1 singles there, mostly with cover versions of Ray Peterson, Gene Vincent, Buddy Holly and Eddie Cochran songs.

After spotting The Animals at Newcastle's Club A-Go-Go, he offered to produce their first single, "Baby Let Me Take You Home", which reached No.

1 in September 1964,[4] beginning a run of single and album sales (ten million over 12 months), the group for a time challenging The Beatles in popularity in the United States.

His down-to-earth handling of the band, his business acumen and knack for selecting hit singles, established Most as one of the most successful producers in Britain and kept him in demand throughout the 1960s and 1970s.

Most had equal success with other artists for whom he produced chart-topping albums and singles between 1964 and 1969, notably Donovan with "Sunshine Superman", "Mellow Yellow", "Jennifer Juniper", and Lulu's hits "To Sir, with Love", "The Boat That I Row", "Boom Bang-a-Bang" (which finished equal first in the 1969 Eurovision Song Contest), "Me the Peaceful Heart", and "I'm a Tiger".

With RAK Records, Most's success continued with folk singer Julie Felix's charting cover of Simon & Garfunkel's "El Condor Pasa".

[4] Hiring the songwriting production team of Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman, RAK scored several British number 1 singles with Suzi Quatro ("Can the Can" and "Devil Gate Drive") and Mud ("Tiger Feet", "Lonely This Christmas" and "Oh Boy").

[citation needed] In the 1980s, the band Johnny Hates Jazz, which featured Most's son Calvin Hayes, was also signed to RAK Records.

He was a producer of Revolver, a TV programme devoted to punk rock which was at odds with his 'studio factory' approach to pop music.

[citation needed] In 1995, Most's fortune was estimated at £50 million and he appeared in The Sunday Times annual Rich List among the Top 500 in England.

His house, Montebello, in Totteridge Lane, London, was claimed to be the largest private home in the UK, worth an estimated £4 million.

[1] The investigative journalist Paul Foot thought it was probable that he contracted the cancer from ingesting fibres from vinyl tiles impregnated with asbestos, intended to improve soundproofing in recording studios.