The Dakotas

The Dakotas was a group of British musicians, which initially convened as a backing band in Manchester, England. They originally backed club singer Pete Maclaine, but after signing to Brian Epstein, he had Maclaine replaced with the singer Billy J. Kramer, a Liverpudlian who the band backed during the 1960s, performing on two UK number ones sung by Kramer. The band also recorded singles by themselves, usually instrumental. In North America, they are regarded as part of the British Invasion.

The lineup that recorded on Kramer's hit records was guitar players Mike Maxfield and Robin McDonald, bassist Ray Jones, and drummer Tony Mansfield. Kramer stopped working with the Dakotas in 1967 and by the time they disbanded in 1968, the band was a trio of McDonald on bass, guitarist Mick Green and drummer Frank Farley. The Dakotas reformed in 1989, and in 2004, performed the music for the comedy show Max and Paddy's Road to Nowhere. By the time the Dakotas disbanded again 2021, the band had no original members, as Maxfield suffered a stroke and retired from performing in 2004.