Having been expelled from school as a teenager, including departing from Trinity Whitgift School in Croydon (one of the top public schools in England), in 1994 after being caught stealing Nick Scales from the chemistry lab, Bowers joined
Sutton Grammar School for Boys where he was described to have 'excel[led] in everything'. Shortly after leaving this school, where he enjoyed music greatly, he started his career with the
R&B boyband, Another Level, and went on to collaborate with True Steppers and
Victoria Beckham. He also had a much publicised relationship with the
glamour model, Jordan.
Dane anchored the R&B
quartet Another Level. They had seven
Top Ten singles in two years in the
UK, including
1998's UK
Number one "Freak Me"; and a
platinum selling, self-titled debut album.
1999's gold-selling Nexus followed, along with
BRIT Awards nominations and the opening slot on
Janet Jackson's European tour.
After the group split, Bowers wrote and fronted two UK Top Ten
hits, for the
UK garage act
Truesteppers in
2000, "Buggin'" and "Out Of Your Mind". The latter featured the first
solo outing of
Spice Girl, Victoria Beckham.
"Out Of Your Mind" reached number two, but was beaten to the Number one spot in a highly publicised "chart battle" by Spiller featuring
Sophie Ellis-Bextor with "
Groovejet (If This Ain't Love)". A
bootleg was later made of the two records (with Bowers and Beckham's
vocals set against the "Groovejet" backing track) and received underground interest.
In 2001, two solo singles released under the simple moniker of 'Dane', "Shut Up And Forget About It" (allegedly written about his relationship with Jordan) and "Another Lover", both stalled at number nine on the
UK Singles Chart; and an
album, Facing The Crowd remained unreleased. Bowers subsequently went on to focus on behind the scenes work, writing and
producing, including a collaboration for
Victoria Beckham's debut solo album, in the autumn of that year. One time managed by pop impressario Tim Byrne. He also ventured into presenting in
2002, co-hosting
Popstars: The Rivals "Extra" show with the former
Pop Idol contestant, Hayley Evetts.