The Dave Clark Five (abbreviated as DC5)
were an English
Beat
group in the 1960s,
and one of the few that were able to present something of a commercial
threat to The Beatles, the dominant
group of the period. They were, in fact, the second group of the "British
Invasion" after The Beatles to have a chart hit in
America
("Glad
All Over" #6 April 1964).
The Dave Clark Five had several more hit songs (see
Discography below) in the United States during 1964-67, including "Bits
and Pieces" (#4 May 1964), "Can’t You See That She’s Mine" (#4 July
1964), "Because" (#3 September 1964), "Catch
Us If You Can" (#4 September 1965), "Over And
Over" (#1 December 1965), and "You Got What It Takes" (#7 May 1967). The group
disbanded in late 1970
(see details below).
|
Contents
- 1 Career
- 2 Post
break-up
- 3 Controversy
- 4 Band
personnel details
- 5 Discography
- 5.1 U.S.
Albums
- 5.2 U.S.
singles
- 6 Notes
- 7 References
- 8 External
links
|
Career
Although the group was named after him, Dave Clark was the
drummer; lead vocals were provided by Mike Smith who also
played the keyboards. The rest of the band was Lenny Davidson on lead
guitar, Rick Huxley on bass guitar, and Denny Payton on saxophone,
harmonica and guitar. Songwriting credits went to Clark, Clark
and Smith, Clark and Davidson, and Clark and Payton. Some early songs
were also credited to Clark and Ron Ryan, who was the brother of early
group member Mick Ryan.
Originating in North London, the band promoted
themselves as the vanguard of the 'Tottenham Sound', a response to the Mersey
Beat stable managed by Brian Epstein. They had a series of
memorable hits, including "Glad All Over" that in January 1964 knocked
the Beatles out of the number one position on the UK
Singles Chart.
The Dave Clark Five placed 17 records in Billboard's
Top 40 to go with 12 Top 40 United Kingdom hits between 1964 and
1967. Their song "Over And
Over" went to number one in the U.S. on the Billboard
Charts Hot 100 at the end of December 1965, and they played to sell-out
crowds on their tours of the U.S. Heavily promoted as having a
"cleaner" image than the Beatles, the Dave Clark Five holds the
distinction of having made 18 appearances on The
Ed Sullivan Show, more than any other UK group.
Unusual for a group of that (or any) era, the leader was the
drummer Dave Clark who would play and sing with his drums positioned at
the front of the stage, relegating the guitarists and keyboard to his
rear and sides. The group was unique in the British Invasion because it
was not an exclusively guitar-based sound. The beat was prominent and
the DC5 was one of the few groups of the era to feature a saxophone.
Smith's growling, blues-tinged vocals were in the lead on almost all of
the hit singles.
After the success of the Beatles movie A Hard Day's Night
in 1964, the DC5 released their own film Catch Us If You Can
(directed by John Boorman) in 1965; the film, which
also starred Barbara Ferris, was released in the
United States as Having a Wild Weekend.
The song "Bits and Pieces" was sometimes banned from being
played at their live concerts, as fans would jump up and down in time
to the song's stomping beat, and promoters feared this would damage the
dance
hall floors.
In spite of their huge success for a period, bolstered by the
movie and a television special, the major hits dried up after 1967's
"You Got What It Takes". The DC5's efforts to embrace the prevailing
trend of psychedelia
were not successful. They disbanded in 1970, having placed a further
three singles on the UK chart that year.
Post break-up
Dave Clark was also the manager of the band.
Bobby Graham, a well-known British
session
drummer in the 1960s, claimed in 2004 that he, rather than Clark,
played on all of the group's hit records
. However, Ron Ryan, in a 2006 interview, insisted that Clark
definitely played drums on all the recordings, except on the rare
occasion when he could not produce and play at the same time. However,
Ryan was not associated with the group when it was recording its
biggest hits from 1964-67 and has no firsthand knowledge of the
recording process on those tracks.
