David Barbarossa is a drummer and an author of British and Mauritian descent. As part of both Adam and the Ants and Bow Wow Wow, he was instrumental in creating the highly influential and innovative tribal drumming style that was popular among British and some American bands from 1979 to 1983.
Adam and the Ants
Barbarossa joined Adam and the Ants in 1977, and was the drummer for their debut album, Dirk Wears White Sox. It was released on 30 October 1979 by Do It Records, and was the first number one album on the UK Indie Chart when the chart debuted in Record Week in 1980. Shortly afterwards, Adam Ant hired former Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren, in the hope of gaining more widespread recognition. Instead, McLaren persuaded Barbarossa, guitarist Matthew Ashman and bassist Leigh Gorman to leave Adam behind, and form a new group under McLaren's management. Thirteen year old Annabella Lwin joined the group as its vocalist, and the band became Bow Wow Wow.
Bow Wow Wow
Bow Wow Wow signed with EMI Records in July 1980. Their first single, "C·30 C·60 C·90 Go!", for which Barbarossa shared songwriting credit with McLaren, Ashman and Gorman, holds the distinction of being the world's first-ever cassette single. It reached No. 34 on the UK Singles Chart and stayed on the chart for seven weeks, despite its lack of promotion due to lyrics that encouraged music piracy. In November 1980, Bow Wow Wow released the cassette-only mini-albumYour Cassette Pet. Likewise, Barbarossa shared songwriting credit with McLaren, Ashman and Gorman on seven of Your Cassette Pet's eight tracks. As it was not available on vinyl, it was eligible only for the UK Singles Chart, where it peaked at No. 58. EMI dropped the group after their second single, "W.O.R.K. " failed to chart. After splitting with EMI, Bow Wow Wow signed with RCA Records, and released their first full-length album, See Jungle! See Jungle! Go Join Your Gang, Yeah. City All Over! Go Ape Crazy in October 1981. It produced their first UK top ten hit, "Go Wild in the Country", in early 1982. In May 1982, Bow Wow Wow released a four-track EP,The Last of the Mohicans, which contained a remake of the Strangeloves' 1965 hit, "I Want Candy'. "I Want Candy" was Bow Wow Wow's biggest international hit, and has lived on as an eighties classic, thanks in part to an iconic music video in heavy rotation on MTV. In 1983, Bow Wow Wow released their second full-length album, When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going. The lead single, "Do You Wanna Hold Me?", reached No. 47 in the UK, but fared best on the Dutch charts, where it peaked at No. 3. The song reached No. 77 in the U.S. The group were due to embark on a world tour in support of When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going, but tensions within the group were rising, as the members were suffering from illness and exhaustion after intense US touring. After a brief hiatus, Barbarossa, Ashman and Gorman kicked Annabella out of the group, and formed Chiefs of Relief with Ashman as its lead singer.
Post Bow Wow Wow
Barbarossa's stay with Chiefs of Relief proved short lived, and he was soon replaced by former Sex Pistols drummer Paul Cook. After which, Barbarossa went into session drumming, and was part of Beats International's ever changing line-up. It was while doing session work that he teamed up with former Flowered Up keyboardist Tim Dorney, Andy Todd, guitarist Johnny Male and Nigerian-born lead singer Saffron to form Republica. Their debut album Republica was released in July 1996 and reached No. 4 in the UK charts. The single "Ready to Go" peaked at No. 13 on the UK Singles Chart, and "Drop Dead Gorgeous" peaked at No. 7. He has played for Chicane, Adamski, Gina Birch, Cactus Rain, Driza Bone and is a core member of , an open source band whose members include Youth and Jon Moss. He played with Adam Ant on his Dirk Wears White Sox Tour of 2014. He also plays drums for Roland Gift of Fine Young Cannibals.
In 2019, Barbarossa formed Raw Blue Wire with Kendra Frost, who has supported Nine Inch Nails on their “Cold and Black and Infinite” North American Tour in 2018 as a member of Kite Base, and played in Blindness with Debbie Smith.
''Mud Sharks''
In 2012, Barbarossa released his first novel, Mud Sharks. Mud Sharks is the semi-autobiographical tale of a teenager growing up in the late seventies' London punk scene.
Musical style
Barbarossa is a self taught musician. While he was still with the Ants, Malcolm McLaren gave him music tapes from different parts of the world, and he became fascinated by Burundi tribal drumming. Having emerged from the underground London punk rock scene, he went on to create a highly unique tribal drumming style. Coupled with the suggestive lyrics squealed into the mic by their teenage lead vocalist, it became the signature of Bow Wow Wow's danceable new wave sound. Gorman & Lwin reunited for the "Barking Mad" tour in 1997-1998. Two shows from this tour were included on the CD Wild in the U.S.A. on Cleopatra Records. In the liner notes, they thank Barbarossa for giving them "the original grooves."
Personal life
Barbarossa lives in London, and his desire not to leave London plays a large part in his lack of desire to participate in Bow Wow Wow reunions. He has four children, and has been married twice.
