Dave Hole

Robert David Hole (born 30 March 1948, Heswall, Cheshire, United Kingdom) is an Australian slide guitarist known for his style of playing rock and roll and blues music. In 1990 he issued Short Fuse Blues which brought him to the attention of United States label, Alligator Records. Two of his albums have appeared on Billboard Top Blues Albums, Steel on Steel (1995) peaked at No. 13 and Ticket to Chicago (1997) reached No. 15. His sixth album, Under the Spell, appeared in April 1999 and won "Best Blues & Roots Album" at the ARIA Music Awards of that year. Hole is noted for his unusual performance style, which alternates traditionally plucked notes and chords with the slide notes played by his hand draped over the guitar's neck. According to Australian rock music historian Ian McFarlane, Hole "is the most acclaimed blues guitarist Australia has ever produced ... courtesy of his unorthodox slide guitar style, his rousing live shows and a series of hard-rocking, roadhouse blues albums ... yet it took two decades of slogging around the Australian touring circuit before the local industry sat up and took notice".