DAVE DEE DOZY BEAKY MICK & TICH - IF MUSIC BE THE FOOD OF LOVE (FONTANA 1966) Jap mastering cardboard sleeve + 13 bonus

Hook-laden tunes transformed Salisbury, Wiltshire, England-based quartet Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich into one the United Kingdom's top pop bands of the mid-'60s. Performing songs by their managers Ken Howard and Alan Blaikley, the group scored with such Top Ten U.K. hits as "Hold Tight," "Hideaway," "Bend It," "Save Me," "Okay," "Zabadak," "Last Night in Soho," and the chart-topper, "Legend of Xanadu." Although they were among the many British bands who honed their skills while performing in Hamburg, Germany, Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich were one of the first to tour the United Kingdom with established acts. Shortly after moving to London in 1965, the group hooked up with Howard and Blaikley. With the group disbanding in 1969, Dee recorded a minor hit as a soloist before turning his attention to producing. He briefly reunited with the band in 1974 and again in the early '80s. He recorded a single, "Staying with It" b/w "Sure Thing" in 1983. ~ Craig Harris, All Music Guide
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"If Music Be the Food of Love" was Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mich and Tich's second album, and it's by far the most succesfull of their 4 orginal albums. Originally released in 1966 the album included their recent hits "Hideaway" and "Bend it" as well as their break-through "You Make it Move". Moreover the extensive list of bonus-tracks (13) contains some of their later hits like "Save Me", "Touch Me, Touch Me" and "Okay".
The album tracks are fine; especially "Loos of England", "Master Lewellyn", "All I Want" and "Hair on My Chinny-Chin" are favourites of mine.
There is an overall good-time and optimistic feel to this album, and most songs will set the scene for singing-along.
The song-writing team Howard/Blaikley wrote all the singles and a good deal of the of the album tracks. And it's unquestionable that these guys possesed an unique skill for writing catchy pop-tunes. The band themselves also wrote some of the material for the album and some of the B-sides. Among them fine tracks like "Master Lewellyn", "Shame" and "Marina"...[net]
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