Dave Stewart & Barbara Gaskin

Dave Stewart & Barbara Gaskin News October 2026
Dave Stewart (keyboards) and Barbara Gaskin (vocals) began their respective careers in the 1970s UK bands Egg and Spirogyra, after which Dave played with Hatfield and the North, National Health & Bruford. In 1981 the two joined forces and enjoyed immediate success with 'It's My Party', a no. 1 hit single which sold over two million copies worldwide. Since then the Stewart-Gaskin partnership has evolved into one of the UK's most respected, innovative and intelligent Pop acts, characterised by Barbara's heavenly vocals and Dave's complex, musically adventurous arrangements.

Now happily married, the duo have released seven albums to date and are currently busy working on their eighth collection of all-new original songs. The entire Stewart / Gaskin catalogue is available from their online store, operated worldwide by the ethical UK company Burning Shed.

I M P 4 5 t h A n n i v e r s a r y

45 years ago this month our debut single 'It's My Party' reached number one in the UK singles chart, launching our duo career which persists to the present day. The track was recorded for fun in studio down time, subsequentially turned down by several UK record companies and eventually released on Stiff Records, whose dynamic boss Dave Robinson played a major part in its chart success (including directing a suitably quirky and surreal promo video). Major thanks to Robbo, one of the few industry good guys we've encountered in 58 years grappling with the music business.

T h e B - S i d e
Though we continued to enjoy creating imaginative cover versions ('Busy Doing Nothing' and 'I'm in a Different World' are among our favourites), a more important and lasting effect of our first single was the development of Dave's songwriting. Dave recounts, "As soon as Robbo sprang into action everything happened in a tearing hurry. We were working in London's Matrix Studios with engineer Nick Bradford when the shout went out, "We need a B-side". There was no time to prepare, so I worked out a chord sequence and rhythmic structure on the spot, recorded a click track, played the piano part and overdubbed SDSV electronic drums, Prophet-5 and Minimoog synths and Vocoder.

I wrote the lyrics the next day. By then I knew what the song was about - it was about Barb, who I'd known since I was 18 and worshipped from afar (literally so when she travelled abroad for four years in the 1970s). Barb nailed the vocal in a few takes, as she had on 'It's My Party'. This was the embryonic synth-and-vocals Stewart/Gaskin sound, using a fairly limited instrumentation but none the worse for it. The mix was straightforward, basically a question of Nick setting the levels and me rapidly cross-fading between two synth solos mid-song. The whole thing was done and dusted in a few days - I dearly wish I could work that fast now!"

You can listen to 'Waiting in the Wings' on our YouTube channel. The keyboard parts and arrangement details are deconstructed in Dave's ebook Inside The Music Vol. 1, available from our online store.

W o r d O n T he S t r e e t

Extra! Extra! The September issue #28 of Blitzed Magazine featuring our chat with 'Dear Mr. Pop Star' author Dave Dawson can now be ordered online, with single digital copies available from Pocket Mags. Back in 1981, Hemel Hempsted was ablaze with the news that the "showbiz daughter" of local-ish chorister Arthur Gaskin had scored a Number One hit. Never one to tolerate a typo, Barbara would like to point out that her dad was a computer systems analyst (not assistant) and the correct name of her school is Sir Frederic Osborn School, Welwyn Garden City.

We'd also to draw your attention to Music Week's October 17th 1981 Top 75 Singles chart, in which you'll note that we outsold 'Birdie Song' by The Tweets. It was a close call. Providing further historical context and a potted musical life story, Dave talks at length with Sean Tonar in SOAL Night Live - The Musical Talk Show, the most-watched video on the Story of a Life channel.

Y o u T u b e V i d e o s

Star Clocks medley

Deep Underground

Grey Skies

SONG TALK - Ep1

New Jerusalem

I'm in a Different World

Busy Doing Nothing

Henry & James

Waiting in the Wings

The Cloths of Heaven

Golden Rain

Thank You Beatles!

See our official YouTube channel for more videos. Feel free to subscribe and add a comment!

