| Dave Clark Five | |
|---|---|
The Ed Sullivan Show appearance, 1966. From left: Denis Payton, Dave Clark, Mike Smith, Rick Huxley, and Lenny Davidson. |
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Tottenham, London, England |
| Genres | Pop rock, beat |
| Years active | 1958–1970 |
| Labels | Epic, Columbia (EMI) |
| Past members | |
| Dave Clark Mike Smith Lenny Davidson Rick Huxley Denis Payton |
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The Dave Clark Five (also known as "The DC5") were an English pop rock group. Their single "Glad All Over" knocked The Beatles' "I Want to Hold Your Hand" off the top of the UK singles charts in January 1964: it eventually peaked at No.6 in the United States in April 1964.[1]
They were the second group of the British Invasion, after The Beatles, to appear on The Ed Sullivan Show and for some time were more popular in the US than in their native UK but they had a renaissance in the UK between 1967-70. The group disbanded in late 1970. On 10 March 2008 the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.[2]
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The band started out as The Dave Clark Quintet in 1957, with Clark on drums, Dave Sanford on lead guitar, Chris Walls on bass, Don Vale on piano (and arranger) and A N Other on saxophone. In 1958, Sanford was replaced by Rick Huxley and the band became The Dave Clark Five with Stan Saxon on lead vocals, Huxley on rhythm guitar, Roger Smedley on piano, and Johnny Johnson on lead guitar. Mick Ryan replaced Johnson in 1958 and Jim Spencer joined on saxophone, while Smedley left. Walls left in 1959 and Huxley became the bass player. Mike Smith joined on piano in 1960, and Lenny Davidson replaced Ryan in 1961. In 1962, the band changed its name to The Dave Clark Five, when Saxon left. The band was Clark on drums, Smith on organ, lead vocals, and Davidson on lead guitar, adding Denny Payton on tenor and baritone saxophone,[3] harmonica and guitar.
Originating in North London the band was promoted as the vanguard of the "Tottenham Sound", a response to the Mersey Beat stable managed by Brian Epstein. Dave Clark, who formed the band, placed his drum kit at the front of the stage, with the guitarists and organ to his rear and sides, and struck business deals that allowed him to produce the band's recordings and gave him control of the master recordings.[4] Songwriting credits went to Clark, Clark and Smith, Clark and Davidson, and Clark and Payton.
The Dave Clark Five had 17 records in Billboard's Top 40, 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 Hot 100 at the end of December 1965, despite less than impressive sales in the UK (it peaked at No.45 on the UK singles chart), and they played to sell-out crowds on their tours of the U.S. Promoted as having a "cleaner" image than the Beatles, the Dave Clark Five were among the first British bands to tour the USA, and they made 18 appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show[5] - the most of any British Invasion group.
After the success of the Beatles' film A Hard Day's Night in 1964, the band released their own film, Catch Us If You Can (directed by John Boorman) in 1965. It also starred Barbara Ferris, and was released in the United States as Having a Wild Weekend. The short film Hits in Action highlighted a series of Dave Clark Five hits.
After their initial success, which included the movie and a television special, the major hits dried up in the US after 1967's "You Got What It Takes", although the band had several substantial hits in the UK in the 1967-1970 period. Other than the song "Inside and Out", the band did not follow the trend of psychedelic music.[6] The DC5 disbanded in 1970, having placed three singles on the UK chart that year, two of which reached the Top Ten. In 1970, Davidson, Huxley and Payton left and Alan Parker and Eric Ford joined on lead guitar and bass. This line-up, renamed "Dave Clark & Friends", lasted until 1973.
A 1993 double CD History of the Dave Clark Five was released by Hollywood Records in the USA, and a single CD, Glad All Over Again was released by EMI in Britain.[7][8]
Dave Clark was also the manager and executive producer of the band. Following the group's break-up, Clark set up a media company. In the process, he acquired the rights to the 1960s pop series Ready Steady Go!
Mike Smith returned to performing in 2003 after a lay-off of 25 years. He formed Mike Smith's Rock Engine and did two mini-tours of the U.S. He died on 28 February 2008.[9]
Denis Payton died on 17 December 2006 after a long battle with cancer. He was 63.
The Dave Clark Five made the list of nominees for the class of 2008, and on 13 December 2007 it was announced that the band would be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on 10 March 2008.[2] The group was inducted by Tom Hanks, who wrote, directed, and starred in the film That Thing You Do!, which was about an American one-hit wonder band that became popular in the wake of the British Invasion. The theme from "That Thing You Do!" was played as Hanks walked out on stage.
In attendance with the three surviving members of the DC5 were the families of Lenny Davidson and Rick Huxley, and Denis Payton's two sons. Mike Smith had planned on attending but died two weeks before the induction. Dave Clark opened up his acceptance speech by saying that he felt like he was at the Oscars. Davidson gave mention that they arrived in New York for the ceremony on 8 March, exactly 44 years after their first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show.
Joan Jett honoured the Dave Clark Five by performing "Bits and Pieces" with John Mellencamp's band. To perform "Glad All Over", Jett was joined by John Fogerty, John Mellencamp, Billy Joel and other artists that performed throughout the evening.
In March 2008 a 28-track collection, The Dave Clark Five: The Hits, was released on iTunes.
At the peak of its success the band included:[10]
The Dave Clark Five's UK Top Ten singles (1963–70) were as follows: "Glad All Over" (No.1 for 2 weeks from 14 January 1964); "Bits and Pieces" (No.2, March 1964); "Can't You See That She's Mine" (No.10, June 1964); "Catch Us If You Can" (No.5, August 1965); "Everybody Knows (We're Through)" (No.2, November 1967); "The Red Balloon" (No.7, October 1968); "Good Old Rock'n'Roll" (No.7, January 1970) and, finally, "Everybody Get Together" (a cover verion of "Get Together", the Chet Powers' song popularised by The Youngbloods in the US), which peaked at No.8 in April 1970.
The Dave Clark Five's United States singles hits included "Bits and Pieces" (No.4, May 1964), "Can't You See That She's Mine?" (No.4, July 1964), "Because" (No.3, August/September 1964), "Anyway You Want It" (No.14, December 1964), "I Like It Like That" (No.7, July 1965), "Catch Us If You Can" (No.4, October 1965), "Over And Over" (No.1, December 25, 1965) and "You Got What It Takes" (No.7, May 1967).