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 drums. Most contemporary western bands that play rock, pop, jazz, or R&B music include a drummer for purposes including timekeeping and embellishing the musical timbre. The drummer' ...

for the rock band Showaddywaddy since 1973 and seminal Progressive Rock band

Black Widow Black widow may refer to: Spiders * Black widow spider, a common name for some species of spiders in the genus ''Latrodectus'' American species * ''Latrodectus apicalis'', the Galapagos black widow * ''Latrodectus curacaviensis'', the South Amer ...

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 Ba ...

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

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 of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm an ...

band Showaddywaddy. 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". Challenger played in the Leicester Boys' football team with Peter Shilton and Jeff Blockley, who both went on to enjoy professional careers. Challenger is the father of high jumper Ben Challenger, 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 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