Dave Rodgers - Back to index
Real name: Giancarlo Pasquini
Aliases: Derek Simon, Robert Stone, Patrick Hoolley, Mario Ross, Red Skins, RCS, Thomas & Schubert, Aleph, The Big Brother,
Label: Time, A-Beat.C, Sun Fire, Dave Rodgers Music,
Dave Rodgers is likely the most well known eurobeat artist worldwide. He has sold over 30 million albums as a singer, composer, and producer throughout his career. Dave is often referred to as the "Godfather of Eurobeat" by fans, and his contributions to the genre helped shape it into what it is today.
In the early 80s, Dave began in the Italo-disco band Aleph with Donato Bellini and Marco Manzi. Their first major hit was the 1985 release "Fly To Me" under Time Records. Aleph would release more hits such as "Fire on the Moon" and "Big Brother" amongst others. Later, Aleph would become a solo alias used by Dave alone.
In 1990, Dave established a new label with Alberto Contini and Domino called A.Beat-C. A.Beat-C is a sublabel of Rodgers & Contini Records, which also included Bulldozer Records, C&R, and more. Dave wrote and/or produced a vast majority of the eurobeat the label made. Throughout A.Beat-C's lifetime, many impressive names made appearances in the label including guitarists Jennifer Batten, Kiko Loureiro, and Patrick Rondat; as well as rock vocalists Alex De Rosso (as Ace Warrior), Roberto Tiranti (as Powerful T.), and Fabio Lione (as J. Storm).
A.Beat-C's first song was "Your Body Lies" by Norma Sheffield in 1990. Its final song was "All Around the World" by Dave Rodgers feat. M. Landau in 2009.
The Sun Fire label was formed in the early 2010s by Futura. Dave was a writer and an arranger under the label during this period. Sun Fire was not long-lived, as Dave and Futura split in 2016. Futura received ownership of Rodgers Music.
Sun Fire's first song was "Louder and Faster" by Powerful T. in 2010. Its final song was "Fall in Love" by Norma Sheffield in 2016.
In 2018, Dave established his new label Dave Rodgers Music (DRM). Many earlier productions were remakes of A.Beat-C songs or covers of songs that were popularized through the Initial D series, often requested by fans. But originals became much more frequent as the label took shape. Currently, most DRM songs are written and/or produced by Dave Rodgers and Kaioh together.
Dave Rodgers Music's first song was "Space Boy 2018" by Dave Rodgers in… you guessed it, 2018.
Dave has had many hits throughout his career. Some include (but are not limited to) Wild Reputation, Take Me Higher, Space Boy, and Kingdom of Rock. But, after 2017, his most popular song would likely be Deja Vu. Deja Vu was featured in the second stage of the Initial D anime in 2000 and later exploded in popularity through internet memes in 2017. Dave himself is aware of these memes and loves them. He shares them and has even referenced them in his music.
Dave has not expressed any interest in retiring soon. Whatever lies ahead in the world of eurobeat, Dave Rodgers will certainly be a part of it.
Trivia
- Kaioh (Federico Pasquini) is the son of Dave Rodgers and Domino.
- Dave sings backing vocals in many A.Beat-C songs.
- Brian Ice does drums on Dave's rock album Blow Your Mind.
- Dave and Domino are not romantically involved anymore, but they are friends and work together.
- Dave has done vocal work and composed for the label Flea Records.
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