The music of Daniel Rachel and Rachels Basement
Daniel Rachel was the leader singer and songwriter of Birmingham band Rachels Basement. Although the four-piece remained unsigned, Rachels Basement played to sold out venues and rave revues undertaking several nationwide headline and support tours. Courted on many occasions by the record industry – including prestigious residencies at UB40’s DEP Studios and Rockfield Studios – the band’s time was not then.
‘Shot In The Dark’ promo and interview filmed at the Custard Factory, Birmingham. The song was originalyy recorded at Rockfeild Studios in December 1997 by Martin Betts -bass, Daniel Rachel – vocals, Marc Olivier – guitar and Ed Lawes – drums.
Featurette of Rachels Basement recording ‘Quit Your Low Down Ways’ at Rockfield Studios in December 1997.
Formed in May 1995, the original line-up of Rachels Basement featured Paul Kelsall – bass, Tariq Quadri – guitar, Daniel Rachel – vocals, and Spike on drums.
Rachels Basement performing ‘Stuck In A Hole’ and ‘Sonny’ at The Jug of Ale, Mosley in March 1996
Promo video of ‘Shake’ recorded at the Magic Garden, Wolverhampton. Filmed by Jon Kirby.
Daniel in conversation with Dean Vernals discussing the history of Rachels Basement, including ‘Our Russian Flame’, ‘Quit Your Lowdown Ways’, ‘Too Much High Living’ and ‘Pearl’. Recorded in November 2020.
In 2000, Daniel moved to London and established Dust Records for the release of the self-financed debut album ‘A Simple Twist of Folk‘. Released in 2001 the album received much critical acclaim and was described by Mojo magazine as, ‘A brave, honest record, shot through with beautiful melodies, lyrical and resonant as its title suggests.’
Daniel Rachel performing a 30 minute set at the Albert Hole in Bristol on 31 October 2001.
A live performanca of ‘The Last Time I Danced’ for local Potsmouth TV in October 2001
Two limited edition seven inch singles; ‘Burned By The Wire‘ and ‘Dear Friend‘ followed before a second album ‘ A Taste of Money’ was released in 2006. The album featured the single ‘Let It Be Mine’ which reached No.28 in the Official Independent Singles Chart in January 2008.
Promo film of ‘Let It Be Mine’ made by Rod Main
A final single ‘Hearts and Bones‘ was released before Daniel ‘guillotined his career’ and set about a conversion from musician to author. ‘ Isle of Noises: Conversations with Great British Songwriters was published by Picador in 2013 and was a Guardian and NME Book of the Year.
Read Daniel Rachel album, single, and live reviews by clicking on this link.
Click on the individual record sleeves for additional content