Freddie & The Dreamers

Here's a post about one of my favourite bands of all time - Freddie & The Dreamers. They are one of those Beatle-y bands who enjoyed some success in the mid 1960s. They're known for their silliness, presented through lead singer Freddie Garrity and his weird dance move/manic laugh combo. They have a cute and silly comedic value and I think it's a very earnest sort of comedic value.

I literally feel a great big fuzzy warmth in my chest when I watch videos of them. I'm very in love with this band. I suppose they have something in common with quite a few other acts I love who employ some sort of aloofness or fun oddness, like for example: Split Enz, Devo, Masakosan, The Damned, Menu, Captain Sensible, Yellow Magic Orchestra, and Frank Zappa. I feel very connected to the silly (which is probably why one of my favourite Bauhaus songs is that wonderful exquisite corpse track where Peter Murphy explains how to make fishcakes).

As far as their sound, it echoes the playfulness of their attitude and performance, but they are still competent and sweet with their songs. They are happy and fun but they don't feel saccharine or dull or novelty. I find it interesting to compare them to the sort of similar but much more soft and muted and serious Chad & Jeremy. Everything about them is just perfect for me - the ideal combination of feelings and style that makes them super uplifting and joyful with just a pinch of appropriate gravitas.

Here's a weird picture I drew of them:

All screenshots taken from the 1964 Blue Peter performance of "You Were Made For Me".