Dave Rowberry
British musician (1940–2003)
David Eric Rowberry (4 July 1940 – 6 June 2003) was an English pianist and organist, most known for being a member of the rock and R&B group the Animals in the 1960s.
Early career, 1962–1965
Born in Mapperley, Nottinghamshire, Rowberry entered the Newcastle-upon-Tyne blues and jazz music scene in the early 1960s, when he was at Newcastle University. He joined the Mike Cotton Jazzmen (later the Mike Cotton Sound) in 1962, who made a living backing American blues and pop acts touring England, including Solomon Burke, Stevie Wonder, the Four Tops and Gene Pitney. Rowberry played on the group's singles from 1962 to 1965, including their hit, "Swing That Hammer", as well as their self-titled album.
The Animals, 1965–1966
The Animals were already one of the major British Invasion groups in May 1965 when founding keyboardist Alan Price suddenly left due to fear of flying and other issues. According to lead singer Eric Burdon, Rowberry, while considered a good musician, was chosen partly because of his passing physical resemblance to Price. Keyboardist Zoot Money, who became a full-time member of a later configuration of the band, claims that he was approached first, and Rowberry only selected as a second choice.
Rowberry played many of the group's big hits, including "We Gotta Get Out of This Place", "It's My Life", "Don't Bring Me Down", "Inside-Looking Out", and "See See Rider". For a number of songs, including the last of these, Rowberry was credited as the arranger. He also played on the hit single "Help Me Girl".
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The entry’s evidential value lies in the named roles, institutions and publications that can be tested against primary documentation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 1, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2702135. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1940, 2003, 1962 and 1965.
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This entry incorporates text from “Dave Rowberry” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.