Kevin McFadden Music Page

Misdemeanor was formed in 1979 from the ashes of Vitus Dance, a band which captured the spirit of punk. The line-up was Kevin McFadden, Bob Watson, Steve Capaldi and Kearin Wright. For a while they were under XTC's management team, Ian Reed and Dennis Detheridge. They were the first rock band to play at The Bristol Bridge Inn. Traditionally a 'Jazz' pub, the crowd walked out after the first few numbers! However they soon built up a following and played there three or four times a month for the next couple of years and the 'Bridge' became their spiritual home.

The band attracted a lot of local interest from BBC Radio DJ's Al Reed, Andy Westgate who gave them regular airplay and later Johnnie Walker. This resulted in a meeting with Dennis Sheehan who was also present at a BBC radio show being interviewed alongside Kevin. A management deal was struck. Dennis Sheehan also managed Iggy Pop, and later became U2's tour manager. Through Dennis they were taken under the wing of Steve Todd from the Wasted Talent Agency who were promoting most of the biggest bands worldwide and offering Misdemeanour significant support slots, including the Boomtown Rats, Ian Dury, U2 and most importantly perhaps, as will become apparent in this story, R.E.M.

At the time, being managed by Dennis seemed like a great opportunity, but they later discovered that he had turned away Press and A & R interest as he was concentrating his efforts on U2. One of their biggest regrets is that the offer of a tour of the South Coast of America with R.E.M never materialised. Despite Michael Stipe and the band having made the offer personally, Dennis turned it down without talking to Kevin and the bandmates as he later tried to explain, 'because he didn't consider it of benefit'!

The band parted company with Dennis in 1986 and advertised for a manager in NME. The advert was answered by Mark Handy who arranged gigs in Paris and launched a supporters club with over 2000 members.

Later, the band expanded with the addition of Jezz Jackson on keyboards and Kevin would go on to write some amazing compositions with the new enlarged Misdemeanor, including the awesome 'Walls Of Shame', 'Indian Times' and would pursue his 'American Dream'. Take a listen here and on iTunes to music now available as downloads.

Original text from BristolArchiveRecords.com and edited & added to by Paul Cary. (2019)

Kevin McFadden sadly passed away at his home in Bradley Stoke, near Bristol on July 1st 2018.

Kevin, founder member, and songwriter for Misdemeanor, one of the country's best bands in the early 1980s, moved from California back to Bristol in early 2018, and was planning to start a new life with old friends and create new music. Kevin’s enthusiasm for all things musical and his great story telling ability, no doubt developed from his Irish background, will be greatly missed. Most of the tales he told were from personal experience growing up in Northern Ireland, later in England and USA and are far too funny and/or contentious to be repeated here. He used his great insight and his unique take on things to develop songs which were meaningful and stayed in your memory and was writing new material right up until he passed away. As a personal friend for 40 years, I will miss him greatly. pc

He is survived by his six children, Leanne, Jacqueline, Connor (1st marriage), Katherine, James and Helen.

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What was apparent from talking to Kevin whilst he was back in Bristol was that the best was yet to come…. Although Kevin admitted he left music behind for a number of years whilst in the USA, when the bug came visiting again, he soon picked up where he left off and various ‘happenings’, 'situations' he got himself into brought the writing bug back into play. The passing of years and greater life experience brought a new confidence to his writing.

Tracks such as Baby Cries, inspired by someone a member of his family knew, only got as far as a couple of lines down on paper and a few chords inspired from of all things by Silly Love Songs written by McCartney. Two tracks in particular did get recorded as demos on his newly acquired Boss Digital recording studio and portions were played at his funeral. They are Tornado Stories and Wounded Heart. Wounded Heart is a strong demo and there are plans by his old band mates to take it back into the studio and polish off what he started.

