David Michael Moore is a versatile bass, guitar, keyboard player, vocalist, songwriter and composer. Matt Douglas is a drummer, pianist, guitarist, vocalist and songwriter. David and Matt share a passion for music and a love for live performance and feel truly at home on stage. Together they form ‘The Squire Circle’.
David Moore’s musical journey began in Ireland in the 60’s listening to his mother’s soprano voice, choral works and the dulcets of the Dubliners singing ‘Step It Out Mary’. A genetic line of jazz musicians, clarinet players, pianists, singers and creators, music was a part of life. The catalyst for David at 15 years old was Portsmouth Locarno, 1977, and a chance viewing of Marc Bolan supported by The Damned. EUREKA!! You don’t have to be a public schoolboy and classically trained to play guitar and write music!! David acquired his first guitar (bought from a catalogue), a Maroon Hondo Les Paul Copy, saw The Ramones learnt a bar chord. A Musician for life.
Matt Douglas of Scottish descent and a Celt in temperament with a love of music, the greatest of all the arts. Accomplished piano player, guitarist, vocalist and professional drummer cites Neil Finn, Elvis Costello and Paul Weller all as influences. An early memory for Matt was playing along to the Top 40 every Sunday night as a child on his Tupperware drumkit, wooden spoons et al. Whilst not being from musical stock, Matt’s parents were ever supportive and financed the early, experimental days. Matt played piano from the age of 5, moving onto drums and guitar at 11. Beat master in Soul ensembles and exposed with just guitar and voice, the boards have been trodden from Scotland to the Scilly isles.
Matt and David’s first collaboration was in 2000 with Maximum High supporting Geldof, festivals throughout the UK, and later morphing into the Mulberries with Guy Fletcher, gracing the stage with Status Quo in 2006. Having gone their separate ways, David and Matt took part in many different musical projects; Dave playing with Rick Buckler and Bruce Foxton, travelling the world as part of ‘From the Jam’ and Matt branching out into more acoustic based music as part of ‘Retox’. They joined forces again in 2008 and began writing songs which would later become their debut release ‘The Squire’.
Writing the songs that formed ‘The Squire’ was done at David and Matt’s respective home studios and the tracks were finalized at Ford Lane Studios in the beautiful Sussex countryside. As the songs took shape, greater depth was added through violin, saxophones and the layering of multi-harmony vocals. In no time at all, the album was finished. The influences and friendship can be heard throughout this record. Tamla Motown, New Wave, the Northern Soul vibe of the Twisted Wheel, Ian Brown, John Squire and George Ivan Morrison, it’s all in there somewhere, be it a chord or an inflection.
The Squire Circle is a truly original record, all songs written by David and Matt. Music, like peoples character is a mixture of genetic, environmental and parental determinism and, lets not forget the SOUL.
The Squire Circle – we turn, we move, we evolve