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LTC Stephen F.
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Thank you, my friend SGT (Join to see) for making us aware that December 15 is the anniversary of the birth of English musician, songwriter, record producer and entrepreneur Dave Clark "who scored the 1964 UK No.1 single 'Glad All Over', and the 1965 US No.1 single 'Over And Over' , plus over 15 other UK top 40 singles."

THE DAVE CLARK FIVE: Glad All Over and Beyond" - (2014 Documentary)
"The Dave Clark Five, often called the DC5, were an English rock and roll band formed in Tottenham in 1957. In January 1964 they had their first UK top ten single, "Glad All Over", which knocked the Beatles' "I Want to Hold Your Hand" off the top of the UK Singles Chart. It peaked at No. 6 in the United States in April 1964. Although this was their only UK No. 1, they topped the US chart in December 1965, with their cover of Bobby Day's "Over And Over". Their version of Chet Powers' "Get Together" reached No. 8 on the UK Singles Chart retitled as "Everybody Get Together".

They were the second group of the British Invasion to appear on The Ed Sullivan Show in the United States (for two weeks in March 1964 following the Beatles' three weeks the previous month). They would ultimately have 18 appearances on the show. The group disbanded in late 1970. On 10 March 2008, the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frTyyZjH5vE


Images:
1. Dave Clark
2. Dave Clark drummer and leader of the Dave Clark Five 1965
3. All natural - Dave Clark denies having facelifts or botox
4. Perfectionist - Clark, second from left, ruled the roost


Background from gaycultureland.blogspot.com/2016/12/dave-clark.html
"Dave Clark
For a brief moment, ever so fleetingly, this man's band challenged the Beatles' leadership of the 1964 British Invasion. They are, however, less remembered than many acts of that era that had less success. So, we have to search for the answer as to why this happened. Also, we have to answer the question as to why this man belongs to our narrative. Both questions will be answered in time.

Dave Clark was a working-class north London lad, born in 1942 (or 1939) and raised in the rubble and opportunity of the post-war years, an amateur sportsman (a Black Belt in mixed martial arts) and movie obsessive. At 15, he left school to work as an extra at Elstree Studio, appearing in more than 40 films, including Richard Burton's Beckett and Elizabeth Taylor's The VIPs, eventually graduating to stunt man. "I knew how to tumble, 'cos I'd done unarmed combat. I was fighting on horseback, sword fights, explosions, car crashes. It was all fun. You were young, confident, if you wanted to do something, you'd do it."

The Dave Clark Five formed as a Skiffle group at his local gym in 1957, a group of friends and Tottenham Hotspur supporters. The line-up was settled by 1960, with the ambitious, perfectionist Clark ruling the roost. "Right at the beginning I said to them, 'It's a bit like a football team, you have to have one captain.'" The line-up featured Mike Smith, an incredible Rock & Roll singer and classically trained organ player, guitarist Lenny Davidson, bassist Rick Huxley, and saxophonist Denis Payton, with Clark's drum kit to the fore. "I never professed to be a great drummer but I was a very heavy drummer. It was simple but powerful."

By 1963, as Beatlemania gripped Britain, the DC5 were the top-rated live act on the Mecca Ballroom circuit, packing 6,000 people a night into the Royal Tottenham. But when record companies came calling, Clark turned them down because producers wanted to control the material and sound. "I thought f--- it, I'm not going to be put into that bag." So he came up with the audacious proposal that he would make DC5 records independently and lease them to EMI.

His unorthodox methods contributed to the dynamism of the DC5 sound. "There were rules in recording. You weren't allowed to play past where the needle goes into the red. Well, that's bull---, as long as it's not distorting, you can do it. So our records were very, very loud."

They were also very popular, among teenage girls in particular.

"I did fear for my life sometimes," he says with a smile. "We did a gig in Cleveland where a girl jumped out of the dress circle onto the stage and broke both her legs. And still crawled forward to ask for my autograph. It was mayhem."

It wasn't instant success however: their first four singles failed to chart at all. Their first ever single was released in August 1962 and was called Chaquita:

The first hit single was their fifth overall, their version of the R&B classic Do You Love Me?. It made #30 in the UK (October 1963) and 6 months later, when they had already broken out in the US, it made #11 there:

It was their next single that sealed the deal for them: Glad All Over, written by Dave Clark and Mike Smith, replaced I Want To Hold Your Hand at #1 in the UK. It also went to #1 in Ireland, #2 in Canada and Sweden, #3 in Australia and #4 in the Netherlands. It was their first Top 10 in the US, peaking at #6. By the end of 1964 the single had sold more than 1,000,000 units in the UK alone.

They spent more time in the US than in Europe in 1964, so eventually they were more popular there: Can't You See That She's Mine made #4 in the US and only #10 in the UK.

In 1965, they made a sharp movie, shot with kinetic energy by a young John Boorman (Deliverance), a director Clark discovered and championed, indicative of his true area of interest. The title song, Catch Us If You Can, returned them to the Top 10 (#4 US, #5 UK):

They wouldn't have another Top 10 hit, either in the US or in the UK, till 1967. The reason: by answering this we will also answer the first question that we posed in the introduction.