Our email newsletters (operated by our trustworthy colleagues Burning Shed) are the most reliable way of staying informed of our musical arisings, so please feel free to subscribe and share our newsletter subscription link with other music lovers! You're also welcome to join us on Facebook and Instagram.

S t a r C l o c k s
Some listener comments on our latest album. Thanks to the kind folks who sent them!

"Utterly, utterly beautiful. A great and sublime creation. There's so much depth to this album... both of you show development and even greater maturity since the last album. I love 'Everything Sings' in particular. It's anthemic. But all the tracks are faultless in both production and performance."

"Awesome, just awesome. Dave's lyrics and music are fantastic and so is Barbara's immaculate voice - still to my mind one of the best female voices of her generation... 'Everything Sings' is about as perfect as perfection can get. Amazing poetry, composition and performance."

"My copy of Star Clocks arrived today and I am very happy. It's beautiful and on repeat. The subtlety and poignancy of the music still grows and progresses."

"Thank you for your music!! It's golden, classic pop that keeps on giving. Barbara's singing is just lovely, it's sweet and true."

"Their mellow songs continue to be among the most gorgeous anywhere."

"The pure definition of intelligent pop music. I treasure every release!"

"STAR CLOCKS IS BEAUTIFUL."

"Totally in love with the wonderful new album. Brings me to tears."

"A great album by two artists still at the top of their game. Overall the whole album just sounds great!"

"I received yesterday your Star Clocks CD and I'm already at the third listen. What I can say? As always it's a GEM!!!"

"Barbara is sounding better than ever. Like good wine, your voice gets better with time. Thank you for your wonderful music!"

"I put on Star Clocks as soon as I received it and love the new songs & lyrics! VERY inspiring! Excellent mix & recording (as always)... love the great keyboard patches (and performances) and Barbara sounds better than ever! Gavin Harrison is fantastic (as always) and the guitar parts fit right in and are very complimentary as well. Congratulations on another musical success! 'The magic remains'."

"The house is shaking with the thunderous sounds of Star Clocks. How does Dave manage to create such sounds from just a handful of keyboards? Why is Barbara not lauded far and wide as one of the UK's great vocalists? A resounding musical success... again. Play on repeat."

"'Everything Sings' and 'Time's Arrow' feel like the emotional essence of Star Clocks. More sedate and introspective, they are suffused with a languid melancholy. Gaskin's gloriously multitracked voice articulates the wonder of being alive in the former and one's inevitable mortality in the latter. Incredibly poignant, Stewart's meticulous orchestration on these deeply affecting melodies is equal to his best work. Magical and moving, they are quietly devastating."
Live Performances
Dave & Barbara perform live as a trio or quartet. After venturing out on the road with US and Japanese tours in the 1990s, the Stewart / Gaskin band performed at London's Queen Elizabeth Hall and Los Angeles Cyberarts festival. Having enlisted guitarist Beren Matthews, the trio performed Autumn 2018 headlining concerts in Tokyo and London, the latter also featuring master drummer Gavin Harrison (Porcupine Tree, King Crimson, The Pineapple Thief). Dave, Barbara and Beren returned to Tokyo in November 2019 and emerged from lockdown with a memorable 40-year anniversary concert at London's Kings Place on Saturday July 9th 2022. Having performed three further Tokyo concerts in April 2023, the trio made a triumphant return to Kings Place Hall One on August 5th 2023.

Our CDs, signed vinyl singles and Dave's Inside The Music ebooks are available from our Stewart / Gaskin online store, operated by our longstanding colleagues Burning Shed. All sales revenue goes directly to the musicians with no record company involvement.

Links

Online Store CD Releases Live Concerts
Discography Vinyl Archive Broken Records history
Barbara Gaskin bio Dave Stewart bio eBooks FAQ & links

Recordings

Star Clocks Green and Blue Hour Moon EP
The TLG Collection Spin The Big Idea
As Far As Dreams Can Go Broken Records - The Singles
Signed 7" Vinyl Singles

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Live photos of Stewart / Gaskin band, Tokyo 2009-2023 copyright Harumi Maezawa.
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