The Ed Sullivan Show in 1966. From left: Denis Payton, Dave Clark, Mike Smith, Rick Huxley and Lenny Davidson.
The band had its origins in 1958, as the backing musicians for north London vocalist Stan Saxon.[4]Dave Clark played drums and contributed background vocals, alongside a frequently changing line-up.[4] Clark and guitarist Rick Huxley both participated in the 1958 line-up.[5] Clark and his bandmates eventually split with Saxon and reconstituted themselves as a standalone concern in January 1962, making their home in the South Grove Youth Club in Tottenham, London.[4] After a little more evolution, a lasting ensemble was settled, with Clark on drums, Huxley moving to bass, Lenny Davidson on lead guitar, Denis Payton on saxophone (and harmonica and rhythm guitar), and Mike Smith on keyboards and lead vocals.[4] Davidson's previous bands were the Off Beats and the Impalas.[6][7]
The DC5 was promoted as the vanguard of a "Tottenham Sound", a response to Liverpool's Mersey Beat sound,[8] which featured an often loud and forceful production style driven by Clark's punchy drumming, Payton's saxophone padding and Smith's belting vocals. Dave Clark produced their recordings in collaboration with sound engineer Adrian Kerridge of Lansdowne Studios, with production credited using the pseudonym Adrian Clark.[9]
Dave Clark was also the group's manager, and struck business deals that allowed him to produce the band's recordings and gave him control of the master recordings.[10] Songwriting credits for the band's original material went to Clark, or more often to the team of Clark and Smith. Clark/Davidson and Clark/Payton compositions were also not uncommon.[11] Session drummer Bobby Graham is also reported to have played on some of the band's hits.[12][13]
The Dave Clark Five had 12 Top 40 hits in the UK between 1964 and 1967, and 17 records in the Top 40 of the US Billboard chart. Their cover of Bobby Day's "Over and Over" went to No. 1 in the US on the Billboard Hot 100 on Christmas Day 1965, despite less impressive sales in the UK (it peaked at No. 45 on the UK Singles Chart). They made 18 appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show[14] – more than any other British Invasion group.
The band released a film, Catch Us If You Can (directed by John Boorman) in 1965. It 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.
Other than the songs "Live in the Sky", "Maze of Love", "Inside and Out", "The Red Balloon" and "Lost in His Dreams", the band did not follow the psychedelic music trend.[15] Their popularity in the US mostly dried up by 1967, though they continued to score hits in Britain for another three years. The Dave Clark Five disbanded in 1970, having had 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. That line-up, renamed "Dave Clark & Friends", lasted until 1972.
Post break-up
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!. Additionally, he wrote and produced the 1986 London stage musical Time – The Musical where he directed the last performance of Sir Laurence Olivier. A two-disc vinyl album was released in conjunction with the stage production featuring music recorded by Julian Lennon (singing DC5's song "Because"), Freddie Mercury, Stevie Wonder, Cliff Richard, Ashford & Simpson and Olivier's selected dialogue. This double album was digitally remastered and released on iTunes in May 2012.
Mike Smith teamed up with Mike d'Abo (previously with Manfred Mann) for one album in 1976. He also released a now-scarce CD in 2000 titled It's Only Rock & Roll and returned to performing in 2003 after a hiatus 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 in a Buckinghamshire hospital from pneumonia, a complication of a paralysing spinal injury sustained from a fall in 2003.[16]
Denis Payton died on 17 December 2006 at the age of 63 after a long battle with cancer.[17] Rick Huxley died from emphysema on 11 February 2013 at the age of 72.[18] Lenny Davidson taught guitar for many years at a school in Cambridgeshire, the county he lives in.
Between 1978 and 1993, none of their music was available to be purchased in any commercial format due to rights-holder Clark declining to license the band's recordings. In 1993, a single CD Glad All Over Again was produced by Dave himself and released by EMI in Britain.[19] After a 1989 deal with the Disney Channel to rebroadcast the 1960s ITV show Ready Steady Go! (which Clark owned), he made a deal with Disney-owned Hollywood Records to issue in 1993 a double CD History of the Dave Clark Five.[20] No DC5 material was then legally available until 2008, when the 28-track The Hits compilation was released by Universal Music in the UK. In 2009, selections from the band's catalogue were released on iTunes.
