Annihilator mastermind, Jeff Waters, has paid tribute to original Anvil guitarist, Dave Allison, who has passed away at 68 years of age. Anvil shared BraveWords' post on Allison's passing, which Jeff Waters commented on with the following tribute:
"Thoughts to all... he sure left his mark on those classic records and I sure looked up to him (and the other 3) every time I snuck into The Chaud, The British and Le Papillon... RIP Dave. Thanks for your part in my mind and my music."
Jeff added: "Random thoughts ... I remember, at the Papillon in Hull, Quebec... not sure what year but I was barely (or not) legal to be in that club. I think it was 82... I was 16ish. I sat at a table by myself... ordered a Coca Cola. That woulda been strange in itself!
"My fave record has always been Hard N Heavy. I LOVED the attitude, the unique drumming and timing of Robbo and Da Nuge-style solos... and that snare and flams!
"Anyway, basically sitting alone in the middle of the packed club and looking young, 3 things happened that changed my life:
1) Lips came over to MY table and did a good chunk of his solo in Bedroom Game (yup, dildo and all!) In front of and FOR ME! He KNEW I was a hard-core fan as I think i sang and air drummed the entire set; and he noticed!
2) I could not believe how cool Dave was. He seemed like the one that woulda got all the "ladies"! I also noticed, after Lips went off to finish his solo, just how damn cool Dave was playing ONE NOTE (low E) during most all of the Bedroom Game solo... no one played that one note cooler than him. Schooled. One note can be cooler than 100, if done in the right place.
3) I went outback of the club after the show, where I saw them all packing gear away in vans and hanging with "older" fans and "groupies".
"I didn't want to bother them and I was fkn nervous to say hi... I didn't go over there..I just stood almost behind a parked car and watched what it was like to see my rock star idols off the stage, in real life (!). I would slowly walk away, to walk to the nearest open gas station to call a taxi home, across the bridge to Ottawa. BUT not before one of the leather jacketed dudes walked over with a beer in his hands. It was Dave.
"He said "hey, you wanna a beer"? I said "no thanks but I love Hard N Heavy"... hahaha. He could tell I was nervous and gave me a cigarette instead haha! Thanked me and my life was complete.
"RIP, IDOL!"
The news of Allison's passing was initially announced by Tyler Reiner, who shared the social media post below.
Anvil drummer Robb "Robbo" Reiner since shared his thoughts via social media:
"The word just reached me…Original band mate R.I.P. Dave Allison has passed away…
"Had the opportunity this Spring to pay a unplanned surprise visit to Dave’s isolated cabin…Loneliness was no stranger to him: To say he was in shock was an understated fact...blown away was more like it:…and so was I. The visit covered memories(many)and exposed his dire state:.. He was not well ..clearly: Together we planned a dinner that unfortunately never happened...
"R.I.P. my old friend. Robbo"
Dave Allison was a member of Anvil for 10 years and recorded seven albums with the band, including classics such as Metal On Metal and Forged In Fire. His final album with the band was the Past And Present live album.
In April 2017, Anvil played the Red Dog in Peterborough, Ontario and were joined for three songs by Dave Allison. The now classic footage below shows Dave performing "Metal On Metal" and "Forged In Fire" with the band.
(Top photo courtesy of Attic Records)
