Dave Dee, of sixties group Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich, has died in London at the age of 65, after suffering from prostate cancer for three years.
The singer, real name Dave Harman, was born in Wiltshire, and began his career as a police officer before turning to music full time. The band, originally named Dave Dee and The Bostons, was formed in 1961, later changing its name to a list of the band members' nicknames.
Between 1965 and 1969 they spent more time in the UK singles chart than any other band, notching up eight top ten hits, with tracks like 'Hold Tight', 'Hideaway', and 1968 number one single 'The Legend of Xanadu'.
Internationally they gained limited success in the US, but were very popular in Australia. Dee left the band in 1969 to pursue a short lived solo career, but rejoined the group in the nineties, and performed with them then up until the end of his life, playing his last gig in Germany in September last year.
The five-piece were due to play eight dates early this year, and it's not clear whether they will go ahead without Dee or not.
Dee was also a founding member of the Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy charity and worked with the organisation for more than 30 years. He also worked as a Justice Of The Peace in his later years. He's survived by his wife, his partner, and three children.