The "Sheik Of Shake". Born on 21st October 1941 in Thornton Heath, Croydon. In 1958 Dickie was spotted by Russ Conway in a pub in Tooting where he was singing.
The next week Conway took pop impresario Larry Parnes and Lionel Bart to see him. They were so impressed that Parnes decided to sign him on the spot. Dickie became a full time pop singer on the Parnes tours but later fell out with him.
Dickie wanted more demanding material to sing but Parnes insisted he sung the same three rock numbers every night. His increasingly erratic behaviour led to Parnes dropping him.
A troubled life followed with sporadic TV appearances and tours.
He married in 1962 but work was still hard to come by and so he took a job as a storeman.
In 1965 his only son was born and the same year Dickie became addicted to heroin. In 1967 he was referred to a mental hospital where doctors decided to give him a lobotomy.
Early in 1969 he tried to make a comeback as a singer but took heroin again.
He was found dead in bed on 26th March 1969 after an accidental overdose of sleeping tablets. Such a tragic loss.
