Freddie & the Dreamers was a British group of the early 1960s that succeeded in making a breakthrough in America as part of the British Invasion in the wake of the Beatles. Their biggest US hit was in 1965, "I'm Telling You Now", which reached Number One in the charts. Their comic and frivolous caught the mood of the period, despite being slated badly by music critics.
Freddie Garrity was born in Manchester on 14th November 1940, and in his early teens he played guitar as part of the skiffle craze sweeping the UK in the late 1950s. Garrrity's superficial resemblance to Buddy Holly was initially credited with his rise to stardom but it was more probably his comic, exaggerated dancing which accounted for his popularity with young audiences.
He was a member of a group Kingfishers before deciding to form his own group. The other band members were all Mancunians: they included Pete Birrell (bass), Roy Crewsdon (guitar), Bernie Dwyer (drums), and Derek Quinn (lead guitar). In 1961, the band auditioned for the BBC and soon appeared on "Let's Go" and "The Beat Show" on radio. They soon toured England and Germany, and in 1962 they signed a contract with EMI/Columbia Records.
In May 1963, their first single, "If You Gotta Make A Fool Of Somebody" reached Number 2 in the UK singles chart. Other hits followed in succession, including "I'm Telling You Now" and "You Were Made For Me", "Do the Freddie" and "I Understand". After the band's decline in the late 1960s, Garrity went on to host his own UK children's TV series called "The Little Big Time".
He also formed a new Freddie and the Dreamers act in 1976, and continued playing his old hits in the United States., Britain, and Australia well into the 1990s.