January 13, 2015 – Dozy Ward-Davies was born November 27th 1944 in Enford, Wiltshire, England. In the late 1950s, all of 15 years old, he lead a semi professional local rock band called the Beatnicks, before he becoming the founding member of the band, Dave Dee and the Bostons in 1961. They changed their name to Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich, when they gained a recording contract with Fontana Records.
They first entered the UK charts in December 1965 with You Make it Move. A string of hits followed including Hold Tight!, Bend It! and Save Me and a UK number one single with the whip-cracking Legend of Xanadu, in 1968.
Two of their albums charted – their eponymous debut, in 1966, followed a year later by If Music Be the Food of Love… Then Prepare for Indigestion.
Between 1965 and 1969, the group spent more weeks in the UK Singles Chart (141) than the Beatles (139) and made a few tours to Australia and New Zealand. They scored a No.1 hit in the UK in 1968 with “The Legend of Xanadu”. Their other Top 10 UK hits included “Bend It!”, “Hideaway”, “Hold Tight!”, “Save Me”, “Touch Me, Touch Me”, “Okay!”, “Zabadak!” and “Last Night in Soho”.
The band carried on performing after Dave Dee left in the 1970s, (he died in 2009) under the acronym DBMT. Dozy was bass player of the band for 54 years until his death. It all started off with Dozy before it ever got to Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich,” said Ian Amey (Tich).
In 2008, 40 years after Xanadu reached the top of the charts, the band was honored with a blue plaque at Salisbury city hall.
Dozy Ward-Davies sadly died from cancer on 13 January 2015 at the age of 70.
