Spit Upon The Ashes" from the famous iTunes website. March is exciting with  six new venues and three old favourites. Fri 6th sees DIABLO at  The Fox in Guisborough; Sun 8th it's back to a venue we never tire of,  Star Inn, Newcastle. Please note this gig starts at 4 PM; Sat 14th we visit The  Hardwick Hotel, Blackhall Colliery for the first time and 24 hours later on Sun 15th, we're at The  Fox & Hounds, Crawcrook with a 3PM START! Fri 20th it's back to the raucous  Paddywhacks Irish Bar, Sunderland with mine host Seamus in his always ebullient mood and Sat 21st sees the band at The Holystone, Newcastle. We haven't played a Wednesday night for a while, coupled with not having ever played Darlington, so we look forward to Wed 25th at The Quakerhouse, Darlington. Sat 28th  is another new venue - The Sand Dancer, South Shields and Sun 29th completes the month with a return gig at The  Egypt Cottage, this one with a 5.30 PM START. 

(March 2009)

DIABLO - LIVE RECORDING UPDATE!

Much thanks to everyone who came to support us for the recording of our forthcoming DIABLO 'Live!' CD at a packed Three Tuns at Gateshead on Friday. We hope you had as a great a night as we did, and we really appreciate you coming. We hope to start selecting the tracks and mixing them in the next few days, with a view to having the album available in about six weeks. We have a title already for the album (not telling you yet!) and hope the eventual recording will capture the band energy and audience enthusiasm of the night and for any DIABLO show! This will be DIABLO's third album in three years - thanks to you! With sales of our original demo CD-EP "Raw", DIABLO's "Violet Scent Of Rose" and Davy's album "Quietly In The Background", we have sold almost one thousand in total, so we're really excited about another album with which we want to try and pass that thousand mark! We're also excited that "Spit Upon The Ashes" has started selling on Itunes and "Subdued" has just been accepted also with more to come. A young local student may be covering "Only Fools Reign" so that would be very nice too. Owing to the cost factor, DIABLO's 'live' album will be a limited pressing and we need to guestimate how many to do, so if you think you would need a copy, can you let me know when you can please? (dave2109@btinternet.com)

(March 2009)

DIABLO - LIVE RECORDING!

Another big DIABLO event comes up this week! With thanks to Paul at The Three Tuns and Broadwater Studios, on Friday 27th February, we'll be recording the whole show as a future DIABLO 'live' album! We hope - if you're free - that you can come and join in the fun and be part of it. (Cries of "Isn't that drummer handsome!" are optional, albeit not fully accurate!). To give you the background, with two albums, a download single and our original demo CD-EP, we've always kept away from recording covers. That said, many have asked us to record some cover material, so the plan is to record in a live format, all the DIABLO favourites in the first spot plus a 'bonus' CD of your favourite cover songs (from the second set) that DIABLO perform at shows and that you voted for in our recent survey. Get there soon if you can and enjoy DIABLO's music at the very popular Tuns. Dave Drums DIABLO xx

(February 2009)

DIABLO - JANUARY REVIEW!

Well, it's bleaching down with snow as we write these notes, so again, Happy New Year! It's been a quiet start to 2009 and though DIABLO has had the usual batch of fun gigs, attendances at venues have been down by 20% - everybody's paying off the Visa bills after Christmas expenditure we suspect! Nevertheless, CD sales have been healthy at all gigs and we had a good time at all gigs - Vane Arms, The Star, Bubbles, Egypt Cottage, Wardley Legion and The Old Tannery.

The download single "Run Away" (Re-recorded) has been going down very well at live shows and has held its own in January on Overplay's Charts:

February sees returns to The Coach & Horses Wrekenton (6th); George Stephenson, West Moor (7th) and The Britannia, Houghton Le Spring (28th) and two new venues for DIABLO, The Station, Killingworth (20th) and our first venture into Billingham with The Swan (26th). And that's the night before another big one for us, The Three Tuns, Gateshead (27th) where we'll be recording the whole show as a future 'live' album! So hope everyone can come to join us for that one. With two albums, a download single and our original demo CD-EP, we've always kept away from recording covers. That said, many have asked us to record some, so the plan is to record in a live format, all the DIABLO favourites plus a 'bonus' CD of your favourite cover songs that DIABLO perform at our shows and that you voted for in our recent survey. So, with all the new gigs flooding in, another exciting DIABLO year ahead - please stay with us!

Oh, we didn't grab his name, but thanks to the great photographer who took shots of DIABLO at the recent Wardley gig which you can see (complete with some funny faces!) at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/hamerrockopuss/sets/72157613186349896/

(February 2009)

DIABLO - 2008 REVIEW!

We had a fun time in December, firstly at Killingworth Club despite a scare five minutes before we went on, that our PA wouldn't work - gulp! Our 200th gig party at The Gold Medal was great and Marie (Mrs Diablo!) arranged personalised cakes for every member of the band to be presented by long term DIABLO fans - a nice touch! Three Tuns Heddon was as welcoming as ever but we picked the night when lots of the regulars were at the opposite end of town having their works Xmas party - doh! Dunelm Ridge was a short but very well received gig whereas Boxing Day at Paddywhacks was a very long gig and packed! Wild response and lots of sales of DIABLO albums - thank you Seamus! We'd been looking forward to the excellent sound acoustics in The Steamboat at Blyth. Still a quiet venue, but better attended than last time and we sold several albums and had an enthusiastic response. New Years Eve, with our pals Borderland didn't disappoint with 300 people crammed into the fab Adam & Eve pub. It was certainly Happy New Year for everyone who attended!

2009 kicks off at Vane Arms, Silksworth (Sat Jan 3) which we've played many times and a first visit to The Office, South Shields (Fri 9) - we've not played a lot in Shields so looking forward to it: Sat 10 sees a welcome return to The Star  Newcastle, then it's  Thur  22 at Bubbles, Ashington where we haven't been for a while. Fri 23 sees us back in 'toon' this time Egypt Cottage, Newcastle - new venue, pop in if you can, they are trying hard to establish live music then a happy re-visit to Wardley Legion's Rock Night, Gateshead (Fri 30), finishing off at one of our favourite places  The
Old Tannery, Hexham (Sat 31).

Highlights of 2008? Lots to choose from! Carling Academy was great as was our 200th gig as DIABLO; Birmingham in March was our first long distance one; Gosforth Hotel was a piece of music history but had a short life as a
live venue; Allendale Fair - always fantastic; The Cluny, a fun private party got us there; the first ever all-acoustic DIABLO at Tiger Tiger, Newcastle; the re-recording of "Runaway" which became our first download single; Davy's album "Quietly In The Background"; the huge number of plays of DIABLO songs on Internet sites and Alan Robson of Metro plugging DIABLO. We discovered Overplay.co.uk and with 3000 plays of DIABLO music, this website is an ideal opportunity for bands to get their original songs played. We found ourselves No. 1 in their Overall playlist charts FIVE times and in their Indie charts DIABLO virtually ruled 2008 with No. 1 position 25 times! Indeed, at the end of the year we were No. 1 from 3rd November for eight weeks! Overplay don't allow any band to have more than one "hit" otherwise DIABLO would have been No. 1, 2 and 3 in their play charts! We secured, without knowing, No. 1 position in Channel 4's Unsigned Band Charts in November and tourdates.co.uk emailed us in March to say we were in their UK's original weekly unsigned chart with 'Spit Upon The Ashes', at #40 and "Read My Story" at #36. DIABLO did two extensive interviews this year, one for Overplay and one for ukevents.net. We loved every one of our gigs! The live DIABLO shows were highlighted to our surprise with Paul Guitar's amazing rapping skills (which we never knew he had) in March and that's been in the act ever since. The bass tattoo between Steve and Dave has proven a big hit this last few months and that too will still be around in 2009. We tried about 20 new numbers this year and the ones everyone enjoyed will be kept in our set next year.

