Best remembered for his tenure as the lead singer of U.K. beat combo the Honeycombs, Dennis D'Ell was born Dennis James Dalziel in London on October 14, 1943. While in his teens he worked as a railroad signalman, with a few of his co-workers entering him in the local talent contest that would serve as his springboard into the Honeycombs. Originally dubbed the Sherabos, the group was most notable for featuring a female drummer, one Honey Lantree, and after the songwriting team of Ken Howard and Alan Blaikley discovered them playing at London's Mildmay Tavern, they rechristened the band "the Honeycombs" in Lantree's honor. Howard and Blaikley penned their debut single, 1964's Joe Meek-produced "Have I the Right." Thanks to relentless Radio Caroline airplay the record soon topped the U.K. charts, becoming Meek's final number one prior to his tragic suicide, and reached the U.S. Top Five as well. Subsequent efforts like "Is It Because?," "Eyes," and "Something Better" received little commercial interest, although 1965's "That's the Way" just missed the Top Ten. Even as their popularity waned at home, the Honeycombs remained a draw in much of Europe, in particular Sweden. The group finally dissolved in 1967, and D'Ell mounted a solo career. His debut effort, "It Breaks My Heart in Two," was primed for release on CBS but mysteriously withdrawn after only a handful of copies reached retail, becoming a sought-after collector's item when its flip side, "Better Use Your Head," emerged as a crowd favorite at the legendary Northern soul venue Wigan Casino. After one more solo disc, 1967's Decca release "A Woman Called Sorrow," D'Ell spent the next two decades out of the spotlight, occasionally resurfacing in clubs. During the mid-'80s, he performed with the Southside Blues Band, and in 1994 was part of the Honeycombs' 30th anniversary reunion concert. D'Ell was also one half of the duo the Shuffle Brothers in the years prior to his death from cancer on July 6, 2005.