Freddie Garrity – former lead singer of Freddie and the Dreamers – has died aged 69.

The '60s pop star was on holiday with his wife Christine in North Wales when he
was taken ill on Friday (May 19). He was rushed to a nearby hospital but later died.

Garrity, who lived in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, had emphysema, which forced him to stop working in 2001.

Friends paid tribute to the singer, whose hits in the UK and America included 'I'm Telling You Now' and 'You Were Made For Me'.

"He was so full of life, and full of jokes," said family friend Eric St John-Foti. "He was exactly the same as he was on stage, he did not have two personas. It is a sad loss, Freddie was part of the 1960s and drew comparisons with the Beatles."

Garrity was born in Manchester and rose to fame in the early 1960s beat movement. His energetic stage antics set him apart from other performers.