BBC 2 have been making great use of the British Pathé archive for their hot series ‘I’m In A Rock ‘n’ Roll Band’. The next episode this weekend is focusing on drums, and one intriguing star their critical eye has descended upon is Dave Clark of The Dave Clark Five (pictured above) –ring any bells?
The Dave Clark Five were the second of the British Invasion following the Beatles, their two major hits being ‘Glad All Over’ and ‘Bits And Pieces’ – both of which are performed live by The Dave Clark Five in the video clip above.
The video clip above really is something special. The Dave Clark Five are filmed grinning in the dressing room prior to a concert, combing their hair and readjusting their ties. Dave himself then kisses a bespectacled fan through a pair of glass doors and she nearly has a heart attack. The main bulk of the video is footage of The Dave Clark Five playing their concert. With their quirky knee-bends and cream trousers it really is hard to imagine how they blew the minds of an entire teenage generation!
Sam Wollaston praised this BBC 2 series in his Guardian column for the impressive rock royalty line-up the BBC have managed to pull out for interviews – “As well as Kelly the Stereophonic, there’s a quarter of Mötley Crüe, about half of Hole, three-quarters of Joy Division, all the Police (is that really Sting behind that big beard, or Brian Blessed?). There’s a Manic Street Preacher, a Stone Rose, a Happy Monday, a Foo Fighter, a Boomtown Rat, a Smith, a Special, a Door, and more.”
A bunch of unlikely British heartthrobs, The reason this cheeky 60s band are appearing in the next episode of ‘I’m In A Rock ‘n’ Roll Band’ is because lead man Dave Clark was actually the drummer. Legend (*cough* Wikipedia *cough*) states that he bought a set of drums in order to form a skittle band to raise funds for his football team so that they could go to Holland.
Only three of the band members are alive today. Saxophonist Denis Payton died of Cancer aged 63 and lead singer Mike Smith died of pneumonia aged 64, having been semi-paralysed for years following an accident in his Spanish villa.
It’s been an interesting life for Dave Clark since his glory days. Living as a near-recluse in his £12 million London home, Dave became very close friends with Freddie Mercury and was affected by the tragedy of his death from AIDS. Dave also wrote a musical called Time which starred Cliff Richard, David Cassidy and an old Laurence Olivier.
Learn more about BBC 2’s program ‘I’m In A Rock ‘n’ Roll Band’ here
Read Sam Wollaston’s Guardian column on the program – http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/2010/may/03/last-nights-tv-rock-and-roll
British Pathé 