Clark was notorious for having a closed studio,
primarily to protect the secret that accomplished session players were
used on the records. Ironically, most session drummers would not want
to be known as "the real Dave Clark", as Clark was
not a skillful drummer. He was however, a successful businessman,
entrepreneur, producer and promoter - and
in those capacities, he was indispensable to the success of the group.
Following the break-up of the band, Clark set up a media
company. In the process, he acquired the rights to the iconic '60s pop
series Ready, Steady, Go!.
Smith returned to performing in 2003 after a layoff of 25
years. He formed Mike Smith's Rock Engine
and did two mini-tours of the U.S., although he was legally forbidden
from using any mention of the DC5 in his advertising. Just a few months
after his only son died in a diving accident, Smith suffered a spinal
cord injury in a fall at his home in Spain on 12 September 2003. He is currently
a patient at Stoke Mandeville Hospital
in Aylesbury,
a fact which has been reported in many Sixties magazines in the United
Kingdom and is common knowledge in that country. It has falsely been
claimed by some sources that he is and has always been in London in a
hospital.
Denis Payton died on 17 December 2006 after a long battle with cancer. He was 63.
Controversy
The band, which according to sources received the fifth most
votes and thus was eligible for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of
Fame, were allegedly denied election by Rolling
Stone publisher Jann Wenner in order to allow the
induction of Grandmaster Flash because no rap
group was inducted into the hall.
Band personnel details
The final members of the Dave Clark Five, with birthdate and
instruments, were the following:
- Dave Clark (born David Clark, 15
December 1939,
in Tottenham,
North London, England),
was the drummer.
- Mike Smith (born Michael George Smith, 6 December
1943, in Edmonton,
North London), was the lead vocalist, who also played the keyboards.
- Lenny Davidson (born Leonard Arthur Davidson, 30 May 1942,
in Enfield,
Middlesex)
(ex The Off Beats, The Impalas) on lead guitar.
- Rick Huxley (born Richard Huxley, 5 August 1940, in Dartford, Kent) (ex The
Riverside Blues Boys, The Spon Valley Stompers) on bass
guitar.
- Denis Payton (born Dennis West Payton, 11 August 1943, in Walthamstow,
East London — died 17
December 2006,
in Bournemouth,
Dorset)
(ex The Renegades, The Les Heath Combo, The Blue Dukes, The Mike Jones
Combo) on tenor and baritone
saxophones, harmonica,
and guitar.
Discography
U.S. Albums
| Album Title |
Label & Catalog No. |
Date |
| Glad All Over |
Epic LN-24093/BN-26093 |
1964 |
| The Dave Clark Five Return |
Epic LN-24104/BN-26104 |
1964 |
| American Tour |
Epic LN-24117/BN-26117 |
1965 |
| Coast To Coast |
Epic LN-24128/BN-26128 |
1965 |
| Weekend In London |
Epic LN-24139/BN-26139 |
1965 |
| Having A Wild Weekend |
Epic LN-24162/BN-26162 |
1965 |
| I Like It Like That |
Epic LN-24178/BN-26178 |
1965 |
| The Dave Clark Five's Greatest Hits |
Epic LN-24185/BN-26185 |
1966 |
| Try Too Hard |
Epic LN-24198/BN-26198 |
1966 |
| Satisfied With You |
Epic LN-24212/BN-26212 |
1966 |
| More Greatest Hits |
Epic LN-24221/BN-26221 |
1966 |
