Romeo Alexander Challenger (born 19 May 1950) is an English musician who has been the

drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one mem ...

for the rock band

Showaddywaddy Showaddywaddy are a rock and roll group from Leicester, England. They specialise in revivals of hit songs from the 1950s and early 1960s, while also issuing original material. Showaddywaddy spent 209 weeks on the UK Singles Chart, and had 10 T ...

since 1973 and seminal Progressive Rock band Black Widow.

Biography

Challenger was born 19 May 1950 in St. John's,

Antigua Antigua ( ), also known as Waladli or Wadadli by the native population, is an island in the Lesser Antilles. It is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region and the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua and Bar ...

British Leeward Islands The British Leeward Islands was a British colony from 1671 to 1958, consisting of the English (later British) overseas possessions in the Leeward Islands. It ceased to exist from 1816 to 1833, during which time it was split into two separate ...

. In 1955, he moved with his family to England. He began playing the drums as a teenager in the mid-1960s. He played in several groups, including progressive rock/hard rock band Black Widow in the early 1970s. In 1973, he became one of two drummers (The other being Malcolm Allured) for the

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...

band

. Showaddywaddy had ten singles reach the top ten of the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, including the 1976 number-one "

Under the Moon of Love "Under the Moon of Love" is a song written by Tommy Boyce and Curtis Lee, and first recorded in 1961 by Curtis Lee. Produced by Phil Spector, Lee's recording was released on Dunes Records #45-2008, with the "B" side "Beverly Jean". It peaked ...

". Challenger played in the Leicester Boys' football team with

Peter Shilton Peter Leslie Shilton (born 18 September 1949) is an English former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. His 30-year career included spells at 11 clubs and he has the distinction of playing over 1,000 league games, including in ...

and

Jeff Blockley Jeffrey Paul Blockley (born 12 September 1949) is an English former footballer who played as a defender. He made over 300 Football League appearances and was capped by the England national football team. Blockley was born in Leicester but be ...

, who both went on to enjoy professional careers. Challenger is the father of high jumper

Ben Challenger Benjamin Arthur Challenger (born 7 March 1978) is a retired English high jumper. His personal best jump of 2.30 metres was achieved when he won the 1999 Summer Universiade. His career highlight is a silver medal at the 1998 Commonwealth Games. ...

, who won a silver medal in the 1998 Commonwealth Games, and a bronze medal four years later; and Tamzin Challenger, a musician best known for her material with

bassline Bassline (also known as a bass line or bass part) is the term used in many styles of music, such as blues, jazz, funk, Dub music, dub and electronic music, electronic, traditional music, traditional, or classical music for the low-pitched Part ( ...

producer T2.

References

1950 births Living people People from St. John's, Antigua and Barbuda Antigua and Barbuda emigrants to England People from Leicester English rock drummers British male drummers 20th-century drummers 20th-century British musicians 20th-century British male musicians 21st-century drummers 21st-century British musicians 21st-century British male musicians Black British rock musicians {{UK-drummer-stub