Dave Riley

Dave Riley (born July 30, 1960, Detroit, Michigan, USA – died December 24, 2019) was an American bassist. He was the bass player with Big Black from 1985 until they split in 1987.

Before joining Big Black he had worked as an audio engineer for Parliament (credited on the 'Trombipulation' album from 1980) and had played bass with the Chicago punk band Savage Beliefs. His background interest in funk is cited as giving Big Black an unexpected melodic undertow and his confrontational, yet often drily humorous, audience interaction was a feature of their live shows.

Having borne the scars of a serious road accident from his youth, Riley was to suffer more ill health after Big Black's demise when he experienced a major stroke in 1993, which left him in a coma for 6 weeks. Incorrect rumours attributed this to a failed suicide attempt (much to Riley's disgust) but it was actually due to a genetic condition inherited from his mother's side of the family. He documented the aftermath of the stroke in a pseudonymous online blog, summing himself up in 2008 by saying "Yeah I use a wheelchair and talk funny, but ... I'm doing quite well thank you...".

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