So what for 2009 for DIABLO? After years of playing in several bands, Dave Drums will concentrate 100% on DIABLO  which will result in a record number of gigs for the band. Each year we enjoy 70 shows, but next year we plan 120. Davy is writing new stuff and whilst it is still our main aim to push "Runaway" the download single; "Violet Scent Of Rose" and "Quietly In The Background" albums, there are two or three new ones nearing completion. We'll continue to pick the best cover songs for us though Indie choices are getting to be more difficult to find. We have lots of new equipment to try out in 2009 to get the best live sound we can. We'd like to capture further support slots and while still playing all our favourite local venues, we will also be playing further afield. Already we have 18 new venues lined up with more to come. We might also be arranging a short mini tour out of the region taking the Diablo pack with us - more later! So stick with DIABLO and we'll do the best we can to give you a great musical year.

(January 2009)

DIABLO'S 200th GIG PARTY GOLD MEDAL, GATESHEAD!

"Just wanted to say a little something that I never got to say at gig number 200 at The Gold Medal. Having worked alongside DIABLO from the start, I have seen a band with genuine potential evolve into one of the best, if not (arguably) THE best live band in the Northeast. A biased opinion maybe, but the boys get better with every gig and have been a pleasure to work with for these last 3 years. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!" Kevin McBride (KPA), DIABLO Sound Engineer.

(December 2008)

DIABLO - CARLING PHOTOGRAPHS & CHRISTMAS!

"Just to say John Jobling, DIABLO's ace happy snapper, has photos available to look at or buy (if you want to scare the kids) on www.johnjobling.smugmug.com/gallery/6609283_f2PQK#421222099_LQc79 Our new pal Amethyst from Blyth voted Diablo @ The Carling as one of the best local gigs of the year. Thank you!

We hope you pop round to see the band before the end of the year (we have seven more gigs this month and next week's Gold Medal gig is our 200th gig party!), but just in case you are busy with this Christmas thing, we'd all like to say thank you so much, yet again for making 2008 such a fab year for DIABLO. We wish you the very best - good health and happiness in 2009 - and have a FANTASTIC Christmas from all of us Paul, Davy, Steve and Dave xxxx

(December 2008)

DIABLO - NOVEMBER REVIEW!

The Carling Academy Newcastle was great fun with a packed room and we had a positive response - let's hope it's the first of many appearances there. The rest of the month was no less interesting, at new venues like The Grange Sunderland; The Wellwood Arms Amble; The Clock Wrekenton; Ox Inn Stanley; Coach & Horses Wrekenton; The Crown Brotton (only our second appearance in Teeside) and a return to Sunderland's The Borough. There would have been more but two more pubs pulled out of live music and it has to be said, it is noticeable how the recession is hitting people's pockets and pub attendances are variable. We had a great time at all of these venues and hope to be back soon. Wed 31-December's Adam & Eve, Prudhoe New Years Eve Tickets are selling wildly, so get in touch with The Adam & Eve  fast if you intend going! Don't forget to book taxis as well, they will give you advice on taxi firms in the area. Other than NYE, December sees DIABLO at another all-ticket do on Sat  13-Dec Killingworth Social Club; then our 200th gig party on Thu 18-Dec Gold Medal, Low Fell before Fri 19-Dec 3 Tuns, Heddon On Wall; Sun 21-Dec Dunelm Ridge, Pity Me; Fri 26-Dec Paddywhacks, Sunderland and a return to a venue that deserves support - Sun 28 Dec Steamboat, Blyth. DIABLO was No. 1 in Channel4's Unsigned Bands Listings for all of November and Overplay had our song "Subdued" No. 1 in their Indie charts all month.

Paul and Davy went into studios 27th November to re-record additional parts to Runaway as our new exciting download single - you can listen to it now or download it for just 89p at http://www.overplay.co.uk/band.asp?band_id=1006195
The next DIABLO CD release will be a live album in early 2009 - we'll keep you posted.

All of us in DIABLO thank you so much for your continued support and friendship and we'd like to wish you a fabulous, healthy and happy Xmas!!

(November 2008)

DIABLO - NEW YEAR'S EVE!

Tickets for our New Years Eve show at the Adam & Eve Pub in Prudhoe with our pals Borderland are on sale NOW. Not only do you get two bands, but there's an all-night buffet and all for the bargain price of just £12.50 per person. 2007's show sold out and we understand that demand has already been greater this year so please get your tickets from the venue as soon as you can to avoid disappointment. We are doing everything we can to avoid flu this year!!

(November 2008)

DIABLO AT THE CARLING ACADEMY, NEWCASTLE!!

Delighted to tell you that DIABLO have been asked to appear in  a support slot  at The Newcastle Carling Academy on Tuesday 18th November. We will be supporting "The Wholigans" a North American WHO tribute band who have played to great acclaim all over Canada and the USA. One of their members emanates from here in Newcastle. DIABLO  will be playing tracks from both their albums and are the only support act on the bill. Advance tickets are £10.00 from The Carling BUT, we have a concession that everyone who is on our guest list can get in for £5.00. If you'd like to come, please let us know in advance so we can get you on our guest list. The guest list is then given to The Carling and your named is ticked off on arrival for the reduced fee. Quite exciting really!

(November 2008)

DIABLO TOP CHANNEL 4 UNSIGNED BAND CHARTS!

We had a nice surprise yesterday:      http://www.channel4.com/music/4unsigned/      This has DIABLO topping their Top 100 Unsigned Play list      but there is no indication on how to vote or play!

(November 2008)

DIABLO - OCTOBER REVIEW!

