Dave Rowberry, who has died aged 62, was briefly the keyboards player for the 1960s R & B group the Animals, having succeeded the better known Alan Price in 1965. Rowberry’s arrival on the scene was prompted by the departure of Alan Price - it was said that Price disliked flying, and that there were disagreements about the royalties he received from House of the Rising Sun. Whatever the truth, Price went his own way, and Rowberry replaced him on keyboards in May 1965.
David Rowberry was born at Nottingham on July 4 1940. From his teenage years he was a keen musician and, although he won a place to study at Newcastle University, he did not complete a degree, preferring to play piano and organ in various blues bands performing in the city. In 1962 he joined the Mike Cotton Jazzmen, later renamed the Mike Cotton Sound. With them, Rowberry accompanied performers such as Stevie Wonder, the Four Tops, Sonny Boy Williamson, Tom Jones and P J Proby. After joining the Animals, Rowberry proved himself an able back-up singer to Eric Burdon, and played on a number of the band’s subsequent hits, including We’ve Got To Get Out of This Place, It’s My Life and Don’t Bring Me Down. He also arranged the version of See See Rider, with which the group had a Top Ten hit in America in 1966.