David Longdon (17 June 1965 – 20 November 2021) was a British multi-instrumentalist and singer, who was best known as the lead vocalist and co-songwriter of the progressive rock band Big Big Train. Besides singing, Longdon played flute, keyboards, acoustic and electric 6 & 12 string guitars, bass, mandolin, lute, banjo, accordion, percussion, dulcimer, psaltry, vibraphone, theremin and glockenspiel.

David Longdon
David Longdon with Big Big Train live at the Town Hall; Birmingham, West Midlands, 2019
Background information
Born	(1965-06-17)17 June 1965 Nottingham, England
Died	20 November 2021(2021-11-20) (aged 56) Nottingham, England
Genres	Progressive rock post-prog
Occupation(s)	Multi-instrumentalist, singer
Instrument(s)	Vocals, flute, dulcimer, glockenspiel, keyboards, guitar, bass, mandolin, lute, banjo, accordion, percussion, psaltry, vibraphone, theremin
Website	www.bigbigtrain.com

Early life and career

Longdon was born in Nottingham, England,[1] on 17 June 1965.[2] He began writing music at age nine after discovering The Who.[3] He began his career as the lead singer of the band The Gift Horse.[4] Longdon was one of those who auditioned as lead singer of rock band Genesis in 1996, following the departure of Phil Collins. He auditioned during the making of Calling All Stations (1997), but the role was given to Scottish singer Ray Wilson.[5] He joined Big Big Train in 2009, and performed on numerous instruments in addition to his role as the lead singer beginning with the album The Underfall Yard in 2010.[1][4]

Personal life

Longdon had a partner, Sarah Ewing. He had two daughters, Amelia and Eloise. He died on 20 November 2021, in a Nottingham hospital, following a traumatic fall at his home early in the previous morning.[3][6] Steve Hackett described Longdon as "a lovely guy [with] a wonderful voice. He sounded fabulous singing on the vocal version of [Hackett’s song] 'Spectral Mornings'."[3] Neal Morse and Geoff Downes also paid respects following his death.[3]

Discography

With Big Big Train

Albums

• The Underfall Yard (2009)[3]
• English Electric Part One (2012)[7]
• English Electric Part Two (2013)[8]
• Folklore (2016)[9]
• Grimspound (2017)[10]
• The Second Brightest Star (2017)[11]
• Grand Tour (2019)[12]
• Common Ground (2021)[3]
• Welcome to the Planet (2022)[3]

EPs

• Far Skies Deep Time (2010)[13]
• Make Some Noise (2013)[14]
• Wassail (2015)[14]

Solo albums

• Wild River (2004)[15]
• Door One (2022)[16]

With Louis Philippe

• Jackie Girl (1996)[1][17]
• Azure (1998)[1][18]
• A Kiss in the Funhouse (1999)[1]
• My Favourite Part of You (2003)[1]
• The Wonder of it All (2004)[1]
• Live (2007)[1]

With Martin Orford

• The Old Road (songs "Ray of Hope" "Endgame") (2008)[1]

With The Tangent

• Le Sacre du Travail (2013)[19]
• L'Etagère du Travail (2013)[19]

With Dave Kerzner

• New World (song "New World") (2014)[20]

With The Charlatans

• Modern Nature (song "Walk with Me") (2015)[21]

With Judy Dyble

• Between a Breath and a Breath (2020)[4]

With Downes Braide Association

• Live in England (2019)
• Halcyon Hymns (2021)[22]

Other projects

• Spectral Mornings (lyrics, flute and vocals) (2015) – along with Nick Beggs, Rob Reed, Nick D'Virgilio, Christina Booth and Steve Hackett.[23]

References

External links

• David Longdon discography at Discogs
• David Longdon at IMDb