Ha ha ha! You cannot use that word in polite company in Britain! Not even on trendy BBC Radio 4. Does it mean the same thing in America? Seriously though, what is it with Dave Clark? I'm not a huge fan so don't know the full story, but from what I've heard he is something of a megalomaniac. I believe he wouldn't allow DC5 material to be released on CD initially. Why?
Exactly. With the demise of oldies radio, the only way old music gets new exposure is through movies or TV commercials, and I don't think Clark has ever licensed his masters for those uses either.
There is some dislike of DC from certain vocal people for a few reasons First as he is seen by some people as some kind of fake figure in that Bobby Graham played drums on a fair number of their hits, also others like Ron Ryan have claimed they wrote songs DC is credited as composer of (maybe a business agreement thing of course if accurate) also it is seen by some that key DC5 members notably the great Mike Smith lead vocalist, organ and guitarist/co lead vocalist Lenny Davidson plus multi talented Denis Payton (sax, harmonica, guitar, vocals) are seen as being very overshadowed by DC who very much was the spokesman and PR guru of his band with scant attention paid to the others thus the three most important musically and vocally band members got little public acclaim as a result DC also had an iron grip on the use of the DC5 name and their back catalogue taking it off the market for many years and allowing only the occasional hits compilation - essentially repeating the same songs er 'over and over' (!) and as a result their UK and USA albums have been off catalogue for a very long time - partly as DC was angry re some albums coming out in 'fake stereo' while also he apparently disliked the CD format later The sad terminal illness of DC5 member Denis Payton and the tragic accident that left Mike Smith virtually unable to move leading up to his sad death just before the Hall of Fame induction are it seems further held against DC ! - possibly re his not allowing Smith to use the DC5 connection earlier and a presumption by some about DC apparently being far wealthier than his four bandmates - tho' the late Rick Huxley once said he had a family holiday abroad each year and paid off his mortgage on his house thanks to the DC5 success and all of the band whilst presumably having to keep 'tight lipped' seemed quite happy re their lot from having been a part of the group - none ever spoke a word against Dave and seemed to be loyal to him Dave owning the rights to 'Ready Steady Go' TV show surviving episodes but not making these readily available on DVD later is further held against him I believe I also suspect some degree of jealousy existed years ago in that DC was given pretty much a 'free hand' at Lansdowne studios - when John Lennon still had to wear a tie over at Abbey Road - , and produced his own records - early on in association with engineer Adrian Kerridge hence 'produced by Adrian Clark' also setting up his Spurs Music publishing company probably saw DC getting more royalties than Lennon-McCartney's awful Northern Songs deal - hence some Beatles fans grew to hate DC for that crime.. DC was a shrewd businessman - maybe not so later re the compact disc era - managing his own band with firm control when many 'more serious music' groups came to discover they had inept even dishonest managers later...another 'crime' in some people's eyes in retrospect The DC5 made both a successful feature film in 1965 - directed by John Boorman - and a successful TV special in 1968 that saw UK TV critics heap praise upon them in 'showing The Beatles how to do it properly..' (after savaging 'Magical Mystery Tour' in late 1967) - a most seriously unforgivable 'crime' thereafter to some... The DC5 doing 15 Ed Sullivan Shows and two Royal Command performances...plus being asked to perform at the White House for President LBJ (rare for a non American band) plus later in 1977 a UK Polydor compilation 'Twenty Five Thumping Great Hits' slicing through punk to chart well in the UK Album top ten minus any existing group to promote it - were all seen as a level of success many 'more serious music' bands would happily kill for...thus held firmly against DC and his men as 'most serious crimes' the UK music critics loved to detest them while no doubt many assume 'John Lennon must have hated them' ( so they do too of course) - tho' even JL would very likely have been a 'Jealous Guy' re the royalties DC was picking up back in the day... Their concentrating firmly on the USA from 1964 to 1966 was seen as something of an additional 'domestic crime' by some homeland UK music press too (likewise a charge made against Cream later on in the sixties) and their UK chart success notably dropped off over 1966 when their single 'Look Before You Leap' struggled to no.50 their only UK chart single that year while two of their best 'Nineteen Days' and 'Try Too Hard' both missed the UK chart completely...yet 'Over and Over' was at no.1 in the USA that year... However with American success having peaked they then returned home to enjoy a no.2 hit with 'Everybody Knows' in 1967 and had top ten UK chart singles in each year over 1968 to 1970 (plus other chart singles as well) DC finally wound up the group in 1970 the year in which they had a decent top ten chart hit with 'Everybody Get Together' making no.8 in the UK chart. DC was pretty much himself producing and running the outfit and guiding their successful career in the sixties having 22 UK chart singles from 1963 to 1970 (exactly matching The Beatles and Hollies for number of 'official' UK chart singles up to then) together with considerable USA and worldwide chart success The Hall of Fame induction when so many 'more serious music' artists were overlooked was no doubt a further latter charge to be added on and held against the DC5 and their leader so I believe with still no re-issue of the DC5 albums back catalogue that pretty much sums up the case for the prosecution... tho' many of DC's music contemporaries would probably secretly envy his track record of success...
