THE DAKOTAS TODAY

 

Eddie Mooney (Lead Vocals & Bass Guitar)

Eddie joined the Dakotas in the late 80's, and has been lead vocalist for longer than anyone else in the band's history. He first recorded as a member of first, a teen pop group in the early 70's, then progressive rock band The Accidents in the mid 70's, a member of glam rock act "The Glitter Band" and finally a punk rock solo act in the later part of the decade, sharing a record label with a young Mick Hucknall of Simply Red, and appeared on a CD and DVD compilation recently "Holidays In The Sun", commemorating twenty years of punk. During the early to mid 80's, Eddie released several singles as a member of "Park Avenue", pop/soul outfit. One of the drummers was Tony Bookbinder, who had been the original drummer in the Dakotas, and this connection eventually led to the reforming of the band with Mike Maxfield. During the 90's, Eddie has worked extensively as a session singer for radio and television, as well as fronting the Dakotas.Eddie sang, played and appeared on comedian Peter Kay's "Phoenix Nights" and "Max and Paddy" TV series. In recent years, he has presented 60's music programmes for BBC Radio in Liverpool. In addition to being vocalist and bassist on six of the seven Dakotas albums, Eddie has been recording solo material for release on the internet. In May of 2005, Eddie appeared with John Walker as an honorary member of the Walker Brothers for an American music TV documentary and DVD. Most recently, Eddie has been hosting his own 60s and 70s music radio show on Manchester's ALL FM.

Toni Baker (Keyboards & Vocals)

Toni joined the Dakotas early in the 90's, though he has a long history of working in well known bands. He was a member of the Mindbenders, Freddie & Dreamers and played on Billy Ocean's early recordings, notably the main piano riff on the hit single "Love Really Hurts Without You". In the 70's, Toni was a member of "Shabby Tiger", a hugely successful group in Europe, with many hit singles, such as the Dutch / Scandanavian No.1, "Slow Down". Toni, who did sessions for Lisa Stansfield is still a top UK session man, and owns his own recording studio "Moose". He is also a talented songwriter, who had a Number 5 hit in Japan with "Eat You Up" sung by Angie Gold. More recently Toni has written much of the music, including the theme tunes, for Britain's top comedian Peter Kay on his highly acclaimed comedy series "Phoenix Nights" and "Max and Paddy". Toni and fellow band member Pete Hilton also starred in the first episode of the first series of Phoenix Nights as members of a folk band called "Half A Shilling". Toni continues his production and session work for major TV companies, including "League of Gentlemen", and a CD containing much of his recent TV work -"The Best of Peter Kay So Far" -was released in December 2005.

Pete Hilton (Drums)

Pete joined the Dakotas in 1999, but has also a long established pedigree. Also an ex-member of Freddie & Dreamers, he is also a respected session drummer, and has been touring since 1963. In the late sixties worked the original Liverpool Cavern Club with the eminent guitarist Robin Hill. Pete and Robin later formed jazz rock band Spring and were early pioneers of local radio. There were memorable live performances with Kevin Ayers & Mike Oldfield. Pete went on to work alongside many greats such as Joe Cocker, Canned Heat, Deep Purple, Traffic and Black Sabbath. In the late seventies Pete worked theatres throughout the UK with many greats such as Frankie Howerd and Bob Monkhouse. Rolf Harris & Tommy Cooper also played an important role in Pete's education! In the late seventies while working with pop group Family Affair , Pete grabbed the opportunity to gig with the Supremes (Mary Wilson). Pete worked alongside David Essex, who later inspired him to do Godspell while living in Canada. Pete is passionate about jazz and classical music and was delighted to collaborate once again with Robin Hill to perform the Claude Bolling concerto. Pete is currently recording again with Robin. He continues to teach drumming, as well as performing with the Dakotas. Pete is also a part-time film and TV actor, and recently appeared with the rest of the Dakotas on the TV series "Max and Paddy", as well as playing on many of the recording sessions.

Alan Clare (Vocals & Guitar)

Alan is the newest member of the Dakotas, joining in December 2006, following former guitarist Richard Benson's decision to concentrate on his teaching. Alan has worked in many bands, including Freddie & the Dreamers alongside Pete Hilton,and is a major session player, having worked with artists as diverse as the Supremes, Dionne Warwick, Buddy Greco, Cliff Richard, Gene Pitney, Gerrard Kenny, Kenny Lynch, Lynn Paul and Ken Dodd. He is also a music journalist. As well as being one of the North's leading session guitarists, Alan also teaches a master class in advanced jazz guitar techniques. Alan is featured on the latest Dakotas album "Evolution".