Well firstly, everyone reading this towards the end of October and planning to go to Bubbles at Ashington, we're very sorry that Davy DIABLO has come down with dreaded tonsillitis so we have had to cancel our visit and it will be rescheduled in the next few days for later in the year. Sorry to let anyone down, we rarely cancel gigs but the voice is totally gone. DIABLO  had a lively gig at The George Stephenson in West Moor (thanks Jan) and we're back next year. Paddywhacks in Sunderland was another packed room and we had a great time. The Blacksmiths, Gosforth was crammed and we had a fun gig - despite Davy beginning to come down with the earlier mentioned tonsillitis! Chester Le Street's Barracuda is a good venue but it not well supported by locals though we still enjoyed our visit there.  The new covers are going down well with six new songs in the show. Gigs we’re looking forward to in November (all being well and lurgy-free!), include: Sat  1-Nov  Woodlands, Rickleton; Thu  6-Nov Grange Pub, Sunderland; our first visit to Amble with Sat  8-Nov  Wellwood Arms and our debut at Ox Inn, Stanley on Sat 15-Nov  and one we're really looking forward to on Tue 18-Nov  Carling Academy, Newcastle with DIABLO supporting "The Wholigans" from Canada. For reduced price tickets, email or phone us! Thanks everyone for the amazing support for this gig, we have lots of DIABLO pals coming. We play Fri   21-Nov Coach & Horses, Wrekenton for the first time then Sun 23-Nov  The Borough, Sunderland which was fab last time before another new trip for us on Fri   28-Nov The Crown, Brotton. Overplay charts are still getting DIABLO songs played (thanks!) and October looked like this:

(Though results for plays this last week are not finalised as we write this)
 

(October 2008)

DIABLO LOVE SAMANTHA!

Delighted to tell you that DIABLO's favourite local singer, Hexham's Samantha Hutchinson, made the "Idol 2008" Regional Final at Newcastle Tyne Theatre this month. Sam of course, was guest vocalist on Davy's solo album "Quietly In The Background" earlier this year on two tracks "Last Chance" and "Sayonara", both of which she sings live with the band at appearances in Northumberland. Sam performed a highly charged in version of "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" at The Tyne Theatre and although she didn't make it to the national final, she did herself proud by getting to these final stages. Big things for this little girl in the future! Congratulations to Sam from DIABLO.

(October 2008)

DIABLO - SEPTEMBER REVIEW!

DIABLO had a fast return to The Star in Newcastle to another packed room of enthusiastic fans and we had a great time in a newly revamped 2 hour show. The Steamboat at Blyth turned out to be a potentially good venue with excellent acoustics and we had a fab night … but to very few people. We were asked back immediately for December 28th and hope that the venue gets better support. There are SO many pubs stopping live music in these days of political and financial doom and gloom, that we hope The Steamboat can flourish. Conversely, we had a fun time at a private wedding gig at Ushaw College in a high-ceiling room with the worst acoustics we’ve met in a long time – people were great but the room was not for rock! We have updated our light show with new “no heat” lights and they look lush! Paul Diablo has acquired not one, but two new guitars of late and they have added to the DIABLO sound. September was quiet – deliberately – and we’ve been listening to new stuff with a potential six new songs on the drawing board. Five gigs we’re looking forward to in October include: Sat  4-Oct The George Stephenson,; Thu  9-Oct The Barracuda; Fri 17-Oct Paddywhacks Sunderland; Fri  24-Oct Blacksmiths Arms, Gosforth  and Thu 30-Oct Bubbles Wine Bar, Ashington. Our presence in the Overplay.co.uk charts after so long at No. 1 had to slip a little – we don’t like pestering you to play DIABLO songs every five minutes and for the first month this year we didn’t manage a No. 1 placing. Nevertheless, thank you to those who did persevere and we are still delighted that we managed September with:

The good news is that "Run Away" is proving a very popular DIABLO live performance song and “Spit Upon The Ashes” might be appearing on a compilation album sometime soon, so fingers crossed.

(October 2008)

DIABLO - AUGUST REVIEW!

August saw another great gig at The Star, Newcastle and a strange one at The Gold Medal where the sound went weird and the electricity went out! The Britannia at Houghton was a success at a usually classic rock venue and they booked us back for 2009. We enjoyed Sleepers at Boldon - after two previously quiet nights there, it was packed. We had to cancel The Ropery gig 'cos bassist Stevie was riddled with the flu. He was gutted, he's never missed a gig in nearly 200 with us. We were asked to do Snow Patrol's "Chasing Cars" a while back and it has become one of our best received covers! But it's been the rearranged DIABLO song, "Runaway" that has surprised us most, getting a great response whenever we play it. We can't play it at every gig as it is fairly restrained and quiet but featuring Paul's acoustic lead, it's getting great feedback. Davy got back from Leeds Festival, full of ideas after having seen many of his favourite bands on stage. A new addition to DIABLO's equipment is our banner - if you saw it in August, you'll understand how no-one can now ask what the name of the band is! We anticipate a busy winter (it'll have to be the way our mortgages are going up!) but for now September brings a private gig at Ushaw Moor College; on Sun 14-Sep we play Steamboat Hotel, Blyth for the first time before a quick return Sat 27-Sep to the fabulous  Star. We're planning to feature Paul Diablo on a metal instrumental soon - you heard right! Paul's a great metal guitarist but despite getting asked for "Sabbaff" at most of our gigs, we're just don't do that music - we stick to our Indie / Originals tag - but we have relented just this once trying to please everyone all the time etc! We still have a decent presence in the Overplay.co.uk charts (Overall category) but DIABLO still dominate their Indie Play lists where we have been No. 1 for the last five weeks - so thank you everyone who continues to vote and play our songs. For some reason, last week in July had HUGE voting for all bands - the "Overall" category No. 1 had over 450 plays - and we were delighted to see "Say What You Wanna" as our biggest Indie 'hit' so far with a cracking 276 plays! We've had a quick calculation and DIABLO songs over various websites, have now been played over 12,000 times - so again, thanks so much! Overplay in August was :

Dave Drums goes in for his second eye operation in September (in between gigs of course!) and finally, a very happy 40th birthday in September to our gorgeous Diabloette Joanne!

(September 2008)

DIABLO - JULY REVIEW!

For the second month running, DIABLO performed seven shows - it would have been nine but we had two cancellations at short notice. The Grange, Sunderland was shut for a week to be refurbished, a disappointment since we had a crowd coming to celebrate Diablo's good mate Rob Stormont's (surprise) birthday party which had to be scrubbed. (We are there 6th November) Our repeat of last year's Dunelm Ridge open air music day was cancelled on the day (nobody's fault) owing to bad weather. This has been rescheduled for the evening of Sunday December 21st (kids still welcome!) and it's indoors to be safe! Our mates Borderland will be with us again. The "Diablo unplugged" session with Davy at his first "solo" headlining gig, at Tiger Tiger, Newcastle was an unqualified success. Publicity and advertising was too little, and too late but of course we have to thank the Diablo pack for turning up as ever, at a very different kind of event. There is talk of a follow-up later in the year at The Carling Academy, so that would be fun. Three of the shows were at private functions. We did a short guest appearances at a wedding (our great mate Gav Dawson) and a christening at Bear Park, Durham - both on the same day- plus a do for BT in Newcastle. We had a good turnout at what might be our last appearance at Luma at Sunderland after eight gigs there, and we sold more albums than usual at another packed Adam & Eve Prudhoe gig where the management are booking DIABLO into December 2009 already! Final gig of the month was another cracker - our first at the popular Borough pub in central Sunderland which has been hosting live music for best part of 20 years. Tiny, but what an atmosphere! Renowned for classic rock and punk, the venue however took DIABLO's originals and indie music  to their hearts with an enthusiastic response (we're back there in November). August sees our eighth visit to the Star in Newcastle where we always have a great time; a return to another great favourite of ours The Gold Medal in Gateshead; we anticipate a great night at our first visit to The Britannia in Houghton le Spring; we're back to Sleepers Boldon and once again to Sunderland to The Ropery. Diablo's original music is getting played on a lot of websites and although our "push" on Overplay.co.uk has ended, we're delighted to see that people are still playing our music anyway. July's chart positions were:

This last week, we amassed 84 plays, just being pipped for the No. 1 slot again. We're continuing to keep 'Say What You Wanna'  on Overplay for the time being. Davy is always writing new stuff and he has one in hand as we speak, which sounds to be another cracker!

