Pop singer Dave Dee dies aged 65

Dave Dee (pictured) had eight top 10 hits with Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich

British pop star Dave Dee has died at the age of 65, following a three-year battle with cancer.

The singer continued playing gigs with his band - Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich - until near to the end of his life, record plugger Sean Cooney said.

"He didn't let it get him down. He was defying it," Mr Cooney added.

The group had eight top 10 hits, including a UK number one single in 1968 with The Legend of Xanadu, in which Dee famously cracked a whip.

They first entered the UK chart in December 1965 with You Make it Move, which peaked at number 26.

Subsequent singles included Hold Tight!, Bend It! and Save Me.

Two of their albums charted - their eponymous debut, in 1966, followed a year later by If Music Be the Food of Love... Prepare for Indigestion.

The group had been performing dates in the UK and Germany and were due to play another eight concerts before the end of April.

Dee, whose real name was David Harman, came from Wiltshire and was originally a police officer.