Born in Sheffield, Dave grew up listening to the greats of swing and blues: Tommy Dorsey, Benny Goodman, Big Joe Williams and T-Bone Walker. Inspired by rhythm and blues, he began his career as a drummer-vocalist. After a musical apprenticeship in the back rooms of pubs, he soon stood alongside contemporaries such as John Mayall, Eric Clapton and Alexis Korner.

Dave featured on one of the first R&B albums released by Decca, performing with Zoot Money, John Mayall and Jack Bruce. Signed soon after as a solo artist, he scored early success with Memphis Tennessee, followed by My Baby Left Me and Burt Bacharach’s Baby It’s You.

Hitmaker and Icon

The breakthrough came with The Crying Game, a Top 5 UK hit that brought Dave to TV screens on Top of the Pops, Ready Steady Go, and Thank Your Lucky Stars. Known for his striking stage presence — dressed in black, moving with a style far ahead of its time — Dave became an unmistakable figure of the 60s.

Further hits followed, including Little Things and Ray Davies’s This Strange Effect — which became the biggest-selling single ever in Holland — before closing his chart run with Mama in 1966.

Dave’s influence has spanned generations. In the late 70s he became a punk hero when The Sex Pistols covered Don’t Gimme No Lip Child, originally a B-side to The Crying Game.