Chart entered : 3 October 1963
Chart peak : 30
Number of hits : 22
How many pop bands
take their name from the drummer? Not many, I wager. Fat Larry's Band was
another. Echo and the Bunnymen, sort of did.
Dave Clark got the
honour though. A former stuntman turned sticksman, he was something of a
self-made man, having left school with no qualifications and taught himself
both the tricks of stunt work and drumming. He knew the score in the murky
world of pop music too - securing very favourable deals and keeping a firm grip
on publishing rights.
It took him some time
to get the formula right, though. Moving through various styles and line-ups
from skiffle onwards, the band also went through other members before settling
on a line up of Clark, Mike Smith on vocals and keyboards, Lenny Davidson on
guitar, bassist Rick Huxley and the multi-talented Denis Payton, who appears to
have played all sorts, but I associated (going on my limited viewings of them)
with playing the sax.
Their initial singles
included "Chaquita", a somewhat dubious attempt to ride the success
of the the Champ's 1958 hit "Tequilla" (with Smith and Clark grabbing
the songwriting credits) that deserved to go nowhere. Signing to Columbia,
"The Mulberry Bush" in March of 1963 was equally weak - in 2013's
music world, they'd have been shown the door.
Perhaps the A&R
rep decided some already familiar material was required to get the band a
foothold on public affections. This was a cover of a hit by Motown act the
Contours (their only one, in fact), written by Berry Gordy. Let's be frank, it
doesn't add much to the original. Indeed, it actually takes away in a manner,
removing the spoken introduction.
Listening to this
right after the Contours wasn't perhaps going to help: in comparison, it sounds
limp, especially in the vocal department. Mike Smith had a decent set of lungs,
and would suit the band's future material much better, but here, he's
struggling with having to bellow out the words, though he's not helped by
extremely weak backing vocals from the rest of the "five".
In the end, it was
pretty much for nought. Though while it got the band in the charts, their
thunder was somewhat nixed by the fact Brian Poole and the Tremeloes released
their own version at the same time. The slightly more established band got the
airplay and rode it all the way to #1 while Dave and the lads seethed way down
the bottom end of the charts. Doh!
When it's this lot posing the question the answer's no. I don't like the song much either - "Twist And Shout" with different words.
ReplyDeletePossibly the band name came from Clark, with his limited technique, making sure he didn't become the next Pete Best ( who himself always put his name in the shortlived bands he had before settling down as an unemployment adviser ) in those pre-Taggart days. Mick Fleetwood is the other obvious example you missed.
These are my least favourite of the beat bands although "Catch Us If You Can" is a great song. I don't think Smith's voice suits the material and find Clark the shark-eyed , perma-grinning huckster quite a repellent character.
Wasn't the original name "Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac"? Pretty much naming the band (in a manner) after most the members!
ReplyDeleteI know next to naught of Clark, but I do remember the "Five's" biggest UK hit being used (for some reason) by Crystal Palace for their 1990 FA Cup final song. Despite the best efforts of Jim Leighton, Alex Ferguson secured his first trophy, after a replay.