David John Harman (Dave Dee), Trevor Leonard Ward-Davies (Dozy), John Dymond (Beaky), Michael Wilson (Mick) and Ian Frederick Stephen Amey (Tich), who were childhood friends from Wiltshire formed a group in 1961. They were originally called Dave Dee and the Bostons. A few years later they changed their names to Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich.
They never made it big in America but they were huge in the UK. They had 13 UK Top forty hits, 8 UK Top 10’s, and 13 UK top 75, and 1 Number 1…the number 1 was LEGEND OF XANADU.
Hold Tight peaked at #4 in the UK Charts, #27 in the Australian Charts, and #8 in the New Zealand Charts in 1966.
I heard them a bit through the 80s and 90s but not much. Quentin Tarantino must have liked them because he featured this song in his movie Death Proof during the infamous crash scene.
Hold Tight
Hold tight, count to three
Gotta stay close by me
And hold tight, sing and shout
Just ride my round-about
And hold tight, shut your eyes, girl
You suit me for size
Forget the other guys
You’ll never fall, each time you call
Hold tight, hold tight, hold tight
Hold tight, make me feel
What you say is for real
And hold tight, Carousel
Girl you’ll soon ring my bell
And hold tight, we will fly
swinging low, swinging high
We’re gonna make the sky
You’ll never fall, each time you call
Hold tight, hold tight, hold tight
Hold tight, count to three
Gotta stay close by me
And hold tight, sing and shout
Just ride my round-about
And hold tight, shut your eyes, girl
You suit me for size
Forget the other guys
You’ll never fall, each time you call
Hold tight, hold tight, hold tight
This song must have gotten at least some US play back then, because I remember the chorus, which is so catchy. I hear it now quite a bit, but it’s from streaming UK stations. I wonder if a different band name would have made them catch on in the US.
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I was thinking about the name. I think it’s totally original but couldn’t have done them any favors over here.
The Xanadu song charted at 52 over here but I don’t think this one did.
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Never heard of them, and like you guys pointed out, that’s just a poor choice of band name. But single there sounds quite good, and modern for the time. Maybe should have done better over here (which is to say gotten noticed at least!)
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Yes it’s a very good solid catchy song.
When I watched Death Proof I was shocked that they used it…gruesome scene…I didn’t post the video to it because of that.
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Max, that has to be one of the most unforgettable scenes ever in a movie. Death Proof is one of my favorite Tarantino films. Do you see he has a new one coming out (or may already be out)?
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Yes Bailey bought tickets for it Thursday afternoon…he is a BIG fan. He has one for me if I can get off in time.
I like Death Proof…seeing Kurt Russell play a crazy lunatic was different. I’ve seen the Nova in person before…cool car.
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Very cool, hope you get out early enough to go on Thursday. Yes, that has to be one of Kurt Russell’s best roles to date, but he’s always good. I’m glad Tarantino pulled him into his stable. He was good in The Hateful Eight also. Did you see any bloodstains in the Nova 😉
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Lol no bloodstains… It was cool standing beside that car. What a totally insane thing to think of…brilliant. Kurt did so well in that…Yes I liked him in the Hateful Eight also. I like the actors Tarantino gets.
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Aside from that association, listening all the way through, this song kicks butt!
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It does doesn’t it? It looks like it would have caught on over here.
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Love that thumping intro. Completely unsubtle, but brilliant
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I don’t understand why they didn’t hit in America more. The name couldn’t have helped…personally I think it’s pretty cool.
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They could have tried an ABBA: DDDBMT? Not much better, to be honest…
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lol
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Cool song. Can’t help but think they would have been bigger with a less ridiculous name?
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That is what I was thinking…in the UK it didn’t hurt them too much…but everywhere else…
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My candidate for worst band name of all time lol
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The name def killed their credibility, a tragedy cos singles like Xanadu, Last Night In Soho, Zabadak are epic and beautifully-produced. I saw the original line-up shortly before Dave Dee died and they were fab. Dave was originally a policeman who attended the crash that killed 50’s rocker Eddie Cochran, and injured Gene Vincent…
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Yes I could see the name doing that. I like their music though. I didn’t mind the name but I could see trying to publicize them being troublesome.
I didn’t know that about Dave Dee… The Eddie Cochran connection. Glad you got to see them!
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It is claimed that Dave took hold of Eddie’s guitar to ensure its safety until passing it back to the family. Is is also claimed that Dave taught himself to play the instrument using Eddies guitar.’More info here:
https://www.minnpost.com/max-about-town/2011/10/strange-legacy-eddie-cochrans-guitar/
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Thank you so much. That was so interesting especially on what happened to Bolan later on. That guitar is a very valuable piece of rock and roll history.
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This is the 2nd great song Tarantino has linked to a horrific scene. The other one is “Stuck in the Middle with You” in Reservoir Dogs.
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It changed the way I listen to the song now…I don’t know if that is good or bad.
He is very good with music and film…. Another one that is good at it is Martin Scorsese
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