David Barbarossa (born 1961, also known as Dave Barbe) 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.
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 afterward, 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 group under McLaren's management. Thirteen-year-old Annabella Lwin joined the group as its vocalist, and the band became Bow Wow Wow.

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