came in and said, 'Mr Meek will not be doing any more recording today'. That was it. We lugged all our gear out and went back home". The group eventually gained a recording contract with Fontana Records. Ken Howard said that: "We changed their name to Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich, because they were their actual nicknames and because we wanted to stress their very distinct personalities in a climate which regarded bands as collectives". The distinctive name, coupled with well produced and catchy songs by Howard and Blaikley, quickly caught the UK public's imagination and their records started to sell in abundance. Indeed, between 1965 and 1969, the group spent more weeks in the UK Singles Chart than the Beatles and made the odd tour 'down under' to Australia and New Zealand, where they had also experienced some marked chart success. They also scored a number one hit in the UK Singles Chart in 1968 with "The Legend of Xanadu". The combined sales figures were in excess of one million copies. Their other top-ten UK hits included "Hideaway", "Hold Tight!", "Bend It!", "Save Me", "Okay!", "Zabadak!" and "Last Night in Soho". "Bend It!" was a big hit in Europe, including number one in Germany. To obtain a bouzouki sound on the recording, an electrified mandolin was used. The song was inspired by music from the film sound track of Zorba the Greek. The combined UK and European sales were over one million. However, in October 1966, the British music magazine NME commented that dozens of US radio stations had banned the record, because the lyrics were considered too suggestive. The group responded by recording a new version in London with a different set of words, which was rush-released in the US, as the original single was withdrawn from sale. "Bend It!" was later used in an episode of the American animated sitcom Futurama entitled "The Mutants Are Revolting". "Hold Tight!" was used in Quentin Tarantino's 2007 film "Death Proof". The band were big sellers elsewhere, particularly in British Commonwealth countries. In New Zealand, the group had three number one hits, and seven other songs reached the top ten. In Australia, they reached the top ten with "Hold Tight!", "Bend It!", "Zabadak!" and "The Legend of Xanadu". In Canada, the band scored two top-ten hits with "Zabadak!", which reached number one, and "The Legend of Xanadu", and hit