David was born in the summer of 1965 in Oldham, The youngest son of Jean and Bill Boycott. Growing up, Dave’s mission in life was to annoy his three older brothers whenever possible, however he soon found another passion; music. Spending his youth in Manchester, Dave started Deejaying locally, and he became a part of the Manchester music scene that put the city on the map. With influences including Madness, Joy Division and The Jam he soon found his next passion in life; the Mod Scene. Following on from his idol Paul Weller, he became part of this new culture, whose symbol is one we can all associate with Dave, the Vespa.

A twisted ankle during his first try out on the rugby field ended his interest in that sport, and he took to a sport far more safer; racing high powered classic Italian scooters, and hanging off racing standard sidecars trying to maintain a balance for greater speed. Mods, scooters racing and soul music became Dave, and Dave became “Dr Dave Soul Monsta”.

Scooter rallies took him everywhere in the UK and off across Europe. His travels finally landed him in Thailand 8 years ago, and after a stint in Bangkok, Dave moved to Hua Hin in 2003 and met the love of his life, Oe.

Still Deejaying and working with scooters, Dave’s influence slowly spread across the town and he settled here. Determined to get most of Hua Hin riding scooters, and listening to soul music, Dave started working with a local radio station and an internet media company. His soul show attracted listeners from all over, and it provided him with an outlet, and a voice.

But let’s not forget that Dave was more than the sum of the things we associate with him, many of us who knew him, had a friend, the likes of which do not come along often in a lifetime. Anytime you had a problem Dave was there, to “get it sorted”, anytime you needed a chat, you’d hear the sound of a Vespa, and you’d know that a listening, caring, reliable ear, was on the way.

Dave was deeply moved by the people around him, and I’m sure we all have our own stories and remembrances of him, one that comes to mind, is that of his partner on the radio, DJ Gee, who was taken from us in a road accident earlier this year. Dave made a promise at the time, that he would kick The Gee’s arse, for driving too fast when he finally met him, well I’d bet the Gee hasn’t had a kicking like the one he’s gonna be getting, and just to make sure, Dave’s wearing his trademark DM’s now. Following that, I’m sure that they’ll be spinning the tunes up there somewhere.

Dave’s concern for road safety was another personal crusade of his, despite the fact that he himself drove around Thailand on a 30 year old bag of bolts. He’d always claim that Vespa’s are far safer than the “Honda buckets” many of us ride, a claim many people had a hard time taking in having to step over a driveway full of scooter parts every time they went to his house.

A tribute to a great man, and close friend to many, are the seven pages of messages from across the world on HHAD, a website which Dave dedicated himself to.

Dave left us with a legacy, one that we all came to rely on from the man, one that will be missed, in that we all live in a small community of expats, and should be there for each other more often. Whenever you hear of someone who has a problem, stop, and try to think “what would Dr. Dave do”, and the answer is simple; just be there, care, and be a friend. That way, I hope, Dave’s legacy will live on through us.

God bless you Dave, ride On, ride free, and thanks mate. It has been nothing but an honour and a pleasure. You’re a true Gentleman.

This entry was posted on Friday, November 16th, 2007 at 12:18 pm and is filed under Expats. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.