Musician; Born June 17, 1945; Died October 6, 2007. Few bands were more aptly named than Middle of the Road, whose brand of uptempo bubblegum chimed with the frivolousness of the early 1970s pop charts.

The death of founder member Eric McCredie aged 62 last week marks the end of a career which saw the Glasgow-born bass guitarist tour the world.

This was all a far cry from 1971, the year Middle of the Road struck gold when Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep stayed at the top of the charts for five weeks. The novelty hit came about while the band were touring Italy. After initial reluctance, they recorded eccentric English composer Lally Stott's slice of Europop cheese for a local release.

Follow-up Tweedle Dee Tweedle Dum reached number two and a third single, Soley Soley, number five. Over the next two years the band found favour on the continental circuit, where they'd served their musical apprenticeship with Sacramento, Samson and Delilah and Bottoms Up.

This was a long way from Partick, where, following school in Hyndland, McCredie worked as a sales rep for a stationer. By the mid-1960s, Eric had teamed up with his guitarist brother Ian, playing around Glasgow with their band The Dominos. The musical siblings joined with Ken Andrew to form The Electrons, who played during interval breaks at the Dennistoun Palais dance hall.

The McCredies and Andrew backed female vocalist Jan Douglas. When Sally Carr stepped in for Douglas, McCredie and his band-mates had morphed into Part Three, a name which on Carr's arrival was changed to Part Four.

The band were approached by a management team, who suggested a change of image and musical style, and the Latin-infected Los Caracas was born. In 1968, McCredie and Los Caracas appeared on Opportunity Knocks. They won three weeks on the trot, and in October the same year featured on the all-winners show.

With a rigorous touring schedule capitalising on this success, the band turned professional in 1970, Los Caracas becoming Middle of the Road.

During a tour of Italy, the band were left in the lurch by their management, and were forced to keep playing to raise their fare home. They were approached by an executive from RCA Italy, who took them for a recording session in Rome.

McCredie and the others became a backing band for a stream of Italian artists on record and TV, including screen goddess Sophia Loren. The publicity gained led to a meeting with producer Giacomo Tosti, who put them on to Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep, following the release of Stott's own version of his song. The band thought the song hilarious and initially turned it down. As it turned out, it was to make their fortune.

A promotional film to publicise the launch of the Fiat 127 hatchback featured their Tweedle Dee Tweedle Dum. In 1972 the song won an award at the Venice Song Festival.

The band picked up 32 gold discs and won a special award for services to the British dance scene.

For the next few years McCredie and Middle of the Road toured the world. By 1977, though, Carr left the band and, while McCredie and his brother played the circuit with a new singer, there was little to compare with the original act.

In 1981 McCredie and the full band came together for a Stars on 45 megamix of all the band's hits, though it wasn't until the 1990s, when nostalgia for 1970s kitsch became hip, that they would tour again.

Eric stopped touring after a couple of years, despite phenomenal success in Germany, and left Carr and Andrew to continue the band.

The last decade saw him retire from the music business, although his generosity was well known and, living alone in Glasgow's east end following his divorce, he offered support to young bands making their first steps in an industry of which he'd seen both the highs and lows of first-hand.