Jack, Kevin's Dad, told me: " He sacrificed his music when he got to Sonoma, so that he could build, not one, but two businesses - he had a State building Licence and a State Electrical Licence. His reputation grew and among his clientele was Robin Williams (Mrs Doubtfire) also James Gardener - he took me to his house outside San Francisco. "

Kevin thought Tornado Stories was his best work.
“ Dear Paul
I am writing to tell you this because I think you will get it. I really don’t do anything musical much. but I heard these words at an AA meeting a couple of years ago. The alcoholic is like a tornado roaring through the lives of others. That stuck in my head. Last year when I was driving cross country I had this idea for a song called tornado stories. I played with it left it, played with it etc. wrote lyrics whenever they popped up. I never really went at it to get it finished which is not how I used to do it. I wrote the music on a piano and now my piano is in Florida and I don’t have one and I couldn’t do it on the guitar to how I liked it. So I tried to play the piano on the guitar so it is fingered really strange and no pick. Mostly 5ths and 3rds on the first 4 strings played around the first 10 frets. Now I think it’s the best thing I’ve written since Walls of Shame. I’m still messing with it and I’m a tech disaster so I don’t know how I could let you hear it but I’m going to ask another musician guy I know if he could help. I never gave myself a pat on the back for any of my stuff. I always was trying to do the next one. So maybe it’s because it’s been so long or maybe I’m just old but I know this is good.
As a footnote I was at my addiction counsellors last week and he asked me to read this thing he had prepared for me. It was in the AA big book, page 83, last paragraph. The alcoholic is like a tornado roaring through the lives of others! “

" When I read how he tried to replicate the piano, on the guitar, my mind went back to our early days in Bristol. He was majoring on music at Grammar School in Belfast and, when we came to Bristol, I made contact with a BT colleague who had music connections in the city. Through him I got Kevin into the City of Bristol Youth Orchestra - he played the trumpet. The conductor told me that he was the sweetest trumpet player that he had ever encountered. But Kevin decided that it was not for him and left. I had great hopes for his future with the Youth Orchestra, but he decided that his real interest lay with the bands he was about to found, rehearse and present. " Jack McFadden

Jack again: I was firmly of the view that Kevin was not alcoholic but his mother thought otherwise. Monica was even more perceptive and created a bo Kevin in Arizona nd between them so that she could help him. Listening to him once, on alcoholism, at Fort Ross where we spent a day, I was so impressed by his knowledge, I suggested that he write a book; that was his strength - he was a wordsmith.

" He allowed himself the luxury of playing in an Irish Pub in Sonoma (he played under the name of Sean Finn) but his main concern was business and he achieved a lot. Sadly the recession hit and everything went down the 'swanny'; regrettably - he sought solace in the bottle. "

Bob was in the band from day one, a constant, and his playing is really special, understated, but without doubt Misdemeanor's sound wouldn't be the same without his guitar sound and harmonies. Just listen to his guitar responses on Iron Hat for an example of how fine a player he is... Lovely stuff. His laid back stage presence complimented Kevin’s boisterousness and they looked really good together 'duelling' on guitars, Definitely up there with the best of two-guitar bands. As Kearin says, “ He (Bob) was always a very unique player with a very competent style and sound, and I did enjoy our time playing together. Also enjoyed his solo recordings he gave me in the past.

The powerhouse behind band. Kearin's relationship with Kevin goes back a long way, early bands included The Desperados, Vitus Dance as well as Misdemeanor, and is a superb drummer. He is a self-declared drumming obsessive with everything drum related running through his veins. Kearin's drumming at the back of the stage complimented the action at the front, solid, enthusiastic and flamboyant..

In my opinion, Jezz's keyboards really helped build the 'Misdemeanor Sound' and his contribution completed what, I believe, Kevin had been searching for. His organ/Hammond sound in particular helped create an atmosphere which ‘told the story’. Jezz is also a fine saxophone player and is gigging regularly. Good musicians keep on getting it on......

Steve was a rock solid bass player in the band. He had passion and drive which would sometimes spill over into other areas (show me a rock band were that doesn't happen - pc) He always looked the part with good stage presence. Bob has said that, “Steve’s bass style was characterfull, adding melody as well as depth, and always tasteful. Whilst Kearin, Misdemeanor’s drummer says “he was a solid player who did try out little riffs which worked, his timing was good and did his bit with backing vocals. “