In 2014, Dave Clark wrote, produced, appeared in, and partly presented the television documentary The Dave Clark Five and Beyond: Glad All Over.[21] Smith also appeared via archival footage and archived interviews, but there was no participation from Lenny Davidson nor were there any archived interviews from the Denis Payton or Rick Huxley.[22] The documentary also featured appearances from Paul McCartney, Whoopi Goldberg, Elton John, and Gene Simmons of Kiss.[23]
In 2019, almost the entire catalogue from the band, including all the original 1960s studio albums, became available on Spotify for the first time. On 24 January 2020, BMG Rights Management, with whom Clark has recently joined forces to reissue the band's recordings, released a new DC5 greatest hits CD (titled All the Hits, and which was based on the 2008 The Hits compilation) in two configurations.[24]
Induction into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
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.[3] The group was inducted by Tom Hanks, who wrote, directed and starred in the 1996 film That Thing You Do!, which was about an American one-hit wonder band that became popular in the wake of the British Invasion.
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 11 days before the induction. Dave Clark opened up his acceptance speech by saying that he felt like he was at the Oscars. Davidson mentioned that they arrived in New York City for the ceremony on 8 March, exactly 44 years after the group's 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 who performed throughout the evening.
Dave Clark – backing and occasional lead vocals, drums (1959–1970; 1970–1972, Dave Clark and Friends spinoff group)[7][25]
Mike Smith – lead vocals, keyboards (1961–1970; 1970–1973, Dave Clark and Friends spinoff group; died 2008)[7]
Lenny Davidson – backing and lead vocals, lead and rhythm guitars (1961–1970)[7]
Rick Huxley (ex the Riverside Blues Boys, the Spon Valley Stompers) – backing vocals, bass guitar, rhythm guitar[7] (1959–1970; died 2013)
Denis Payton (ex the Renegades, the Les Heath Combo, the Blue Dukes, the Mike Jones Combo) – backing and occasional lead vocals, tenor and baritone saxophones, harmonica, rhythm guitar (1962–1970; died 2006)[7][26]
Glad All Over Again is a compilation album by the Dave Clark Five, released in 1993.
Michael George Smith was an English singer, songwriter and music producer.
"Glad All Over" is a song written by Dave Clark and Mike Smith and recorded by the Dave Clark Five.
A Session with The Dave Clark Five is the UK debut studio album by the English pop rock band the Dave Clark Five, released in the United Kingdom in April 1964 on EMI's Columbia Records. The album consists of the single "Can't You See That She's Mine" along with covers of "Rumble" by Link Wray & His Ray Men, "On Broadway" by the Drifters, and the Walt Disney song "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah". It peaked at number 3 on the UK Albums Chart.
The History of The Dave Clark Five is a compilation album by the English rock band the Dave Clark Five, released in 1993 by Hollywood Records. Released at the same time as its UK counterpart Glad All Over Again, it features a different track listing. It spent a week on the Billboard 200 charts in August 1993 at No. 127. With the exception of "You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby", all of the DC5's Top 40 hits are featured, as well as classic album tracks, non-LP tracks and UK-only releases.
The Dave Clark Five Return! is the second US studio album by the English rock band the Dave Clark Five. It features the single "Can't You See That She's Mine" and covers of "Rumble" by Link Wray & His Wray Men, "On Broadway" by The Drifters and the Disney song "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah".
Glad All Over is the American debut studio album of the English rock band the Dave Clark Five. Epic Records released the album on 17 March 1964 in the United States to capitalize on the success of the album's title track, and despite the caption saying "Featuring Bits and Pieces", the single did not become a hit until two months later. The album contains some of their hit songs like "Glad All Over", "Bits and Pieces" and "Do You Love Me". In Canada, it was released as Bits and Pieces on Capitol Records.
American Tour is the third U.S. studio album by the English rock band the Dave Clark Five, released in 1964 by Epic Records. Contrary to its title, inspired by the band's first US tour, American Tour is not a live album.
