Dougie Poynter
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| Dougie Poynter | |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Dougie Lee Poynter[1] |
| Born | November 30, 1987 |
| Origin | Corringham, Essex, England |
| Genre(s) | Pop Pop rock |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instrument(s) | Bass guitar Vocals Guitar(Occasional) |
| Years active | 2004–present |
| Label(s) | Island, Super Records |
| Associated acts | McFly, Ataiz |
| Website | www.mcflyofficial.com |
Dougie Lee Poynter[1] (born November 30, 1987[2] in Corringham, Essex, England) is bass player and backing vocalist for the British pop band McFly, along with fellow band members Danny Jones, Tom Fletcher and Harry Judd. McFly rose to fame after former band Busted helped launch them by inviting them to tour in March 2004. He is the youngest member of the band, being only fifteen when he joined.
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[edit] Early life
Dougie Poynter was born in Orsett Hospital[1]; he was brought up in Corringham, Essex. He attended Gable Hall School. Before joining McFly, Poynter lived with his mother Sam, younger sister Jazzie (born in 1990), two lizards (Jerry and Zukie), two cats, two dogs (Fraser and Maggie), a hamster and a frog (Ned). He used to breed lizards, earning himself the nickname 'Lizard King' at school (he was also known as 'Grunger', for his different music and fashion tastes as compared to the other students). He was in a punk rock band called Ataiz. His decision to leave for London was clearly taken with mixed sentiment amongst Poynter's friends. From the old Ataiz Website:
"Everything was beginning to look up for the band and they were on the brink of sending their demos off and seriously trying to get signed just after their East Thurrock gig when suddenly Poynter announced that he was leaving to join another band called mcfly [sic], who were well marketed and produced by a large, expensive label called Universal Island Records. This was a shock to the band and a shame as it was always assumed that if they'd make it, they'd make it together."
[edit] Personal life
Poynter is a publicly shy person, rarely commenting during earlier McFly interviews. However, he has recently admitted this was mostly down to his father's abandonment a few weeks before he joined McFly. Despite this shy exterior, he is also known to be the bubbliest band member and, according to fellow bandmates, often says things without thinking. Tom Fletcher has on more than one occasion stated concern that the bassist will one day land the band into trouble by saying something offensive or upsetting to someone or in front of an audience. Recently Poynter has become more relaxed with the band's growing fame, and has begun speaking more in interviews, as well as performing 'riskier' stunts in front of an audience.
Poynter has four tattoos - a star on each ankle (one blue, one red), the word "Athletes" across the top of his foot (as in Athlete's Foot; the other McFly members have similar tattoos), and a large space-themed scene - complete with rocket and lizard-skull - over his upper right chest, which he got to celebrate his eighteenth birthday; in the summer of 2006 he had the tattoo extended down his right arm.
In 2005, Poynter bought himself a bearded dragon lizard (Jerry), after his other dragon (Buffy) had unfortunately died: he also has another dragon named Zukie. To add to this small 'zoo' (as he named it) of animals he has bought two iguanas, two snakes, two tortoises and most recently (in 2007) a chocolate Labrador puppy named Flea. He has admitted to being allergic to horses, budgies and hamsters and, when once asked what his favourite type of pet was in an interview, replied: "Well, it's hardly going to be a cat, is it?".
Poynter currently lives on the bottom floor of a three-storey apartment block; bandmate Danny Jones lives on the top floor, with the band's personal studio situated in the middle. Other bandmates Harry Judd and Tom Fletcher also live in the same gated community. Poynter is an open skateboarding fan and often wears skate/surf brand clothing to highlight this, as well as having a half-pipe ramp in his back garden.
[edit] McFly
Poynter plays the bass guitar, provides backing vocals and also has solo vocals in songs such as 'Transylvania' - as well as certain versions of 'Baby's Coming Back', certain versions of 'I'll Be Okay', 'Silence is a Scary Sound', and 'Ignorance'. At the age of fourteen, he wrote the song 'Silence is a Scary Sound' with some input from previous bandmates in Ataiz; the song was debuted on McFly's 2005 arena tour (Wonderland). Poynter also co-wrote (with Tom Fletcher) 'Transylvania' (however Fletcher admitted the song was 'Dougie's baby') the double A-side to 'Baby's Coming Back'; this was the band's first single to feature Poynter on lead vocals.
More recently, Poynter has solely penned 'Ignorance', the B-side to the single 'The Heart Never Lies'. The song is obviously heavily influenced by many Poynter's idols (Blink-182, New Found Glory, My Chemical Romance etc.), this fact becomes obvious when listening to it. It has been commented several times that the song is 'nothing like' McFly's usual springy, bubble-gum pop tunes, and is perhaps even leaning towards a more emo/punk sound; this is typical of Poynter's self-penned songs, which always seem to have a 'darker edge'.
Poynter has played bass since "before he can remember", according to one interview; he later specified this age at being, 'about thirteen'. On-stage Poynter is renowned for his 'energetic' and 'springy' performances, which almost always include a lot of jumping, moreso than the other McFLY members. Fellow McFly members Danny Jones and Tom Fletcher recall Poynter as being by far the best technical bassist they auditioned.
McFly Rock!
[edit] Awards
At the T4 Smash Hits Poll Winners Party in 2005, Poynter won the award for "Top Mop". In 2006 he won the Virgin Media award for "Most Fanciable Male", with McFly winning "Best Group". He won the "Most Fanciable Male" award again in 2007, with McFly winning "Best Live Act".
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ^ a b c GRO Birth Registration Index. Ancestry.co.uk. Retrieved on 2007-05-25.
- ^ Dougie Poynter. McFly official website. Retrieved on 2007-05-25.
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