Rock musician who played guitar and bass with different Manchester bands and as studio musician in the 1970s and the 1980s. During the punk era, he and drummer Chris Joyce played in Fast Breeder and was managed by Alan Erasmus, later a Factory Records founder. In 1978, the pair—alongside Alberto y Los Trios Paranoias bassist Tony Bowers, singer Phil Rainford (replaced after months by Colin Sharp), and former Nosebleeds guitarist Vini Reilly—founded the post-punk band The Durutti Column. Reilly was left the only remaining member after releasing "A Factory Sample," a various artists compilation which contained two of their songs, "No Communication" and "Thin Ice (Detail)" (he would rejoin Reilly in Pauline Murray and the Invisible Girls, with then ex-Penetration vocalist Pauline Murray, playing on their eponymous album). Rowbotham, Bowers, and Joyce then formed The Mothmen and released two albums, "Pay Attention" and "One Black Dot." He also formed Motivation along with ex-Buzzcocks bassist Steve Garvey. He played many sessions for Factory Records. He was found dead in his flat, murdered with a lathe hammer. The "Madchester" band Happy Mondays wrote a song called "Cowboy Dave," released on the album "Yes, Please!" in his honor.
Rock musician who played guitar and bass with different Manchester bands and as studio musician in the 1970s and the 1980s. During the punk era, he and drummer Chris Joyce played in Fast Breeder and was managed by Alan Erasmus, later a Factory Records founder. In 1978, the pair—alongside Alberto y Los Trios Paranoias bassist Tony Bowers, singer Phil Rainford (replaced after months by Colin Sharp), and former Nosebleeds guitarist Vini Reilly—founded the post-punk band The Durutti Column. Reilly was left the only remaining member after releasing "A Factory Sample," a various artists compilation which contained two of their songs, "No Communication" and "Thin Ice (Detail)" (he would rejoin Reilly in Pauline Murray and the Invisible Girls, with then ex-Penetration vocalist Pauline Murray, playing on their eponymous album). Rowbotham, Bowers, and Joyce then formed The Mothmen and released two albums, "Pay Attention" and "One Black Dot." He also formed Motivation along with ex-Buzzcocks bassist Steve Garvey. He played many sessions for Factory Records. He was found dead in his flat, murdered with a lathe hammer. The "Madchester" band Happy Mondays wrote a song called "Cowboy Dave," released on the album "Yes, Please!" in his honor.
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