Coast to Coast is the fourth US studio album by the English rock band the Dave Clark Five. It is notable for containing two hit singles "Any Way You Want It" and "Everybody Knows ". Other songs from this album were used in the Dave Clark Five film Having a Wild Weekend such as "I Can't Stand It" and "When". In Canada, it was released as Across Canada with the Dave Clark Five on Capitol Records.
Weekend in London is the fifth studio album by the English rock band the Dave Clark Five. It contains the single "Come Home" and covers of "Blue Suede Shoes" by Carl Perkins and "Little Bitty Pretty One" by Thurston Harris. The album also features "Hurting Inside" and "'Till the Right One Comes Along", both of which later appeared on The Dave Clark Five (1971) compilation album. In Canada, it was released as Encores on Capitol Records.
"Good Old Rock 'n' Roll", also known as "The Dave Clark Play Good Old Rock 'n' Roll", is a medley by British band the Dave Clark Five, released as a single in November 1969. It was a top-ten hit in the UK, peaking at number 7 on the Singles Chart in January 1970.
Try Too Hard is the eighth American album by the English rock band the Dave Clark Five. It was released on 31 May 1966 on the Epic label. It followed the Top 20 hit of the same name. The album reached No. 77 on the Billboard 200 album chart and No. 25 in Cashbox.
Satisfied with You is the ninth album released in the US by the British band the Dave Clark Five. It was released on 15 August 1966 and contained three hit songs, "Look Before You Leap", "Please Tell Me Why" and "Satisfied with You". The LP hit the Billboard Top 200 and the Cashbox Top 100.
Having a Wild Weekend is the sixth American album by the British band the Dave Clark Five. It was presented as the soundtrack to the film of the same name, released in the UK as Catch Us If You Can. The album reached the Top 20 on the Billboard and contains the worldwide hit single "Catch Us If You Can".
You Got What It Takes is the eleventh US album by the British band the Dave Clark Five, released on 26 June 1967 by Epic Records. The album contained four successful songs, a cover of Marv Johnson's soul hit "You Got What It Takes", the hit single "I've Got to Have a Reason" written by the band's guitarist Lenny Davidson and the bubblegum "Tabatha Twitchit" written for the band by Les Reed and Barry Mason. The album also features the band's earlier UK top 30 hit "Thinking of You Baby". The LP reached the Billboard and Cashbox charts.
Everybody Knows is the twelfth US album by the British band the Dave Clark Five. Released in January 1968 on Epic Records, it contained four hit singles, a rock cover version of the old Bing Crosby hit "You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby", the band's guitarist Lenny Davidson's song "Red and Blue", cover of the Majors soul song "A Little Bit Now", and the UK chartbuster "Everybody Knows". It is the band's last American album and the first not to enter the Billboard Top 200 chart.
If Somebody Loves You is the fifth British album by the Dave Clark Five. It was released by EMI (Columbia) in 1970. The album contained four of the group's popular songs, the minor US hit "Red and Blue", and the successful UK singles "Live in the Sky", "Here Comes Summer", as well as the UK top 10 hit cover version of Chet Powers' "Everybody Get Together". A single featuring Mike Smith's ballad "Julia" had no success in the UK or the US, but reached No. 2 in Malaysia in August 1970. The album is the first to be released after the band's official breakup and was not available in the US.
I Like It Like That is the seventh American album by the British band the Dave Clark Five. It was released on 15 November 1965 and was the follow-up to the successful top-ten single of the same name. The LP reached the Billboard and Cashbox charts.
5 by 5 is the tenth American album by the British band The Dave Clark Five. It was released on 20 February 1967 and contained the Top 50 hit "Nineteen Days". The LP reached the Billboard Top 200 and the Cashbox Top 100. The album was only released in the US; the similarly named British album did not contain any of the same songs.
5 By 5 (1964–69) is a British album by The Dave Clark Five, released in November 1968. The subtitle of the album was "14 Titles by Dave Clark Five". It contains the band's two big hit singles "The Red Balloon" and the ballad "No One Can Break a Heart Like You". Alongside this, it also included two American hit singles, cover of the Majors soul song "Just a Little Bit Now" and "Please Stay" originally recorded by American band The Drifters.
1 2 "Inductees for 2008". Rock and Roll Hall of Fame official website. 13 December 2007. Archived from the original on 1 February 2008. Retrieved 11 March 2008.
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