The Dave Clark Five
One of the most popular British beat groups of the mid-'60s, the Dave Clark Five's career stretched back as far as 1958. Originally a backing group for north London singer Stan Saxon, the Five comprised Dave Clark (b. 15 December 1942, London, England; drums/vocals), backed by various musicians, whose ranks included bassist Chris Wells and lead guitarist Mick Ryan. After splitting from Saxon, the Five established their own identity and nominated their date and place of formation as the South Grove Youth Club, Tottenham, London in January 1962. The evolving and finally settled line-up featured Mike Smith (b. 12 December 1943, London, England; organ/vocals), Rick Huxley (b. 5 August 1942, Dartford, Kent, England; bass guitar), Lenny Davidson (b. 30 May 1944, Enfield, Middlesex, England; lead guitar) and Denis Payton (b. 8 August 1943, London, England; saxophone). Smith's throaty vocals and Clark's incessant thumping beat were the group's most familiar trademarks. After losing out to Brian Poole And The Tremeloes with the much covered Contours' classic Do You Love Me, the group elected to record their own material. The Clark/Smith composition Glad All Over proved one of the most distinctive and recognizable beat songs of its era and reached number 1 in the UK during January 1964. Its timing could not have been more opportune as the record fortuitously removed the Beatles' I Want To Hold Your Hand, after its six-week reign at the top. The national press, ever fixated with Beatles stories, pronounced in large headlines: 'Has The Five Jive Crushed The Beatles' Beat?'. The Five took advantage of the publicity by swiftly issuing the less memorable, but even more boot-thumping, Bits And Pieces, which climbed to number 2. Over the next couple of years, the group's chart career in the UK was erratic at best, though they enjoyed a sizeable Top 10 hit in 1965 with Catch Us If You Can from the film of the same name in which they starred. 
Even as their beat group charm in Britain faded, surprisingly new opportunities awaited them in the USA. A series of appearances on the 'Ed Sullivan Show' saw them at the forefront of the mid-'60s beat invasion and they racked up a string of million sellers. A remarkable 17 Billboard Top 40 hits included Can't You See That She's Mine, Because, I Like It Like That and their sole US number 1 Over And Over. Back in the UK, they enjoyed a belated and highly successful shift of style with the Barry Mason/Les Reed ballad, Everybody Knows. Slipping into the rock ‘n’ roll revivalist trend of the early '70s, they charted with the medleys Good Old Rock ‘N’ Roll and More Good Old Rock ‘N’ Roll, before bowing out in 1971. 
The simultaneous strength and weakness of the group lay in their no-risk policy and refusal to surrender the hit-making formula for a more ambitious approach. Far from serious rivals to the Beatles, as their initial press implied, they were actually a limited but solid outfit who boasted an astute leader whose canny sense of the moment and business know-how enabled them to enjoy lucrative pickings in the US market long after their beat contemporaries had faded. Clark subsequently became a successful entrepreneur, both in the video market, where he purchased the rights to the pop show 'Ready Steady Go!', and onstage where his musical Time (starring Cliff Richard) enjoyed box office success. Clark retains the rights to all the band's material and by sitting on the catalogue he has sucessfully held out for the most lucrative offer to reissue the hits. The recent GLAD ALL OVER AGAIN was the first Dave Clark Five product of the CD age!