Dave Dee Dead

60s hitmaker passes away

60s pop hitmaker Dave Dee has passed away after a courageous three year battle against cancer, it has been announced.

The one-time policeman took to pop music in the early 60s, but was steeped in music from an early age. An avid rock ‘n’ roll fan, he was amongst the first to attempt to help Eddie Cochran and Gene Vincent after a serious car crash in the UK in 1960.

Forming a group with his friends, they took their name from an amalgamation of their nicknames and were henceforth known as Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick And Titch. A number of hits followed, with the band mixing a pop nous with a sense of humour, even calling their 1966 album “If Music Be The Food Of Love… Prepare For Indigestion”.

The single ‘The Legend Of Xanadu’ became a worldwide hit in 1968, and remains the group’s lasting legacy.

The band split in the early 70s with the singer having a shortlived solo career, but Dave Dee eventually fronted a reformed version who played on the ‘Golden Oldies’ scene throughout the 90s.

Dave Dee has died of cancer, aged 65.

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