Biography
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Years Active
1961 – present (63 years)
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Founded In
Wiltshire, England, United Kingdom
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Members
- Dave Dee
- Ian "Tich" Amey
- John "Beaky" Dymond
- Mick "Mick" Wilson
- Trevor "Dozy" Ward-Davies
The tongue-twisting name is as unique as the band itself. It was formed in 1964 in Wiltshire, England, was active until 1972.
Starting out in the very early 60s as Dave Dee and The Bostons, the Dozies plied their trade around various UK venues and were also extremely popular on the Hamburg scene, playing clubs like The Top Ten and The Star Club. Their stage act involved a lot of humor and showmanship - in fact it still does - which made them stand out on the circuit.
The songs, too, were wonderfully dramatic, and although each one was instantly recognizable as one of theirs (mainly penned by managers and songwriters Ken Howard and Alan Blaikley) they also each had a different theme to them, from the Greek influences of Bend It to the Latino rock qualities of Save Me and many points in between.
The band’s name stems from the nicknames of the members, and was thoroughly twisted and mangled by DJs and presenters alike. Well you’ve got to admit it’s a bit of a mouthful, and it’s much easier to refer to them as The Dozies for short.
Another aspect that made them stand out from the crowd was their fashion sense. They would design their own clothes, get the material and have them sewn together by a lady in Cheshire. Later the designs would be copied and appear in some form in the Carnaby Street boutiques for public consumption. Check out some of the vintage footage of the band and you’ll be aware that they had quite an influence on the clothing scene at the time.
The Dozies only had one UK number one hit - The Legend of Xanadu - in 1968, but they did have a lot of top ten and top twenty hits in the 60s and one year spent around 50 weeks in the chart!
The end of the decade saw the end of the band, and Dave Dee went into production for a while. Dave Dee was a police cadet and late in his life was a Justice of the Peace.!
Many people heard about the band when Hold Tight! was released on the soundtrack of a Tarantino Movie: Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof.
Dave Dee sadly passed away yet another needless cancer victim, just over a month short of his 67th birthday.
He suffered from prostate cancer from early 2001 but continued to perform with his band almost up until his death from that disease in Kingston Hospital, South West London on 9 January 2009.
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