Dani Filth (born Daniel Lloyd Davey on July 25, 1973 in Hertford, England) is the lyricist, vocalist and founding member of the British extreme metal band Cradle of Filth.

Biography

Dani was born to Susan Janet Moore and Lawrence John Davey and is the oldest child of four. Dani has two sisters; Amanda (b. 1975) and Rachel (b. 1978); and a brother, Phillip (b.1981).. In his youthful years, Dani took his education very seriously, until he started gaining an interest in music (upon the first incarnation of Cradle of Filth, he drew out the band's logo on a piece of notebook paper). His moniker "Dani" is Hebrew for "bereft of God", versus his real name of Daniel, or "One with God". His earliest bands were Carnival Fruitcake, The Lemon Grove Kids, PDA and Feast of Excrement,and he named Judas Priest, Venom, Emperor, Destruction, Slayer, Iron Maiden, Sabbat, The Misfits, Paradise Lost and Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas among his major influences. At the age of eighteen, Filth took up a job at a Chinese restaurant. He later chose his career in music over an internship at a newspaper, although his "Dani's Inferno" column ran for two years in Metal Hammer during the late 1990s.

Cradle had no actual proper record deal (barring an abortive relationship with Tombstone Records) until 1994, when their first album, The Principle of Evil Made Flesh was released by Cacophonous.

He married his girlfriend Toni, on October 31, 2005 in Ipswich, and the two share a daughter, Luna Scarlett (b. February 8, 1999).

He lives in Suffolk, England and is currently working on co-writing The Gospel of Filth with Gavin Baddeley.

Away from Cradle, Dani appeared on the Roadrunner United CD in 2005 (contributing vocals to "Dawn of a Golden Age"), and his high profile has also led to a handful of film and television roles. In 2003 he provided the voice of the eponymous main character in the feature-length animation Dominator.

Cradle of Fear

In 2000 he appeared in the movie Cradle of Fear as The Man - a deranged psychopath taking revenge on his father's persecutors. The film also starred David McEwen, Edmund Dehn, Emily Booth, Eileen Daly, Rebecca Eden and Emma Rice. A homage to the cult Amicus anthology Asylum, Cradle of Fear unfolds four stories all linked by the thread of an incarcerated child killer wreaking vengeance on those responsible for his imprisonment. The movie's tagline on some posters was, "It's not if they die... It's how!"

TV Appearances

He appeared during the final season of Bam Margera's MTV series Viva La Bam in an episode involving a stolen Hummer and a Cradle of Filth concert in Pennsylvania. The episode featured a portion of Cradle of Filth performing the song "Nemesis" from the album Nymphetamine. Additionally, the song "Her Ghost in the Fog" from the album Midian was used in the background in the episode "Scavenger Hunt", when Bam dropped a piano on Ryan Dunn and Raab Himself's "Policia" car. "Her Ghost In The Fog" was also featured when Bam and Dunn went to a castle in Europe to get wine for his parents' anniversary. Dani also made a guest appearance on Big Brother's Big Mouth on the 11th of January 2008. In 2001, Dani was a guest on BBC2's Never Mind the Buzzcocks, and was widely credited for his contribution for the episode.

Cradle were the focus of an episode of BBC's documentary series "Living With The Enemy" (not to be confused with the radio comedy of the same name), in which the band defended their music and way of life against a mother who was concerned for her son.

Discography

• The Principle of Evil Made Flesh (1994)
• Vempire or Dark Faerytales in Phallustein (1996)
• Dusk and Her Embrace (1996)
• Cruelty and the Beast (1998)
• From the Cradle to Enslave (1999)
• Midian (2000)
• Bitter Suites to Succubi (2001)
• Lovecraft & Witch Hearts (2002)
• Live Bait for the Dead (later released as Eleven Burial Masses) (2002/2007)
• Heavy, Left-Handed and Candid (live DVD) (2002)
• Damnation and a Day (2003)
• Nymphetamine (2004)
• Thornography (2006)
• ''Godspeed On The Devil's Thunder (2008)

References

External links

• Official Cradle of Filth site