(August 2008)

DIABLO CHART AGAIN!

We had a belated email from the website www.tourdates.co.uk :-

"Hi Diablo,
Chart Entry Alert - Sunday 2 March 2008
We have been running the UK's original weekly unsigned chart since 2006 and we thought you might like to know that in the chart released on Mar 2 2008 your song, 'Spit Upon The Ashes', reached #40! In the same week "Read My Story" entered at #36."

(July 2008)

DIABLO - JUNE REVIEW!

Well, our tenure on Overplay's Indie charts came to a close in June, we've now aired all the sixteen tracks that we were asked to put on the site. Our success (thank you again!) on Overplay's Indie Charts continued with a combined grand total of over 1500 plays, and this at a time, when competition got harder with more and more great bands plying their original music. June's picture looked like this for Diablo songs:

Live shows - there were seven in June with packed houses at The Ox & Plough, Ox Close; The Blacksmiths, Gosforth and our first appearance at Newcastle's The Cluny (photos to follow). We enjoyed too, new venues like South Moor Excelsior, The Derwentside at Blackhill and The Clarendon at Redcar plus a return to Easy Street in Chester Le Street. They are all venues which are trying to hard, through decent bands and hard work, to establish live music as a priority in their areas so good luck to them all. At the end of of the month, we deliberately went quiet gigwise to allow drummer Dave to have an eye operation (cataract removal) but July looks to be another good one with returns to several excellent pubs like Dunelm Ridge, Pity Me, The Star, Newcastle; Adam & Eve Prudhoe and Luma in Sunderland plus visits to new Sunderland venues where we've not played before - The Grange and The Borough. Plus we have "Diablo unplugged" performing with Davy at his first "solo" headlining gig, at Tiger Tiger, Newcastle. We've been rehearsing solidly to get this one right, and we hope we have come up with a variation on the songs you know and like from both albums. We have short appearances at a wedding (our great mate from Borderland Gav Dawson) and a christening at Bear Park, Durham - both on the same day! Enjoy the Summer!

(July 2008)

DIABLO - PHOTOS FROM SUNNY SACRISTON!

Have a look at DIABLO's Feedback page to see how we went at The Daisy Hill and then have a look at some great fun photos at http://www.thedaisyhill.co.uk/apps/photos/

(June 2008)

DIABLO - MAY REVIEW!

May turned out to be one of our busiest so far, out and about promoting the original songs and especially Davy's solo album of which we've now sold one third of the limited pressing we did. (If you haven't grabbed a copy yet, just drop us an email and we'll get one to you for £8 - free postage). With our My Space site, "Spit Upon The Ashes", the introduction snippet, has now been played over 1700 times with "Only Fools Reign" (still DIABLO's most popular live track); "Stand Up" and Say What You Wanna" each heading for 400 plays. Our success (thank you!) on Overplay's Indie Charts continued with a combined grand total of over 1000 plays. In May we had:

Gigwise, we had a superb afternoon turnout at The Star Newcastle and we sold several albums (both Davy's and Diablo's) at new venues like Wardley Legion, Gateshead and Daisy Hill, Sacriston with more at return venues like Old Tannery, Hexham; Ryton Hotel Pub Ryton and The Woodlands, Rickleton. It was a joy headlining a very worthwhile fundraiser for The Ramshaw Animal Sanctuary at Bishop Auckland (first class organisation) and it was just sad that more people didn't get along on an admittedly damp, very cold day. Conversely, we finished the month headlining The Allendale Weekend Fair on what must have been the hottest afternoon of the year - we came back with sun tans! But, in what was our 10th visit to this lovely village, not as hot as the crowd in a jam-packed marquee! The atmosphere was electric with the most receptive crowd reaction so far - it was amazing! Roll on June where we have returns at the popular Blacksmiths Arms, Gosforth and Ox & Plough, Washington; new venues for us - The Derwentside, Consett and South Moor Club, Stanley; we dip our toes into Teeside for the first time at The Clarendon Hotel, Redcar and play The Cluny, Newcastle our first visit, for a private function -  a 200th birthday - that is to say five lovely ladies each celebrate the magic 40 on the same day!

(June 2008)

DIABLO - INTERVIEW NO.2

Here's an interview, we were asked to do recently which we hope you enjoy, with a new website to us called ukevents.net. A few typing errors (theirs not ours!) but it seems to have turned out well. http://chat.ukevents.net/viewtopic.php?t=9491

(May 2008)

DIABLO - ALL THE HITS!

You may have noticed already if you visited DIABLO's website in early May, that we passed 5000 hits since we began the site two years back! Thanks so much to George our webmaster for making visits so easy for everyone, and thanks to YOU for continually coming back. We'll try and keep the site fresh and if you have anything you'd like to see more of on DIABLO's website, please let us know.

(May 2008)

DIABLO'S YOUNG FAN!

Listen to "Subdued" (just the introduction) from Diablo's "Violet Scent Of Rose" album then listen to gorgeous little Olivia's version! Just fantastic - both drumming and vocals!   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFnI5o03Jm8

(April 2008)

DIABLO - LIVE IN APRIL!

As April draws to close, what a month it's been! Seven shows; a radio appearance for Davy following the release of his solo CD "Quietly In The Background"; over fifty albums sold; DIABLO's music played over 500 times on various music websites including several downloads which is a first for the band; meeting China Drum's Adam Lee who has become a good band friend and DIABLO doing well in Overplay's Music Charts supported by our biggest interview yet on their home page!

A huge thanks to everyone who has kept playing Diablo's original songs on Overplay's listings. If you haven't done so yet and would like to, you can play Diablo songs or download them at: http://www.overplay.co.uk/band.asp?band_id=1006195 Major thanks to everyone for keeping the faith playing our material almost daily, and who have got us to the following positions in April's Overplay's Charts:

Livewise for April, we hit The Bebside in Blyth - a town we don't play a lot and traditionally a heavy rock venue but we did fine. The Three Tuns in Heddon was a welcome return; The Adam & Eve was our first real visit as a result of our (shortened) New Years Eve gig and it was packed! The Newton Park at Longbenton, was on the verge of cancelling all bands until DIABLO played and the manager had a rethink as a result of the great DIABLO turnout; The Gosforth Hotel was another off/on/off/on gig but eventually it took place and we had a great night; The Gold Medal crowd looked after us as ever, and The Pelaw Inn was another fab show. May already looks to be another cracking month with Sat 3rd Old Tannery, Hexham; Sun 4th Star, Newcastle NB 4.00 START; Fri 16th Ryton Hotel Pub, Ryton; Sat 17th headlining the Ramshaw Rocks Open Air Festival, Bishop Auckland; Fri 23rd Wardley Legion Club; Sat 24th Woodlands, Rickleton; Fri 30th Daisy Hill, Sacriston, finalising with Sat 31st's Allendale Fair!