| 5 By 5 |
Epic LN-24236/BN-26236 |
1967 |
| You Got What It Takes |
Epic LN-24312/BN-26312 |
1967 |
| Everybody Knows |
Epic LN-24354/BN-26354 |
1968 |
| The Dave Clark Five (2LP) |
Epic EG-30434 |
1971 |
| Glad All Over Again (2LP) |
Epic KEG-33459 |
1975 |
U.S. singles
| Song Title |
Highest US
Chart Position |
Peak Month |
Highest UK
Chart Position |
| "Glad All Over" |
#6 |
June 1964 |
#1 |
| "Bits and Pieces" |
#4 |
May 1964 |
#2 |
| "Do You Love Me" |
#11 |
May 1964 |
#30 |
| "I Knew It All The Time" |
#53 |
April 1964 |
- |
| "Can’t You See That She’s Mine" |
#4 |
July 1964 |
#10 |
| "Because" |
#3 |
September 1964 |
- |
| "Everybody Knows (I Still Love You)" |
#15 |
October 1964 |
#37 |
| "Anyway You Want It" |
#14 |
December 1964 |
#25 |
| "Come Home" |
#14 |
March 1965 |
#16 |
| "Reelin’ And Rockin’" |
#23 |
May 1965 |
#24 |
| "I'm Thinking" |
#128 |
April 1965 |
- |
| "I Like It Like That" |
#7 |
July 1965 |
- |
| "Catch Us If You Can" |
#4 |
September 1965 |
#5 |
| "Over And
Over" |
#1 |
December 1965 |
#45 |
| "At The Scene" |
#18 |
March 1966 |
- |
| "Try Too Hard" |
#12 |
May 1966 |
- |
| "Please Tell Me Why" |
#28 |
July 1966 |
- |
| "Look Before You Leap" |
#101 |
June 1966 |
#50 |
| "Satisfied With You" |
#50 |
August 1966 |
- |
| "Nineteen Days" |
#48 |
October 1966 |
- |
| "I've Got To Have A Reason" |
#44 |
January 1967 |
- |
| "You Got What It Takes" |
#7 |
May 1967 |
#28 |
| "You Must Have Been A Beautiful Baby" |
#35 |
June 1967 |
- |
| "A Little Bit Now" |
#67 |
August 1967 |
- |
| "Red And Blue" |
#89 |
October 1967 |
- |
| "Everybody Knows" |
#43 |
December 1967 |
#2 |
| "Please Stay" |
#115 |
May 1968 |
- |
The Dave Clark 5 had additional hit singles in Britain that
were not released or did not chart in the United States:
- "Thinking Of You Baby" (#26, 1964)
- "No One Can Break A Heart Like You" (#28, 1968)
- "Red Balloon" (#7, 1968)
- "Live in the Sky" (#39, 1968)
- "Put a Little Love in Your Heart" (#31, 1969)
- "Good Old Rock 'n' Roll" (a medley of eight
1950s hits) (#7, 1969)
- "Everybody Get Together" (#8, 1970)
- "Here Comes Summer" (#44, 1970)
- "More Good Old Rock 'n' Roll (another 8-song
medley) (#34, 1970)
- "Glad All Over" (reissue)
(#37, 1993)
The group oddly released two different songs with the same
title "Everybody Knows", the first in 1964, the second in 1967. The
former was a bigger hit in the U.S., reaching no. 15 in the charts
there to the latter's no. 43. In the UK, the latter was a bigger hit,
reaching no. 2 to the former's no. 37.
Notes
-
http://www.retrosellers.com/features138.htm
-
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,258664,00.html
-
"1960s British Rock and Pop Chronology - Birth of a Nation"
(birthdates), Gordon Thompson, 2006-09-17, webpage: Skidmore-BritRock.
-
The IMDb
biography for Lenny Davidson had his birth year incorrectly stated as
"1944" while other sources confirm "May 30, 1942" (noted 2006-10-01).
-
"Dave Clark Five star Payton dies", webpage: BBC News
References
- Guinness Book
of British Hit Singles - 16th Edition - ISBN
0-85112-190-X
- The Book of Golden Discs - 2nd Edition - ISBN 0-214-20512-6
- Goldmine Standard Catalog Of American Records 1950 to 1975
- 3rd Edition - ISBN
0-87349-471-7
External links
