Freddie & the Dreamers: I'm Telling You Now

Why isn't Mitch Murray better known? In the Sixties he wrote or co-wrote hits for Gerry and the Pacemakers, the Dave Clark Five, Manfred Mann, Georgie Fame and Cliff Richard.

He also wrote for Tony Christie - including Avenues and Alleyways - and in the Seventies helped the Nottingham band paper Paper Lace to twice top the charts on both sides of the Atlantic.

I'm Telling You Now was one of his too. Co-written with the band's leader Freddie Garrity, it reached number 2 in the UK and number 1 in the US. (Freddie and the Dreamers were from Manchester, but somehow got lumped in with the Merseybeat craze.)

The song itself is rather sweet and could pass for an early piece of McCartney whimsy. And it's all done in two minutes.

How to explain the silly dance? Garrity did not have the looks of a pop star and even shaved a few years off his age to heighten his appeal.

But he was a natural comedian and was latter to have his own show for children, Little Big Time, on ITV.

In the US there was even an attempt to launch a dance craze. Hence the band's release of a record called Dance the 'Freddie'.