(April 2008)

DIABLO - THE INTERVIEW

We have just conducted the lengthiest interview we've undertaken - published today on Overplay's home page! http://www.overplay.co.uk  We hope it's the first of many and certainly have another one coming up with another website, very soon.

(April 2008)

DIABLO - CHINA DRUM'S SINGER NOW A DIABLO FAN!

We were delighted to meet Adam Lee, drummer and singer of legendary '90s indie band China Drum who came over specially to see us at a packed Prudhoe gig this month. After the gig he dropped us a message, "Just thought I'd drop you a line to say what a good night we had on Saturday -  crackin' music, good sound (with a room like that, your soundman did the business), lookin' forward to the next one in July. Checked out your website today, looks like you've got things well on the way, Have you thought about doing a university tour?"

(April 2008)

DIABLO - NEW ALBUM - OUT NOW!

Davy's solo album of another ten of his original compositions, entitled "Quietly In The Background" mentioned last month is now available.  The album is now available at all DIABLO gigs or from Overplay.co.uk (where you also hear some of the tracks). The tracks are: Go On; Last Chance; One Life (Tell My Mind); Panic Attack; Read My Story; Regrets; Run Away; Sayonara (2008); Washed Out and Your Road. If anyone would like a copy, and is not able to make a gig imminently, just email our usual address: dave2109@btinternet.com and we'll arrange to get one to you. The album carries a special price of just £8 - and if there's anyone out there who doesn't have Diablo's "Violet Scent Of Rose" debut album, we have a special offer on of both albums for £15.

(April 2008)

DIABLO - IN OVERPLAY'S INDIE CHARTS - AGAIN!

A huge thanks to all who have kept playing Diablo's original songs  on Overplay's listings. If you haven't done so yet and would like to, you can play Diablo songs or download them at: http://www.overplay.co.uk/band.asp?band_id=1006195 Major thanks to everyone who has kept faith with us and never stopped playing our material daily, and who have got us to the following positions in this year's Overplay's Indie Charts:

What can we say? We love you all!

Steve, Paul, Davy and Dave

(April 2008)

DIABLO - NEW PHOTOS

Hot off the press, are John Jobling's latest shots of the fun at our February show at The Pemberton Arms, Cold Hesleden. You can see them by clicking the link below to John's website:

http://johnjobling.smugmug.com/gallery/4448794_azD5E#261519566

(March 2008)

DIABLO - IN INDIE CHARTS!

Here's a nice website you might like to look at where you can play Diablo songs or even buy them, if you don't already have them: http://www.overplay.co.uk/band.asp?band_id=1006195 So if you ever fancy Diablo as your background music (maybe not at work though!) or while you're doing the hoovering, this is the place to go. It's in its early stages, this site but we are keen to support it, especially when they have an Indie Top 100 Chart which depends on plays/purchases. You can see this by clicking the Overplay Charts tab. DIABLO at time of writing are at No. 3(!) with "Spit Upon The Ashes" so at least we're in there somewhere but fall behind the current No. 1 which has had over 200 plays as I write this. So if you fancy helping us to No. 1 in at least these charts, that would be really something! And it would save us listening to a Diablo song 250 times to get us No. 1!!!

... and three days later - No.1 !!!    Thank you so, so much!

(March 2008)

DIABLO - NEW ALBUM!

Great news - DIABLO have their third studio venture released in March! This time it is singer Davy's long awaited solo album of another ten of his original compositions entitled "Quietly In The Background".  Davy plays 90% of the instruments as well as all vocals.  There are added guest backing vocals by good friends of ours Samantha Hutchinson from Allendale and Borderland's Mark Harrison.  Additional musicians include (of course) Steve, Paul and Dave from DIABLO, plus Les Smith from Borderland on keyboards.  Like DIABLO's "A Violet Scent Of Rose", Davy's album was recorded here in Newcastle at Base HQ Studios and was engineered by Rich McCoull.  The album, which will be available at all DIABLO gigs, will be available mid March and a CD launch date will be announced shortly.  If anyone would like to reserve an copy just email our usual address: dave2109@btinternet.com

(February 2008)

DIABLO - JANUARY FLU BY!

And so it did! And that wasn't a spelling error! There we were, ready for a great New Years Eve at The Adam & Eve (no pun intended) in Prudhoe, when Davy commented on a tickle in his throat early in the morning. By 6.00, time to leave for the gig, he was virtually on his knees with the flu! We were playing with our mates Borderland and three of them were struggling with the same thing. Paul Diablo had contracted it on Xmas Eve - some Xmas present eh? - and he too, was far from being 100%. DIABLO were due on stage at 10.30 by which time Davy was just about unconscious and his voice had almost gone. He literally couldn't sing! But The Diablo Pack were out in force, the place was crammed with over 300 people, so we poured honey down his throat by the gallon; totally rearranged the set list; pushed him and Paul on stage and we had a fantastic gig - just! As soon as it was finished, Davy was bundled home and that was his New Years Eve! But thanks to Paul the Manager at The Adam Eve for his hospitality and for asking us back three times in 2008. The flu continued for  most of January for most of our friends and family and many of the local bands in one form or another, and several were forced to cancel gigs. DIABLO sadly, were no exception. Steve Bass Diablo added to the list of those with the lurgy and with most of us by then then way less than fit, we had no choice but to cancel our Pelaw appearance but we did fix them up with another band. We eventually pulled round to appear at The Vane Arms in Silksworth - our sixth appearance there - and at Paddywhacks, the new Irish Bar in Sunderland, which turned out to be heaving with pub goers on a Friday night. They insisted we use their house PA rather than our own, so Kevin wasn't in attendance but the sound was OK, if not up to our usual standard. DIABLO T-shirts there seemed to be as popular as our music!. Recording wise, our second album - Davy's solo album actually (but we've all sneaked in on it!) - was finished in January and we're very happy with the results. It will be out in March / April where we'll have a fun CD launch (like last year's Bridge do) when we find a central venue. The working title is "Quietly In The Background". So it's Happy New Year from us!

(January 2008)

DIABLO - DAVE DRUMS AT IT AGAIN!

Drummer Dave shows little sign of slowing down this year despite his big birthday of last year and has acquired three more drum kits as we speak! If you attend DIABLO gigs regularly, you will know Dave uses a red Pearl six drum Maple (1992) kit at larger venues and a black (1965) Ludwig 4 drum Maple kit for smaller venues. Well, they've both been replaced and you'll certainly be seeing more of Dave!!! Have a look at the equipment page which will explain why! 

(January 2008)

DIABLO - HAPPY NEW YEAR!

