dave early (5 april 1957 – october 1996) was an english drummer and percussionist. early worked with sade, chris rea, van morrison, the chieftains, mary black, ananta, and others. later he moved to belfast, where he played with traditional irish artists. he frequently worked with drummer-percussionist martin ditcham. he was originally with a band called rookie in 1975/76 with (gary stoner, david knipe and ian nix) they were managed by henri henroid.