HISTORY OF THE DAKOTAS

The New Millenium 2000 - 2005

In 2000 the Dakotas teamed up to do concerts backing Wayne Fontana, of "Game Of Love" fame. In addition to UK shows, the band and Wayne appeared in Holland at the Zeendam Festival (along with the Troggs and Sailor). In July, the Dakotas and Wayne were invited to perform at a "British Invasion" weekend at the prestigious Foxwoods Casino Resort in Connecticut, USA. This show was filmed by PBS Television, for national US broadcast in December 2000. Other acts on the show included Peter Noone and Eric Burdon. (See pic on the left, with Wayne Fontana) The concert series has since been released in the USA and Europe on DVD. Also in 2000, the Dakotas released their third CD album, "Don't Look Back", which was collection of their best studio recordings from previous albums plus new recordings.

Dakotas on stage with Wayne Fontana, Foxwoods, USA

The Dakotas ended 2000 and began 2001 by playing a New Year's Eve show at the President's Ball, Krakow, Poland (see pic below). The show took place at the Opera House and was attended by senior Polish officials!

Right: Poster for Dakotas show in Krakow, Poland December 2000

In February the band undertook a 56 date UK tour with Peter Noone (see pics below), Wayne Fontana, Dave Berry and Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich. The tour covered every major theatre venue in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland until the final concert, on April 29, at the London Palladium . In May 2001 the band appeared on the prestigious "Oriana" cruise ship, visiting Spain and Portugal. Fellow acts included Joe Brown and the Bruvvers.In June the band visited Germany, sharing the stage with Clem Curtis of the Foundations and the rest of the year performed in the UK, doing several shows with Wayne Fontana. At Christmas 2001, USA's PBS TV broadcast the "British Invasion" special nationally, including the Dakotas.

Above: Dakotas on stage with Peter Noone, UK, spring 2001

During 2002, the Dakotas were involved with recording of music for British TV's most popular comedian, Peter Kay, on the Phoenix Nights. Dakotas keyboard-player, Toni Baker, wrote and performed the music, drummer Pete Hilton acted and played drums, vocalist Eddie Mooney played and sang on the series and guitarist Mike Maxfield produced some of the recordings as well as playing guitar.

Right: The Dakotas backstage with Peter Kay, Manchester Opera House, 2003

There was a UK reunion with Peter Noone in June and gigs with Wayne Fontana. In August 2002 the Dakotas returned again to America, where they did successful shows in the mid-west. They were met at Chicago Airport by an enthusiastic collection of fans, including their US representative, Barbara Wagner. The band did three shows in Illinois to record crowds and made the front page of the state newspapers due to the success of their performances.

Below: Poster for the Dakotas at Riverfest, Illinois, USA summer 2002 and front page in the "Daily Times" newspaper

Below : Toni Baker (left) and Eddie Mooney (right) on stage in Illinois

Below : Mike Maxfield (left) and Pete Hilton (middle) on stage in Illinois. Eddie and American representative Barbara Wagner (right)

The Dakotas released their fourth, and biggest selling, studio album, "Everlasting", since the band reformed in the late 80's, to co-incide with a massive 70-date "Solid Silver 60's" tour of the UK and Ireland.The tour also featured the Searchers, Wayne Fontana, Dave Dee and Barry Ryan, and ran from February until May 2003. Later that year, the band's keyboard player, Toni Baker wrote the music, and the Dakotas recorded for the immensely successful British TV comedy series "Phoenix Nights", starring Peter Kay.

Above: Dakotas on UK tour, spring 2003. Left, near Ben Nevis, Scotland. Middle, on BBC Radio, Liverpool. Right, with John McNally of the Searchers, London Palladium.

Below: On stage at York Barbican, spring 2003

In the spring of 2004 the Dakotas undertook yet another major 50 date UK theatre tour, teaming up once again with Peter Noone and Wayne Fontana, plus Bryan Hyland and John Walker (Walker Brothers). To tie in with the tour, the band released their fifth album, "Strong", named after the title track "I'm Gonna' Be Strong", originally recorded by Gene Pitney. Almost straight after the tour, the Dakotas started recording tracks for the next Peter Kay TV series "Max and Paddy", including a new version of the O'Jays classic "Love Train". Toni Baker once again wrote the theme tune for the show.

Above Left: Toni and Eddie at the London Palladium, UK spring tour 2004. Above Middle: Pete and Eddie on stage, Above Right: UK tour 2004.

During the early summer of 2004, the Dakotas were filmed to appear in an episode of Peter Kay's "Max and Paddy", which was eventually broadcast in October 2004.Dressed as various 80s characters, the band performed to their recordings, including "Love Train", "Baby Now That I've Found You" and also backed Peter Kay on "I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues".

Right: Eddie, Pete, Mike and Toni in costume for Peter Kay's "Max and Paddy" TV show, June 2004

In August 2004 that tragedy struck, when guitarist Mike Maxfield suffered a stroke and had to stop performing until further notice. His replacement was Richard Benson, former guitarist with British 70s chart band the Dooleys. Richard had guested with the band briefly in 1999 and had worked on the Peter Kay TV series with Toni Baker, and was the obvious choice. Richard became a permanent member though Mike is still involved with the Dakotas business behind the scenes.Only days after joining the band, Richard's first gig was in front of 10,000 people at an open air festival near Nottingham (UK) with the Hollies, Troggs and the Tremeloes.

Left: Richard Benson, Toni and Eddie on stage at Clumber Park Festival, August 2005. This was Richard's first gig with the Dakotas following Mike Maxfield's illness.

During the latter part of 2004 the Dakotas continued touring the UK, often with Wayne Fontana, and in December reached number one in the Amazon music download chart with "Love Train" from the TV Peter Kay TV series. In early 2005, the Dakotas version of "Eleanor Rigby", from the "Strong" album, also made number one in the Amazon music downloads chart. During 2005 the band has continued touring England and Scotland, linking up with John Walker (Walker Brothers) at the Graig Aid Festival in North Wales in July.

The Dakotas toured the UK during 2006 and are about to do another UK theatre tour in the spring of 2007 with the Searchers, Merseybeats, Wayne Fontana and John Walker of the Walker Brothers. The new album "Evolution" is released in February 2007 to coincide with the Solid Silver 60s Tour. In December 2006, Richard Benson left the band to concentrate on his guitar teaching and solo work. He was replace by Alan Clare, formerly a member of Freddie and the Dreamers, who joined in time to appear on the new album.

Above: Dakotas on stage July 2005 at the Graig Aid Festival. L-R: Toni Baker, Pete Hilton, Eddie Mooney and Richard Benson