All the best everyone - have a happy, healthy - and wealthy hopefully - 2008 from us all - Davy, Steve, Paul and Dave. Well, 2007's been an amazing year for Diablo thanks to you! In 12 months, we lost our founder member lead guitarist and grabbed another one; we had Diablo's debut album "A Violet Scent Of Rose" released in August, and as we speak, we nearly have the second album finished (Davy's solo set); we kicked off one of the North's biggest rock festivals and did gigs from the tiniest pub to a Christening, two weddings and yes - we did a funeral!! We did more gigs than in 2006  including an amazing farewell to Anth at The Bridle Path Whickham at the end of February where we sold 22 of Diablo's CD-EP demo. Anth was a huge miss but the good news is he has gone on to bigger things at work (we suspect he's a millionaire but he's not telling) and we see him regularly at rock shows around the region when big bands come to the North. We were fortunate to snap up the talented Paul, who excelled himself in learning Diablo's full repertoire in just over 6 weeks making his debut to a packed room at The Barracuda Chester Le Street in March. The relief on his face at the end of a huge roar from the audience was a picture to see. We've bullied Stevie Bass Diablo into singing for the first time in his life using everything from gentle encouragement to threats of a Mafia hit man! Steve's taken it all in his stride and he's adding a lot to many numbers now. (We might put him in next year's X Factor under the name Gideon!!). Outstanding gigs were many and included the biggest pub crowd we've ever done at a return to The Star in Newcastle in June where you just couldn't get moved! We did two weddings for four of our favourite people - David and Kathryn at Tynemouth and Lee and Karen at South Shields. We then played an all day outdoor event at The Dunelm Ridge at Pity Me - threats of rain all morning but the sun turned it into a marvellous afternoon. It was very ambitious of the pub to do such a gig for the first time but it was a great success which looks like it'll be repeated in 2008. We returned to one of our favourite places - Allendale, topping August's Festival but it really did rain. Stormin' The Castle Rock Festival at Witton Castle was our biggest profile appearance and we did ourselves proud making lots of new pals in the process and we had one of the bestest ever gigs - a first for every member of Diablo, thank to mate John Jobling who organised an appearance for us at The Bridge, Newcastle where we played eighteen original Diablo songs and no covers! What a superb atmosphere it was! We were a bit perplexed when we were asked to do a Christening (!) at New Brancepeth but we got a virtual standing ovation at the end and again at, what we thought would be a quiet venue - The Ox & Plough Washington. DIABLO finished off 2007 with returns at a packed Gibside Hotel in Whickham, a wild Old Tannery in Hexham and another full house at The Blacksmiths in Gosforth. We closed a fabulous year by doing a double header at The Adam & Eve Prudhoe with our great mates Borderland (whose drummer by the way is SO handsome ..). In many ways this could have been the disaster of them all since Davy got the dreaded flu bug hours before the gig - Paul on guitar was already half dead with flu and so were half of Borderland! We really thought just minutes before we were due to start, we would have to pull out, but with a heaving crowd (the fullest the pub has ever been) and a rapid change of set list DIABLO grabbed that extra ounce and powered into a raucous set to a wild reaction and a request from the venue to do it all over again in 2008! From all of us in DIABLO, thank you so much for your continued friendship in 2007 - we never ever take it for granted and hope you will stay with us for what looks to be another exciting year in 2008. When we play Wembley stadium with Muse, The Killers, The Stereophonics and Green Day all supporting us, we'll get you all free tickets!!!

(January 2008)

DIABLO - DAVY'S SOLO ALBUM

DIABLO's third venture into the studios is Davy's solo album, as yet untitled, of more of his original songs and it's currently in mixing stages. It will be out end January / early February and the tracks (some of which were played at the recent Bridge all originals gig) will include Go On; Read My Story; Washed Out; Your Road; Last Chance; Sayonara (2008); Tell My Mind; Regrets, Panic Attack and maybe one more. Some tracks feature special guests -our new pal Samantha Hutchinson from Allendale on backing vocals, Mark Harrison (from Borderland)  on backing vocals and Les Smith (from Borderland) on piano and of course Paul and Steve Diablo guest with guitar and bass. Dave Diablo is on drums on all tracks and added percussion. Davy himself is on vocals and backing vocals, electric and acoustic guitars, bass, keyboards and percussion. The photo shoot took place in the Toon on a bitterly cold Wednesday night in December and some of the shots can be seen on John Jobling's website: http://johnjobling.smugmug.com/gallery/4011852#233482429

(December 2007)

DIABLO - CROSSING THE BRIDGE!

Diablo played their first ever all-originals gig at The Bridge in Newcastle, to a packed venue on Wednesday October 24th - it was a sell-out! We have to thank John Jobling, our mate and photographer, for organising it and Mrs Diablo of course for her usual valued contribution. Thanks to everyone who made it such a success, we played eighteen DIABLO original compositions, including four from the impending No. 2 album - Davy's solo CD due out for Xmas. Special thanks to Samantha our new pal from Allendale and Mark Harrison from Borderland for adding outstanding additional backing vocals and which added to the fun. John's pictures can be viewed at his pictures page http://johnjobling.smugmug.com/gallery/3716525#213157802 .

(October 2007)

DIABLO LIVE IN SEPTEMBER!

September saw DIABLO quiet gigwise - deliberately, with holidays and stuff - we kicked off the month with a welcome return to The Old Tannery in Hexham - a pub with the best acoustics we've heard in years - Kevin our Sound Engineer was most impressed. New venue The Golden Fleece in Silksworth was fab! A built in lighting show, stage, very welcoming manager in Dave, with his real ale and a very receptive audience - we had a fun time. Played The Ryton Hotel Pub in Ryton, a long established drinking haunt but not known for live bands - we were first to kick it off and it went very well with a lot of familiar Diablo pals in attendance. Best of the month was Dave Drums 60th birthday bash held at The Gold Medal, Gateshead with nearly 300 friends and guests creating the biggest crowd the pub has seen this year. Dave brought along four bands he has enjoyed playing with this last decade, and played with each of them for 20 minute spots. The excellent Rattlesnakes started up with good old '50s & '60s rock and roll - catch them if you can at one of their gigs - before The Johnny Baboon Band from Hexham moved us powerfully into the '60s and '70s. Davy Diablo acknowledged Johnny as one of his biggest influences as a front man - he's the liveliest bloke to watch and wears you out just watching him. After a short break, up next was the wonderful Borderland with their strong '80s material which went down as expected, very well. After a short break break for grub, Diablo finished off the night with an hour set of many of their best loved numbers (included Muse's "Starlight" featuring lovely Louise on keyboard!) and three tracks from the "Violet Scent Of Rose" album which were highlights - especially "Spit Upon The Roses" where all four bands' lead singers and more, were brought on stage to bolster the chorus (pictured). Marie (Mrs Diablo) had arranged a birthday t-shirt which EIGHTY guests wore! Tremendous! Dave has thanked everyone individually already but can only say once more a huge thank you to all the musicians and friends who came along and made for such a superb night.  Dave took the opportunity of announcing his retirement from drumming ............ when he is 93!!

(September 2007)

DIABLO - IT HAD TO HAPPEN!

