For a very brief time in 1964, it seemed that the biggest challenger to the Beatles' phenomenon was the Dave Clark Five. From the Tottenham area of London, the quintet had the fortune to knock "I Want to Hold Your Hand" off the top of the British charts with "Glad All Over," and were championed (for about 15 minutes) by the British press as the Beatles' most serious threat.
They were the first British Invasion band to break in a big way in the States after the Beatles, though the Rolling Stones and others quickly supplanted the DC5 as the Fab Four's most serious rivals. The Dave Clark Five reached the Top 40 17 times between 1964 and 1967 with memorable hits like "Glad All Over," "Bits and Pieces," "Because," and a remake of Bobby Day's "Over and Over," as well as making more appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show than any other English act.
The DC5 were distinguished from their British contemporaries by their larger-than-life production, Clark's loud stomping drum sound, and Mike Smith's leathery vocals. Though accused by detractors of lacking finesse and hipness, they had a solid ear for melodies and harmonies and wrote much of their early material, the best of which endured quite well. Interestingly, and unusually for that era, bandleader Dave Clark managed and produced the band himself, negotiating a much higher royalty rate than artists of that period usually received. After a couple years of superstardom, the group proved unable to either keep up with the changing times or maintain a high standard of original compositions, and called it quits in 1970.
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 died in October 2007. Denis Payton died on 17 December 2006 after a long battle with cancer. He was 63.
Research info gathered at: www.allmusic.com
Visit my ezine: http://www.concelebratory.blogspot.com/
and personal blog: http://www.copyat5.blogspot.com/
They were the first British Invasion band to break in a big way in the States after the Beatles, though the Rolling Stones and others quickly supplanted the DC5 as the Fab Four's most serious rivals. The Dave Clark Five reached the Top 40 17 times between 1964 and 1967 with memorable hits like "Glad All Over," "Bits and Pieces," "Because," and a remake of Bobby Day's "Over and Over," as well as making more appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show than any other English act.
The DC5 were distinguished from their British contemporaries by their larger-than-life production, Clark's loud stomping drum sound, and Mike Smith's leathery vocals. Though accused by detractors of lacking finesse and hipness, they had a solid ear for melodies and harmonies and wrote much of their early material, the best of which endured quite well. Interestingly, and unusually for that era, bandleader Dave Clark managed and produced the band himself, negotiating a much higher royalty rate than artists of that period usually received. After a couple years of superstardom, the group proved unable to either keep up with the changing times or maintain a high standard of original compositions, and called it quits in 1970.
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 died in October 2007. Denis Payton died on 17 December 2006 after a long battle with cancer. He was 63.
Research info gathered at: www.allmusic.com
Visit my ezine: http://www.concelebratory.blogspot.com/
and personal blog: http://www.copyat5.blogspot.com/
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