One Of The Obscure "British Invasion" Groups - But Huge In T
07/26/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"In terms of the British Invasion, this quintet from Wiltshire. England was a Tail-End Charlie, arriving on the North American scene early in 1968 with what turned out to be their only Billboard Pop Hot 100 - Zabadak - which was a minor entry at # 52 on Imperial 66270 b/w The Sun Goes Down, barely qualifying them as a One-Hit Wonder over here.
But wait a minute. Lead vocalist and ex-cop David Harman (Dave Dee) - who was one of the officers at the April 17, 1960 accident that resulted in the death of Eddie Cochran and severely injured Gene Vincent and Eddie's fiance - bassist Trevor Leonard Ward-Davies (Dozy), rhythm guitarist John Dymond (Beaky), drummer Michael Wilson (Mick), and lead guitarist Ian Frederick Stephen Amey (Rich) were huge in the U.K. and parts of Europe, as well as Australia. Their career began in 1961 as Dave Dee And The Bostons, playing gigs around Great Britain as well as in Hamburg at the Star-Club and Top Ten Club and Cologne at the famed Storyville.
It was in mid-1964, however, with the British Invasion already well under way in North America, that songwriters Ken Howard and Alan Blaikley "discovered" them. A brief series of recording sessions with one Joe Meek (no hits) were nevertheless sufficient to get them a contract with Fontana Records, at which point they assumed the long, but catchy, name of Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich, nicknames by which they were familiarly known to each other and friends.
Following a couple of failed singles in 1965, they finally achieved their breakthrough hit that November with You Make It Move, which reached # 26, and in March 1966 went all the way to # 4 with Hold Tight. During the summer they got to # 10 with Hideaway, and that fall scored their best to date when Bend It rose to # 2, followed by Save Me, a # 4 around Christmas time. The hits then continued in 1967 when Touch Me, Touch Me peaked at # 13 in the spring, Okay made it to # 4 in early summer, and Zabadak! finished at # 3 late that fall (leading to the U.S. release early in 1968).
In early 1968 they also scored their only # 1 U.K. with Legend Of Xanadu, and that summer made it to # 8 with Last Night In Soho, and # 14 in early fall with Wreck Of The Antoinette. After two minor hits in 1969 (Don Juan and Snake In The Grass - both # 23), and one failed single (Tonight Today), Dave Dee left the group to pursue a brief career as a soloist (one minor U.K. hit) and then as a producer while the rest carried on as D.B.M.T. until around 1972 without any commercial success. But between 1965 and 1969 they spent more time on the U.K. singles charts than The Beatles, and why their music was not pushed harder in the U.S. remains a mystery.
All those original hits are here, along with some LP cuts (none of the B-sides to their hits are included), with excellent sound quality and informative liner notes. Probably the best collection of their hits on the market."
Track Listings (25) - Disc #1