Despite their Beatlelike popularity, the DC5 were constrained in a way the Fab Four were not. Dave Clark later said:

"[The Beatles] weren't getting the royalties they should have, but they were given the luxury of a studio for 24 hours for as long as they wanted. As an independent, I couldn't work that way. Unless we got it in three takes I would stop and we'd go down the pub and have a beer."

It's a no-nonsense attitude that might explain why the DC5 never really progressed musically. The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who, The Kinks, The Yardbirds, The Hollies, Manfred Mann, The Animals and others were moving to more a complicated sound (towards Rock rather than Pop) and to more mature lyrics. The DC5 failed to do so. That was one of the reasons that the hits didn't keep coming at the same rate that they used to. It's also part of the reason that they were less remembered (especially in the 80s, 90s and 00s) than the other aforementioned groups.

The other reason was a miscalculation on Dave's part. In a prescient move, Dave had retained ownership of the group’s master recordings, but he hadn’t made a deal in the US since the mid-1970s. He thought that by keeping them off the market, especially when interest was heightened with the advent of CDs, he could command a bigger royalty advance. Rhino and other companies were keenly interested, but Dave kept turning them down.

In 1989, Dave made a deal with the Disney Channel to program the 1960s English music show Ready, Steady, Go! during evenings to attract adult viewers to the kids cable channel. Dave had purchased the surviving shows — only a small percentage of those that were produced. With a relationship with Disney now established, in 1992 he made a deal with Disney’s Hollywood Records to issue his group’s masters. At this point the record company was not a success, so it was with some desperation that they gave Dave the large advance he held out for.

Dave hadn’t realized that by keeping the records out of the stores for nearly twenty years, he diminished their value. Oldies radio programmed less of the hits, as they were not available to the stations. Similarly, the records did not get exposed in other media like movies, TV shows, and commercials. He also was insensitive to music fans who wanted to hear the records: some wore out their vinyl copies, others replaced their turntables with CD players. Whatever residual presence the Dave Clark Five records had, had dissipated, and much of the band’s great music faded from memory. Ultimately, sales of The History of the Dave Clark Five were disappointing and the project lost money. Soon even this collection was out of circulation.

One a personal note, I remember looking for a CD with DC5 hits from the mid 90s to the mid 00s. I finally found one in the UK, it was pressed in Hungary and I'm not quite sure if it was actually licensed. Eventually Clark got wise and his songs are easy to find during the last few years. But he had lost valuable time.

Let's get back to their hits. In 1967 their version of You Got What It Takes made #7 in the US (#28 UK):


A childhood favorite of mine, The Red Balloon, made #7 in the UK. A bit of a Bubble Gum hit, this is the only DC5 recording that has Dave Clark on lead vocals.

Everybody Get Together, a song originally recorded by The Kingston Trio and made a hit by The Youngbloods, was their last UK Top 10 (#8 in 1970).

A few months later they released Here Comes Summer. It only made #44 in the UK. Their time as hitmakers was past.

Without much ceremony, they disbanded. Dave said: "I always said we'd stop when the fun went out of it, that was the agreement from the start. I had other things I wanted to do."

Although Mike Smith worked as a producer, songwriter and commercial jingles maker until his death in 2008, none of the others continued in music. Saxophonist Payton became an estate agent and died in 2006. Bassist Huxley was involved in property and retail businesses and died in 2013. Guitarist Davidson dealt in antiques and taught music and is now retired. Clark gave up music to pursue his first love, studying at the Central School of Drama for four years. "I wanted to be treated like everybody else, get criticised, pulled to bits, I wanted to learn."

Clark never went on to act, but did resurface in the Eighties with his musical Time, which ran for two years in London's West End from 1986-88. Laurence Olivier appeared as a hologram in his last ever stage role. "That was quite an experience. Olivier was the greatest actor in the world and he didn't suffer fools gladly but we hit it off right away." An all-star album, featuring Freddie Mercury, Cliff Richard, Leo Sayer, Stevie Wonder and Dionne Warwick sold over two million copies and spawned four hit singles. Time with Freddie Mercury reached #32 in the UK."

FYI SGT Mark Anderson SGT Jim Arnold SSgt Terry P. Maj Robert Thornton SFC (Join to see) SGT Steve McFarland MSG Andrew White Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. COL Mikel J. Burroughs SMSgt Lawrence McCarter SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL LTC Greg Henning SGT Gregory Lawritson SP5 Mark Kuzinski SGT John " Mac " McConnell SGT (Join to see) CWO3 (Join to see) PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
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LTC Stephen F.
LTC Stephen F.
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LTC Wayne Brandon
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The timing was perfect for this group. They were the perfect substitute for the Beatles and the Stones with their own sound and near-perfect synchronization and harmony.
It's good to hear this one again.
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Lt Col Charlie Brown
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Another one I can sing
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