100 Great Songs From The British Invasion 1963-1966. ‘Glad All Over’- The Dave Clark Five.

The Dave Clark Five were huge for a couple years- 1964 and 1965 in the United States and they continued to have hits until the summer of 1967-overall they had 17 Top 40 hits- and one #1 ‘Over And Over’ in 1965. Seven of those hits went Top 10. Their popularity seems to have faded in history-when the big British groups are mentioned the ones with staying power- The Dave Clark Five kind of fall in their with bands like Herman’s Hermits-Gerry and The Pacemakers and the like- they had their period of success- and the fans moved on. ‘Glad All Over” was the bands first hit in the US- breaking onto the charts right after The Beatles invaded America. In the UK it went #1 and was the #2 best selling single in the UK behind ‘Can’t Buy Me Love’ by The Beatles. The Dave Clark Five were formed in Tottenham in 1958. Dave Clark was the drummer- the lead singer was Mike Smith. They were the second British group after The Beatles to appear in The Ed Sullivan Show in March 1964. Briefly they were considered to be rivals of The Beatles- very briefly I might add. What caused the downfall of The Dave Clark Five- and the reason they seem now to be a footnote in rock and roll history? My guess is- the band’s songs for the most part had the same sound- they didn’t evolve as the ones with staying power did- The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who, The Kinks. It wouldn’t be until 2008 that The Dave Clark Five were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame. I have a compilation album The Dave Clark Five- The Hits- which includes 27 songs- I might listen to it once a year. Overall it’s pretty good but it’s not something that I’d want a steady diet of. They are a time capsule band- 1964-65 era.

Single: ‘Glad All Over’- The Dave Clark Five/ Written by Dave Clark and Mike Smith/ Record Company-Columbia/ Recorded 1963/ Time: 2:43/ Produced by Adrian Clark/ Released December 1963/ Peaked at #6 in US Billboard Hot 100 #1 in UK Singles Chart.