Berry came from Sheffield and began singing with local groups in 1960. He adopted his stage-name in deference to US rocker Chuck Berry after he joined the Cruisers in 1962. Playing hard driving R&B (in sharp contrast to many of his later hits) Berry and his group became a regular attraction in the city's clubs, including a residency at the Esquire Club. On these date they were sometimes joined by another young Sheffield singer, Joe Cocker.

The break came for Berry and his band came after playing a club in Doncaster. Mickie Most was in the audience and, suitably impressed, he arranged for them to record a demo tape, which in turn led to a recording contract with Decca Records in 1963.

Their first single, a cover of Chuck Berry's "Memphis, Tennessee", actually found itself in competition with a re-issue of Chuck's original version. Dave came out second best but the record still made the lower reaches of the Top Twenty. It took the group eight hours to make the record, which was a long time in 1963, with the result that Berry never recorded with The Cruisers again. Instead, session men including Jimmy Page, Big Jim Sullivan and John Paul Jones were used for recordings with The Cruisers just being employed for live dates.

Berry's releases tended to be divided between hard R&B rockers and straight pop ballads and more hits followed in '64 with covers of Elvis Presley's "My Baby Left Me" and the Shirelles' "Baby It's You" (a song also cover by the Beatles on their first album). These minor hits were followed by the song with which Dave Berry became most associated,"The Crying Game" was, as the title suggests, a tear-jerking ballad. Hidden away on the B side was one of his greatest R&B performances, "Don't Gimme No Lip Child", a song later covered by the Sex Pistols. Berry's striking television performances to promote the record - face half hidden by his hands as he slowly slinked around the set clad in black - created a stage persona that would endure for the rest of his career.

In 1965 he hit the top 5 for the second time with a cover of Bobby Goldsboro's "Little Things" which was followed by Ray Davies' "This Strange Effect" which sold disappointingly. There was to be one more top 5 hit the following year, B.J. Thomas's sentimental "Mama". Subsequent releases had less impact and Berry vanished from the national scene to a career touring on the northern club circuit. In recent years Dave Berry has become a familiar figure on sixties revival tours.