The membership of David Gedge’s bands has fluctuated on a fairly regular basis ever since Peter ‘Grapper’ Solowka’s departure back in 1991. Since then, for one reason and another, there’s been a line-up change on virtually every album release since. So this is not a comprehensive list of all musicians associated with the band but hopefully it captures the majority of the important ones. It’s up-to-date as of early 2021.
Permanent band members (in studio and live) chronological order
David Lewis Gedge (vocalist, guitarist, various other instruments, lyricist, main songwriter)
Date of Birth: 23/04/1960 Bramley, Leeds, UK
Period in band: 1985-present
Previous band: The Lost Pandas
Peter Solowka (guitarist)
Period in band: 1985-1991
Other bands: The Chorus, The Ukrainians
Keith Gregory (bassist)
Period in band: 1985-1993
Other bands: The Lost Pandas, Dustdevils, Cha Cha Cohen
Shaun Charman (drummer)
Period in band: 1985-1987
Other bands: The Popguns, Turbocat, The Fireworks, Jetstream Pony
Peter Solowka, David Gedge, Keith Gregory, Simon Smith
Keith Gregory, Paul Dorrington, Simon Smith, David Gedge
Simon Smith (drummer)
Period in band: 1988-1997
Other bands: The Chorus, The Sinister Cleaners, Cha Cha Cohen, Beachbuggy
Paul Dorrington (guitarist)
Period in band: 1991-1995, 2014
Other bands: AC Temple, Tse Tse Fly, Cha Cha Cohen, Walker
Darren Belk [Jack Straker] (bassist, guitarist, vocalist)
Period in band: 1993-1996
Other bands: Bungalow, Beachbuggy, Walker
Jayne Lockey (bassist, vocalist)
Period in band: 1995-1997
Other bands: Tse Tse Fly – with Paul Dorrington and Simon Cleave
Simon Cleave (guitarist)
Period in band: 1996-2006, 2009
Other bands: Tse Tse Fly – with Paul Dorrington and Jayne Lockey
Sally Murrell (keyboardist, vocalist)
Period in band: 1997-2003
Terry de Castro (bassist)
Period in band: 1998-2010 and occasional appearances since
Other bands: Animals That Swim, Goya Dress
Bryan McLellan (drummer)
Period in band: 1998-1999
Other bands: Tom McRae, Vega4, Tape the Radio, 24Pesos
Philip Robinson (keyboardist)
Period in band: 1998-2000
Simon Pearson (drummer)
Period in band: 2000, 2005
Other bands: Goya Dress – with Terry de Castro
Kari Paavola (drummer)
Period in band: 2000-2005
Graeme Ramsay (drummer, guitarist)
Period in band: 2006-2012, 2014
Other bands: Silvermash
Christopher McConville (guitarist)
Period in band: 2006-2009
Charles Layton (drummer)
Period in band: 2009-2019
Pepe Le Moko (bassist)
Period in band: 2010-2012
Other bands: The Evil Son – with Samuel Beer-Pearce
Patrick Alexander (guitarist)
Period in band: 2012-2013, 2015
Other bands: The Young Playthings
Katherine Wallinger (bassist, vocalist)
Period in band: 2012-2016
Other bands: The Candys
Samuel Beer-Pearce (guitarist)
Period in band: 2013-2016, 2021
Other bands: The Evil Son – with Pepe Le Moko
David Gedge, Charles Layton, Katherine Wallinger, Samuel Beer-Pearce
Danielle Wadey (keyboardist, bassist, guitarist)
Period in band: 2013-2019
Marcus Kain (guitarist)
Period in band: 2016-2017
Other bands: Twenty Two Hundred
Marcus Kain, David Gedge, Charles Layton and Danielle Wadey
Melanie Howard (Guitarist, vocalist, keyboards and bass)
Period in band: After playing occasionally live from 2015, Melanie became an official member from 2018 until 2023.
Other bands: Such Small Hands
Melanie Howard, David Gedge, Danielle Wadey, Charles Layton, the Wedding Present in 2018
Jon Stewart (guitarist)
Period in band: When Danielle left, she was replaced by Jon. (2019-present)
Other bands: Sleeper
Chris Hardwick (drummer)
Period in band: When Charley left, he was replaced by Chris. (2019-2021)
Other bands: My Life Story
David Gedge, Melanie Howard, Jon Stewart and Chris Hardwick, the Wedding Present in 2020.
Nicholas Wellauer (drummer)
Period in band: From August 2021 until October 2023.
Other bands: Animal House
Nicholas Wellauer, Melanie Howard, David Gedge and Jon Stewart, the Wedding Present in 2021.
Temporary members (in studio)
Julian Sowa (drums) Go Out and Get ‘Em Boy! (1985)
Mike Stout (guitars)
Amelia Fletcher (vocalist)
Len Liggins (vocalist)
Emma Pollock (vocalist)
Marty Wilson-Piper (guitarist)
Anthony Coote (bassist)
Temporary members (live)
Hugh Kelley Jnr (2nd drummer) 1995-1996
Debbie Vander Wall (2nd drummer) 1995-1996
Chris Cooper (2nd drummer) 1995-1996
Richard Marcangelo (drummer) 1998
Phil Prime (drummer) 2005
John Maiden (drummer) 2005
Alex White (drummer) 2010
Jennifer Schwartz (bassist) Feb/Mar 2013
Geoffrey Maddock (guitarist) 2013
Missy Tassles (bassist) 2014
Andrew Lessman (drummer) 2015
Rachel Wood (guitarist) 2022-
Paul Blackburn (bassist) 2023-
Vinnie Lammi (drummer) 2023-
Thank you to Andy Gillespie, Terry de Castro and Kirk Ollason who helped me fill in some of the gaps in my knowledge when it came to temporary live members.
Songography for The Wedding Present and Cinerama 