Freddie and the Dreamers

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Freddie and the Dreamers
Columbia (EMI) (UK); Capitol, Tower, Mercury (US)
Past membersFreddie Garrity
Roy Crewdson
Derek Quinn
Peter Birrell
Bernie Dwyer

Freddie and the Dreamers were an English beat band that had a number of hit records between 1962 and 1965. The band's stage act was enlivened by the comic antics of Freddie Garrity, who would bounce around the stage with arms and legs flying.

History

The band, formed in March 1962 in

milkman in Manchester and bassist Birrell was a shoe salesman.[2]

They had four Top 10 UK hits: a cover of James Ray's hit "If You Gotta Make a Fool of Somebody", which reached number 3 in the UK Singles Chart in mid-1963, "I'm Telling You Now" (number 2 in August), "You Were Made for Me" (number 3 in November) and a cover of The G-Clefs' "I Understand", which hit the number 5 spot in November 1964.[1]

Their eponymous debut album was released in the United Kingdom in 1963, peaking at number five in the UK Albums Chart and reaching number 19 in the US albums chart on May 22, 1965. It was the only LP by the group to chart in America. Their subsequent four albums in the UK failed to chart.[citation needed]

On stage, the group performed rehearsed, synchronised wacky dance routines. They appeared in four British films:

Joe Brown, Just for You, Cuckoo Patrol with Kenneth Connor and Victor Maddern and Every Day's A Holiday (US title Seaside Swingers) with Mike Sarne, Ron Moody and John Leyton.[1]

Between 1968 and 1973, Garrity and Birrell appeared in the UK ITV children's show Little Big Time, a zany music/talent/adventure show with audience participation.[3]

Garrity and Birrell formed a new version of Freddie and the Dreamers in the mid-1970s, releasing three albums on the Arny's Shack label in 1976, 1978 and 1983, although Birrell had left before the third release.

Legacy

In the 1980 Rolling Stone History of Rock & Roll, Lester Bangs wrote of the group:

Freddie and the Dreamers [had] no masterpiece but a plenitude of talentless idiocy and enough persistence to get four albums and one film soundtrack released ... the Dreamers looked as thuggish as Freddie looked dippy ... Freddie and the Dreamers represented a triumph of rock as cretinous swill, and as such should be not only respected, but given their place in history.[4]

Founding members

  • Freddie Garrity – vocals (1962–2000; died 2006)
  • Derek Quinn – lead guitar (1962–1971; died 2020)
  • Roy Crewdson – rhythm guitar (1962–1971)
  • Pete Birrell – bass (1962–1971; 1974–1980s)
  • Bernie Dwyer – drums (1962–1971; died 2002)

Discography

See also

References

  1. ^ .
  2. ^ "News". The Telegraph. 15 March 2016. Archived from the original on 17 December 2008.
  3. ^ Nostalgia Central Little Big Time and Oliver in the Overworld
  4. .

External links