The Dave Clark Five

Three years ago The Dave Clark Five, one of the integral bands during the British Invasion years, was elected into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (poignantly, they were inducted just a few days after the death of their lead singer, Mike Smith). I was familiar with a few of their hits, and looked to buy a greatest hits collection. I was amazed that they were all out of print, and absurdly expensive on Amazon and eBay. A few weeks ago I saw one called The History of the Dave Clark Five, a double-disc set featuring fifty of their tracks, at Princeton Record Exchange, so even though it was $29 I picked it up.

Fifty songs by them is too many, as it includes some forgettable B-sides. But after several listens I've grown to appreciate that they were more than just the few hits that get continued play on oldie stations. I also learned, from the liner notes, that from 1964 to 1967 they had fifteen straight top-2o hits in the U.S., and during that same time had more top-40 hits than any group save The Beatles. But today they are far eclipsed in memory by The Rolling Stones, The Who, and The Kinks.

Why? Probably because the group never really stretched their wings like those other bands. They did up-tempo pop exceedingly well, and are best known for the drum-heavy hits "Glad All Over," "Bits & Pieces," "Anyway You Want It," and "Catch Us If You Can." The group was unusual in that the front-man, Dave Clark, was their drummer, and he and his kit sat up front. They were also unusual in that they used a lot of saxophone. Their sound was called "the Tottenham Sound," named after the North London district they came from, which was meant to differentiate them from the "Mersey Beat" of the Liverpool groups like The Beatles and Gerry and the Pacemakers.

But The Dave Clark Five may have suffered from comparisons to the other groups. Lyrically they never branched out from basic boy-and-girl love stuff. There down-tempo love ballads, except for one I like called "Mighty Good Loving" are excessively treacly. When the music styles started to change to the more psychedelic, they really didn't make the jump, although they did record some songs that sounded trippy: "Maze of Love" has an acid-rock sound, "Live in the Sky" has a Sgt. Pepper sound (and even quotes The Beatles' "All Together Now" and "All You Need Is Love") and "Inside and Out," written but not used for Franco Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet, is reminiscent of "I Am the Walrus," but actually came first.

The DC5 also covered a lot of early rock hits, especially Motown and other R&B artists. Their first hit was "Do You Love Me," and it's a wonderful rendition, as are "Little Bitty Pretty One," "Over and Over," and "I Like It Like That." Their last top-20 hit was Barry Gordy's "You've Got It What It Takes," one of the worst backhanded compliment songs ever made: "You don't live in a fancy place, and you don't dress in best of taste, and nature didn't give you such a beautiful face, but baby, you've got what it takes." Gee, thanks.

While they were popular, they were rivals of The Beatles. Teen magazines created competition between the two bands, and like the Fab Four's A Hard Day's Night, the DC5 made a film called Catch Us If You Can (retitled Having a Wild Weekend in the U.S.), directed by John Boorman of all people. Sadly it doesn't seem to be available on DVD.

The Beatles eventually outpaced the DC5 in legacy, and The Dave Clark Five broke up in 1970 and slipped into oblivion, except for oldies radio. I think they really deserved their Hall of Fame induction, and have enjoyed getting to know the band.