CRYINGGAME The Official Dave Berry Website


For over six decades

Born in Sheffield, Dave was brought up on the music of big bands and bluesmen like Tommy Dorsey, Benny Goodman, Big Joe Williams and T-Bone Walker. Developing taste for R&B he began his music career as a drummer-vocalist and after an ‘apprenticeship’ in back rooms of pubs, was soon as well known as his contemporaries - John Mayall, Eric Clapton and Alexis Corner. Dave was featured along with Zoot Money, John Mayall and Jack Bruce on one of the first R&B albums released by Decca. He was signed by Decca as a solo artist and scored a hit with Memphis Tennessee, then followed by minor successes with My Baby Left me and Burt Bacharach’s Baby It’s You.

The big breakthrough came with The Cryinggame, reaching No. 5 in the UK chart and resulting in frequent appearances on TV’s Top of the Pops, Ready Steady Go and Thank You Lucky Stars. Dave’s act featured quite a strong image for the Period...The singer dressed in black, erotically contorting his body and playing with the microphone as if it were a writhing snake. Dave also took part in the Grand Gala du Disque in Amsterdam and a similar event at The Olympia in Paris. He also represented Great Britain in song festivals at Knokke, Split and Malta.

Little Things and Ray Davis’s This Strange Effect-Holland’s biggest selling record ever-provided further chart success which concluded with Mama in 1966. In the late 70’s he became something of a punk idol with The Sex Pistols version of Don’t Gimme No Lip Child a 1964 B side of The Crying Game.

Dave continues to tour Britain and Europe with The Cruisers who’s line up on stage and in the studio included Jimmy Page, Big Jim Sullivan,John Paul Jones, Tony Iommi and Rick Wakeman.