Dave Rowberry

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.

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 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". He was prominent on Animalisms and Animalization, often considered two of the most consistent albums of the group's recording career. He also sang backing vocals and did occasional songwriting for the group.

The original incarnation of the Animals collapsed in September 1966, after which Rowberry became a session musician. Until 2001, he was not invited to participate in any subsequent group reunions involving Eric Burdon. He did reunite a few times on projects with his former bandmates from the Mike Cotton Sound. The most notable reunion was the Kinks' album, Everybody's in Show-Biz. Rowberry played on the single "Celluloid Heroes" and some keyboard instruments on the album. He also appeared with the Kinks on television during this time on the song, "Supersonic Rocket Ship". Rowberry also played on many albums by blues singer Dana Gillespie in the 1980s and 1990s.

Biography summary from English Wikipedia.