The Dave Clark Five

The Dave Clark Five played some really great rock. When I got to know their music and I realized how wonderfully talented they really were. One of my all time favorite songs by the Dave Clark Five is ”Bits and Pieces” which has a really nice beat to it.

First Hits

They began playing as The Dave Clark Quintet back in 1957 – Dave Clark playing the drums, Dave Sanford on lead guitar, Chris Wallace on bass and Don Vale on piano. The following year in 1958 Sanford was replaced by Rick Huxley and at this time they changed their name to The Dave Clark Five with a new line up which had Stan Saxon doing lead vocals, Huxley on rhythm guitar, Roger Smedley on piano and Johnny Johnson on lead guitar. The band had 17 records which wound up in the Top 40 on the U.S. Billboard chart and they had 12 Top 40 UK hits between the years 1964 and 1967.

It was on Christmas Day in 1965 that their song ”Over and Over” rose up to the number one position on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. All of their tours were sell-outs and their claim to fame is that they were the first British band of the British Invasion to tour the U.S. and during their popularity they actually went on the Ed Sullivan Show 18 times. It was after the Beatles made their successful film ”A Hard Day’s Night” in 1964 that The Dave Clark Five made their own film ”Catch Us if You Can” in 1965 and it was released in the U.S. under the title ”Having a Wild Weekend”.

Topping The Beatles

The Dave Clark Five was an English pop rock group and amazing as it may seem their hit single ”Glad All Over” actually toppled the Beatles’ ”I Want to Hold Your Hand” from the UK singles charts in January of 1964. There was a period of time in which the Dave Clark Five were actually more popular in the U.S. than in their homeland England. They continued to be popular until 1970 at which time the band broke up and finally on March 10, 2008 they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. They left behind songs which are still remembered and listened to today.

First Album

The band’s first album was titled “A Session With The Dave Clark Five”. The album featured the single “Can’t You See That She’s Mine”. Their second album was called “Catch Us if You Can” with the most popular song being the title song with a very catchy beat. This album also included a memorable song “Sweet Memories”.

They are all really catchy songs which get you singing along. I still remember dancing like crazy to their terrific ”Reelin’ and Rockin”. Now for all of you who know the movie which in my opinion surely still has a following ”Dirty Dancing” take a guess who sang this song originally ”Do You Love Me” ? Yes, it was this band The Dave Clark Five. Now that alone should get you interested in their music because it you are like me every time I hear this song I just have to get up and dance.

When the trend turned to psychedelic music The Dave Clark Five original band finally disbanded in 1970 but under a new line-up lasted up to 1973. None of the band’s recordings were available for purchase until 1993 when a double CD was released titled ”History of the Dave Clark Five” in the U.S. and a single CD in England titled ”Glad All Over Again”. Both of these recordings were taken off the market after three years and finally in 2009 selections from the band’s catalog were released on iTunes where today you can find a 28-track collection titled The Dave Clark Five: The Hits.