Dave Warner was born David Robert Warner in
Bicton, Western Australia in 1953. He attended
Aquinas College and then the
University of Western Australia where he graduated with a B.A. (Hons.), majoring in
psychology.
Musical works In 1973, he formed the band Pus, which was influenced by radical 1960s New York activist band,
The Fugs. Warner describes this band on his website as "Australia's first punk band". Warner's song writing it was certified Gold within a month of its release.
Free Kicks (1979) followed, but then From the Suburbs disbanded. With a new line-up, Warner released
Correct Weight (1979) and
This is My Planet (1981; reissued as
This is Your Planet in 1996). After
This is My Planet, Warner diversified from writing and performing music full-time. Instead, he started to write plays, novels and screenplays.
Theatrical works In 1982, his revue,
The Sensational Sixties started to tour large suburban hotels. Written and produced by Warner, the show was successful. In 1985, Warner wrote and appeared in a musical,
The Sixties and All That Pop. Later that year
Planet Pres, a rock musical written by him, was produced by the WA Theatre Company, and performed at the
Playhouse Theatre. In 1987, Warner managed and wrote songs for a female trio, Pleasure Principle. He performed (and wrote) a one-man show,
Australian Heroes. He had a small parts in the movies
Boundaries of the Heart (1988) and
Boys in the Island (1989).
Screen works The first feature film written by Warner,
Cut (2000), was a teen
slasher starring
Molly Ringwald and
Kylie Minogue. He followed up with
Balmain Boys (TV movie) and
Garage Days (both 2002) and then
Ravenswood (2006) starring
Stephen Moyer and
Teresa Palmer. He was one of the chief writers of the drama TV series
Going Home and the short TV feature
Roll, as well as writing more than ten episodes of ''
McLeod's Daughters. Warner wrote in an episode of Packed to the Rafters that featured his single Suburban Boy
in a storyline starring Craig McLachlan as a faded 1980s rock star. In 1994 he hosted the ABC Sunday morning football program Ballzup!''.
Literary works Warner has written both fiction and non-fiction. His first novel, a crime story called
City of Light, was published in 1995. It was the winner of the Best Fiction Work award at the
Western Australian Premier's Book Awards in 1996. In the same year his second book, ''Footy's Hall of Shame'' also came out, featuring cartoons by Steve Panozzo. In 1997, Warner's second crime novel,
Big Bad Blood was published. He then wrote the first one in a series of humorous crime novels in the style of
Agatha Christie,
Murder in the Groove. Published in 1998, the book featured Andrew "The Lizard" Zirk, a former rock star turned detective. In the same year were also published ''Racing's Hall of Shame
(co-written with Nicolas Brasch), Cricket's Hall of Shame
(again with cartoons by Panozzo) and 25 Years of Mushroom Records
. The second novel featuring "Lizard" Zirk, Murder in the Frame
, was published in 1999. In 2000, Warner published eXXXpresso
, a novel about an ex-criminal who intends to build a chain of prison-themed cafés, and Murder in the Off-Season'', the third "Lizard" Zirk novel. ==Bibliography==