Track-By-Track Guide To The Music Of The Dave Clark Five

Musical Gems

Aside from being one of the most successful acts the British Invasion, The Dave Clark Five appeared eighteen times on The Ed Sullivan Show. They had several hits between 1964 and 1967 that at one point, they were considered rivals to The Beatles. Then, The Dave Clark Five broke up in early 1970.

Let’s take a look at their most memorable musical moments:

5. Because

Their record label didn’t want to release this at first because the ballad wasn’t their usual style and they already had a tried-and-tested formula of making hits. It was Dave Clark who convinced Epic Records to release this as an A-side in the US. And it was a success as it peaked at #3 on the US Billboard Hot 100.

4. Can’t You See That She’s Mine

Their fourth gold record, they lifted some of the lyrics from the Ray Charles song “Sticks and Stones”.

3. Catch Us If You Can

They were at the top of their game when drummer Dave Clark and guitarist Lenny Davidson wrote this. “Catch Us If You Can” was also the title to the DC5 vehicle and film released on the same year. It has been played at sports events and remains a staple in classic rock radio stations. It was even used in commercials.

2. Bits and Pieces

Most venue owners did not allow the band to play this during concerts because they were scared that the fans would jump up and down to the song and end up damaging the place. And Clark explained to Uncut: “At a lot of gigs, we used to do some instrumentals because it was a long stint, three and a half hours. We often started with The Routers’ ‘Half Time,’ and we’d stop, carry on with just the drums going, with everybody in the band stomping – all the audience would start to stamp, and you can imagine what it was like when it got 106,000 people.”

He added, “The guy on the lights at the Tottenham Royal had no lighting board, but I got him to switch the lights on and off from the mains, in time with the music. It got amazing reactions, and that’s how Mike and I got the idea for Bits and Pieces and Glad All Over.”

1. Glad All Over

DC5’s first big hit, the song features the Tottenham sound. Clark recalled, “‘Glad All Over’ didn’t take long at all to write. Your best songs are the ones you seem to do very quickly. It was a great hook, and a very simple one.”