Dave Greenslade

David John Greenslade (18 January 1943 – 14 June 2026) was an English composer and keyboard player. He played with Colosseum from their formation in 1968 until their farewell concert in 2015, and also from 1973 in his own band, Greenslade, and others including If and Chris Farlowe's Thunderbirds.

Early life David John Greenslade was born in Woking, Surrey, England on 18 January 1943. His mother was a singer and pianist who sang in the local church choir. A common misconception is that Greenslade is the son of composer Arthur Greenslade; however, he revealed in interviews that he was actually the son of a pianist called Jack Greenslade, who ran a dance club in the 1930s.

His family moved to Eltham in South East London when he was a child. Four months later, he left the Ram Jam Band to form Colosseum.

In the mid 1980s, Greenslade vanished from the public eye for nearly a decade. His association with author Terry Pratchett brought him back into public view with the 1994 release of From the Discworld, an album of music inspired by Pratchett's novels. Greenslade was active in the second formation of Colosseum, which was formed in 1994 after Greenslade met with the former bandmates at his surprise 50th birthday party.

He returned to his solo career with the release of the 2011 solo studio album, Routes/Roots, which was his latest solo release. He performed in the duo G&T with blues musician David Thomas, who was the guitarist in the Newport rock group Blonde on Blonde.

Death Greenslade died in Bungay, Suffolk on 14 June 2026, aged 83.

Instruments Greenslade said he used the following keyboards throughout his career: Yamaha CS-60, Clavinet, the L-100, C3 and A-100 model Hammond organs, Cat synthesiser, Yamaha DX7, Korg Trinity, Crumar Stringman, Fender Rhodes Electric Piano, Mellotron 400, Wurlitzer Electric Piano, A.R.P. Synth, R.M.I. Electric Piano, Roland U-20, Roland Vocoder, and Yamaha CS-80; as of 2023, he was using Yamaha CP73 and the Hammond XK-1C on stage.

Influences Greenslade mentioned the following pianists as influences: Bill Evans, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, the Modern Jazz Quartet, Dave Brubeck and Joe Zawinul.

Discography Colosseum

Those Who Are About to Die Salute You (1969) Valentyne Suite (1969) Daughter of Time (1970) Colosseum Live (1971) LiveS The Reunion Concerts 1994 – (1995) Live Cologne 1994 – (2003) Live '05 – (2007) Bread & Circuses – (1997) Tomorrow's Blues – (2003) Time On Our Side (2014)

Greenslade Greenslade (1973) Bedside Manners Are Extra (1973) Spyglass Guest (1974) Time and Tide (1975) Live Large Afternoon (2000) Greenslade 2001 – Live the Full Edition (2002)

Solo Cactus Choir (1976) The Pentateuch of the Cosmogony (1979) From the Discworld (1994) Going South (1999) Routes/Roots (2011)