Did catch the tv ad spot for it on Channel 5 UK during Jane McDonald holidaying show which showed the cd, lp and streaming options.
Love the music, but that PBS “special” on the group was in fact a non-stop tribute to the man himself, not surprisingly written, produced and financed by one Dave Clark. To me, combined with the Ron Ryan-Bobby Graham and other stuff, it cinched it. Wanker.
Dave Clark will be interviewed on AM 700 WLW sports talk between 9am and noon EST today. Ken Broo, the host, throws in tons of music references and interviews of classic artists mixed in with sports. Here's a link if anyone is interested 700WLW - Cincinnati's News Radio
He had a lot of leverage in the 60's when the suits were desperate for the next Beatles so he made great deals for better pay from Ed Sullivan and owning his own masters etc but he's done his band's legacy a terrible disservice by keeping a tight lid on the material for so long so ironically for a band that had so many hits in the baby boomer heyday, they are largely forgotten. Also, isn't it weird that a band that claims to have sold over 100 million records, you can't find any books written about them?
Or, for one that toured so, any professionally made live recording, audio or video? Dave’s continued and aggressive efforts to shut down any Internet sites critical of his wonder suggest that he had his “Boys” each sign nondisclosure agreements, explaining the absence of books.
OK, so for a complete and utter newbie to Dave Clark 5, do y'all still recommend that 1990s 2-disc set?
Yes. It contains 50 tracks; the new set has only 28. Although each song is not a classic, particularly those after 1967, each set suffers from that trend, and the 1990 collection has more winners.
You'd only need to pick up copy of Glad All Over Again for a few UK only hits not on the US 1990's double cd set which as a US resident need not concern you.
Seems like this is a bit late coming to market. Of all the major bands having hits in this era the DC5 seem have been very poorly served over the years. Periodic greatest hits decades apart. Without going into the Dave Clark issues, of which I am no expert, it does seem that this particular release has somewhat missed the boat. I do recall in the early seventies there was a time where many popular groups had faded from view as far as reissues were concerned. I am sure that in the UK the only Monkees album available was a cheap greatest hits package, but over the years their catalogue has been reissued and expanded along with many of their contemporaries (both popular mainstream and obscure). DC5 have been seemingly buried. At this point in time there will probably be a small dedicated following but I would suggest that many who enjoyed their music are either gone or have moved on in their allegiances. I am familar with many of their hits but have no idea about their album catalogue and suspect it is perhaps weak in terms of material. Perhaps a box set with some rare tracks and alternatives would be nice although to all intents and purposes just including long unavailable albums tracks would probably do as many will not have heard these in many decades. It also seems that the tracks are being remastered but not remixed. Perhaps the multi-tracks do not exist although given Mr Clark's reputation I would be very surprised if he does not have access to them. Would seem to be a non-brainer to do a classy remix as I suspect the stereo mixes from the sixties would perhaps be rudimentary or limited by the equipment, recording methods and styles of the time. I guess we should see what emerges before commenting. Although I am sure that there will be some interest in these releases they somehow do not seem to have that aura of excitement generated by others of that era. We shall see.