Well, every band plays the shall we say, "slightly interesting pub" eventually and it was our turn. Stories of such pubs are legendary. The crowd were all seven bells to the wind even before we arrived at 6.30! They were harmless, though inebriated and couldn't find the strength to applaud even once - although they screamed for more at the end!! We asked for a glass of water at the bar. "Sorry, it's undrinkable!" we were told. One reveller took off his top to reveal his paunch and then showed us his bottom. Delightful was not a word that came to mind. Thankfully it stopped there. Two guys were sniffing something in the toilet but the highlight was to come. Halfway through our last song a man rode his mountain bicycle through the stage area and out the front door. Now that's a first!

(September 2007)

DIABLO MEET CORONATION STREET!
 

So there we were having tea at a local pub in Sunniside when who should we spot but actor Ian Reddington who played Tricky Dicky in "Eastenders" and now plays Vernon Tomlin in "Coronation Street". (The character Vernon is an ageing drummer - so no funny cracks please!) The amazing thing was though, Ian was wearing a t-shirt with one word on it - "DIABLO". So Davy, the fella least interested in soaps in the world (though he recognises every character in every soap - ahem, ahem -  we think he is a closet fan!), shoots over for a photo of said actor and t-shirt.

(September 2007)

DIABLO - STORMIN' THE CASTLE
 

Review and a video!
http://www.riffsonline.co.uk/home.htm
Click LINKS
Click DAVY's SITE
Click Enter DAVY'S ROCK PAGE Here
Scroll down to the bottom and click DAVY's ROCK PAGE again Click NEWS Look for: STORMIN' THE CASTLE 2007... The sun came out, and shone down on a fantastic weekend over the grounds of Witton Castle, County Durham for 'Stormin' The Castle 2007. Hope to have some photos up soon, meanwhile, the first of the videos from a cracking weekend are here>>> Click the word HERE Read the reviews including that of DIABLO After the reviews of Stormin (don't scroll down too far), click on HERE where it says Davy P. Videos here>>> Scroll down a little and click the central arrow (twice if need be) to play DIABLO's version of "Creep"

DIABLO - STORMIN' THE CASTLE 2007 PHOTOS (Thanks to John Jobling)
http://johnjobling.smugmug.com/gallery/3408367#190743096

With one of John's montages created by Paul Diablo
http://s234.photobucket.com/albums/ee234/drexyl666/?action=view¤t=830ce8b9.pbw

(September 2007)

DIABLO HIT NIGHT OWLS AGAIN!
 

As part of the promotion for DIABLO's debut album, the lovely Bernadette - regular listener to NightOwls and huge DIABLO fan - arranged for us to appear (for the third time) on Alan Robson's popular Metro Radio programme "NightOwls". We turned up on time at 10.45pm having been asked to spin a couple of tracks of the album then have a brief chat about them but Alan then asked us to perform two tracks instead! So, with a fast reverse on the car, we dashed back to grab a couple of acoustic guitars and some percussion, change our plans, rehearse two numbers in the canteen area (both of which were about to be heard for the first time acoustically i.e. without drums or keyboards) and in we went! If the resultant recording sounded a bit rushed, that's because it was. We played "Say What You Wanna" and "Can't Rain All The Time (Only Fools Reign)" with Davy and Paul on guitars; Dave on tambourine and Steve on shakers followed by a brief few word about the album. "Say What You Wanna" had been played a week earlier and "Spit Upon The Ashes" (the album track) was played on NightOwls", the next night 29th August. Later in the week he played "Fate On I Owe" and "Only Fools Reign".

(August 2007)

DIABLO ON VIDEO

Davy Potter has very kindly posted a video of DIABLO playing live at The Star last month. To see what The Star was like, follow this: http://www.riffsonline.co.uk/home.htm (If you get a "Page cannot be found" message, click on the link that is offered (www.zen76308.zen.co.uk), then click RIFFS folder).

1. Click on left hand side menu where it says LINKS
2. On next screen click DAVY'S SITE
3. Click ENTER Davy's Rock Page HERE
4. Scroll to the very bottom and click Davys Rock Page
5. On the menu on the left, click Video.
6. Click DIABLO playing "Dakota"!

(July 2007)

DIABLO - LATEST PHOTOS!

That man Steve Witherspoon popped into our Newcastle recording sessions in July and bent, leant, pushed and shoved us into a variety of new shots which can be found on his website:

http://www.stevenwitherspoon.smugmug.com/music

Many of them will eventually be on these pages but for now, have a look at Steve's site where they can be downloaded for scaring the pigeons!

And then, long term Diablo photo king, John Jobling popped in take some fun shots of Davy and Paul doing the final guitar parts which has been told in an amusing way and you can see on John's site:  http://johnjobling.smugmug.com/Music

(July 2007)

DIABLO HIT THE TOON - AGAIN!

To everyone who made it - and made our night! - just to say a million thanks for your support at The Star in Newcastle on Friday - quite one of the best DIABLO nights we've ever had in like EVER - it was like a mini-festival!  It was described as "heaving" last time we were there in February, and we swear it was TWICE as busy! For Paul Guitar , (who celebrated four months and thirty gigs with us on the night), it was his first appearance with DIABLO in the toon, and he described it: "Just want to give a massive thank you to everyone that turned out, it was an absolute blast. All you could see was a sea of faces from the front right to the back.  I was almost late on stage for the second set, since I couldn't fight my way through the huge crowd! The place was crammed to the rafters, we were well received all night and had a complete standing ovation at the end. For us it was one of those nights that you didn't want to end. This was the first time (for me with DIABLO) that we've played in Newcastle & for me the best gig by a million miles!"

(July 2007)

DIABLO METRO RADIO UNSIGNED BANDS PODCAST!

Here's Metro Radio's new Unsigned Bands pod cast which Diablo were lucky enough to appear in. We popped along to Metro's Alan Robson Show as you know - Anth couldn't make it unfortunately - so we did it as a three piece unplugged and had great fun as you can hear with "Far Less Than You" (new for 2007) and "Fate On I Owe" (from the Diablo "Raw" CD-EP demo)

http://www.metroradio.co.uk/Article.asp?id=349636

On the webpage, right click the "Click Here To Down Load" and Save Target As (we saved in My Documents but you can put it anywhere) Might take a few minutes to save to your PC depending on your Internet speed. There's 27Mb and make sure it's downloading Feb 07 (not Jan!) Lots of good music here from all the bands -  Diablo's bit is 3.46 in till about 15.36. Thank you Alan!

You'll see on the Metro website, Diablo are described as: "DIABLO: LIVE (Alan's Choice!)   The NE's very own hard rockers. Purveyors of that elusive70's rock vibe with a contemporary twist thrown in for good measure! Their live shows have become something of a cult hit, with a set that includes their own blistering material and songs from the likes of Muse and Green Day. See them live to fully appreciate!"

(February 2007)

DIABLO - ON THE AIR REVISITED!

Yes, DIABLO were once again invited to attend Metro Radio Studios in Newcastle to appear on Alan Robson's very popular "Night Owls" show but it was an invite with a difference! Regular DIABLO fans, the lovely Bernadette and Eleanor, recently won Alan's "Night Owl Of The Year" competition and part of their prize was to co-host Sunday 4th February's show with the man himself. They did a great job too! Unbeknown to the ladies, Alan had secretly contacted DIABLO - knowing who Bernie's favourite band was - and asked if we fancied surprising them with a couple of songs. We were already appearing at Bar Luma in Sunderland that night - great gig by the way - but we readily agreed and hot footed it to the studios after the Luma show ended shortly after midnight. It was an acoustic setting again, so there were going to be versions of DIABLO songs not normally heard. In a real "Jim'll Fix It" moment, we were asked to creep into the courtesy room until Alan rang for us, pretending to take a call from "Dave in Sunderland", and while we did so, we carefully walked down the corridor to where the show was taking place - still talking on the mobile phone and knocked on the door. Bernadette's face was a picture, bless her! In between howls of laughter, we gave "Far Less Than You", from Summer's forthcoming Diablo album, its radio airing and a never before played acoustic version of "Fate On I Owe" from the DIABLO "Raw" CD-EP. For those who caught the show - thanks for staying up first of all - and you will have heard Alan inviting us back in the near future to do a full band session for him. He is also putting us on his Unsigned Bands website where tracks played on his show are available to any record companies and A&R men in the country! Wow!

((February 2007)

DIABLO POWER ON!

Only our second gigging weekend this year and we had two spectacular shows! The Blacksmiths Arms, Gosforth ran by the gorgeous Louise was the venue on January 19th, where Lou actually shut the doors as the room was full with a capacity crowd of Diablians. And wild they were too! She wrote in: "It was a gem of a gig; the interaction between the band and crowd was perfect, the band were spot on and I really loved it. Young Davy has everything going for him and I told him that there's a lot of bands worried! Thanks to all the band - see you at the return gig in July but I'm going to get to a gig myself to relax and watch you!" Next day, it was our first appearance at The Old Tannery in Hexham and we were pre-warned "they like heavy rock and classic rock in here mind!" .............. until DIABLO! The reception was ecstatic and we were literally mobbed at the end by virtually everyone in the room. We were overwhelmed with the feedback, overhearing so often "how are these guys still unsigned?" and "DIABLO are just the best band we've ever seen!" After four encores reaching midnight, and with a standing ovation which seemed to go on forever, we just stood there amazed at such a warm crowd. We asked Gary the manager, if he was happy, and he had us in tears of laughter when he dryly commented, "You were absolute shite!"

(January 2007)

THE MAN FROM DIABLO - HE SAYS YES!

We all felt it was about time we acknowledged the man who has taken on board the whole task of Diablo's website - our great pal George Groom-White. We get so many great comments about the design, the fun element and the presentation of our website and it's all down to George, who without any complaints or moans keeps the Diablo information up to date. He's always working on new ideas for the site and open to suggestions - we must drive him wild - but he never says so! In his spare time, he publishes books about blues, rock'n'roll and other good stuff under his own Music Mentor Books imprint (check out his website http://musicmentor0.tripod.com). Thanks so much George!
 

GUITAR LEGEND DAVIE ALLAN OF THE ARROWS WRITES ABOUT DIABLO!

Davie Allan is one of rock's most under-rated guitarists despite being the "King Of The Fuzz Guitar" for the last 40 years and having US hit singles "Apache '65", the million selling "Blues Theme", "Wild Angels" and hundreds of appearances as a US session musician and fifty odd albums of his own. The band's website is: http://www.davieallan.com/.  Dave Drums Diablo saw Davie Allan & The Arrows' UK appearance in the mid '90s at The Garage in central London - and London was blown away by the incendiary guitarist. We sent Davie a copy of Diablo's "Raw" CD-EP" and he said: "Great stuff!! I'm always afraid to hear CDs sent to me for fear I won't be able to truthfully praise the band but this time it's different. I love what your son said in his special thanks to you, nice! Favourite track: "This Time I'm Right"........Favourite Title: "Soaked To the Skins" Thanks and give your son and the guys (and you) a thumbs up from me!" Davie Allan, (Los Angeles Sept 2006).

(September 2006)

SANDY NELSON DIGS DIABLO!

You'll know from Dave Drums's page on 'Meet The Band', that his all-time hero is the legendary king of rock and roll drums - SANDY NELSON. In 1959, Sandy aged just 19, had a worldwide million selling single with "Teen Beat" and two years later he did it again with R&R's best loved drum theme "Let There Be Drums". With further sixties hit singles like "Drums Are My Beat" and "Drummin' Up A Storm" to say nothing of 38 big selling albums in America, he was the most influential drummer of his time. Today, Sandy lives quietly in Las Vegas, near the Nevada Desert where he stills practices drumming in a cave underneath his house. He does DJ work, writes and composes jingles and TV themes with keyboards, as well as doing the occasional live appearances. Some of his latest instrumentals and three of his drum solos can be heard on tribulationrecords.com. We sent him a copy of DIABLO's CD-EP "Raw" and he said, "Glad to hear you're still doin' the music -  good snare drum work! I'm using a few of the tracks on my AM Radio Station, K-PDOP 1590. DIABLO! - nice to see a photo of you and your son Davy! Keep makin' the music, Best Regards Sandy Nelson"

(September 2006)

HOT REACTION TO DIABLO'S CD-EP
 

We're delighted to say that the first one hundred copies of the "Diablo - Raw" CD-EP sold out in four days!  Thank you all so-o-o-o-o much for your support!  Unbelievable!

(August 2006)

DIABLO - WHAT'S IN A NAME?

By now, you'll have grabbed that our website is called diablonortheast - and if you forget the full address, don't worry, just type that into Google or Yahoo and up we come!  We had to go for something geographic for the site name because much to our regret, there are other "Diablo" groups around! (but not as good looking of course!)  Yup, we found bands of that name as far afield as Glasgow, Aberdeen, Harrogate and even Nashville!

But even stranger, one nice chap at our recent Gold Medal gig turned up with a stunning black and white photograph of the band Diablo in smart suits, slick back Brylcreemed short hair, posing sweetly with guitars and drums.  He then asked if any of us (Diablo) were connected - thankfully no, the photo was from somewhere in the North East in 1962!

(August 2006)

DIABLO COMPLETE FIRST SUCCESSFUL YEAR TOGETHER!

Yes, August 2005 started it all for DIABLO with their opening gig at The Rising Sun, Sunniside. The place was crammed to capacity. It was the day after The Leeds Festival which Davy and Anth attend (as visitors ... for now) each year, and they seemed to have brought back half the crowd to The Sun! This was the gig that famously had the pub run out of beer and run out of staff half way through, so unexpected was the size of Diablo's audience.  It also had Davy being rushed to hospital straight after the gig with stomach cramp - he had sang for two and a half hours, none stop, much too strenuously - and made his second public appearance that night - this time in Queen Elizabeth Hospital's Casualty Dept!!

August 2006 closed the band's first year with an amazing show at The Garrick's Head, North Shields with another capacity crowd, after 55 gigs including headlining the Allendale Festival in May 2006; recording Diablo's first CD-EP of original songs and appearing all over the North East from Gateshead to Carlisle and from Kielder to Allensford playing virtually every weekend. The Garrick's Head turned out to be the band's CD launch and they played all the tracks from the CD-EP and created a lot of interest, with an encouraging start to sales.  The DIABLO website was launched the same week as the recordings and after three days had over 125 visitors.

(August 2006)

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