Above Left - Weekend Magazine September 19th, 1964 (image courtesy of Dennis Benzer)
Above Right - Capitol T-6103 showing a uniquely made in Canada cover !

The Tottenham Sound

Dave Clark formed his first group in 1957 but the classic line up was formed for fame in 1962 . The Dave Clark Five were quite simply the only serious contenders to The Beatles in Canada during 1964 and oddly both pop groups were on the same label ... Capitol Of Canada. In the USA their records were issued on the Epic label. Their Capitol releases are now coveted by record collectors world-wide. especially the wonky "Instrumental Album" from 1966, a very weird release for the group ! The group consisted of Dave Clark (drums), Mike Smith (lead vocals, organ), Rick Huxley (bass), Dennis Peyton (saxophone), Lenny Davidson (lead guitarist). Mike Smith sang lead vocals on most of the hits but we all thought it was Dave Clark himself …

They charted many times in Canada but they ultimately bowed out in 1968 in the wake of The Beatles' Sergeant Pepper. By early 1968 the Dave Clark Five appeared dated by comparison and they lacked a genius producer and arranger like The Beatles had claimed from the outset with George Martin.

As a youngster though, I grew up with their awesome sound over the AM radio airwaves in Canada and the hammering drum beat of Bits And Pieces and Glad All Over in mid 1964 were to me one of the most essential sounds of the British Invasion in Canada. As with The Beatles, they were featured on Ed Sullivan and their hits were played EVERYWHERE !!!

The Dave Clark Five first appeared on Ed Sullivan on Sunday, March 8th, playing their first Capitol hit Glad All Over. This was of course just a couple of weeks after the Beatles smash performances on the same show on February 9th and February 16th. The DC5 then appeared on Sunday, March 15th and played three songs: Do You Love Me (The Contours hit), Bits And Pieces, and once again Glad All Over. The mania for the Dave Clark Five after these two shows was nearing the mania already established for The Beatles.

Like The Beatles, The Dave Clark Five would borrow from Motown (Do You Love Me) and Chuck Berry (Reelin And Rockin). But of course they lacked the song writing team of Lennon and McCartney. It was their THUMPING sound that grabbed you though. Capitol Records Of Canada "rush-released" Bits And Pieces after their second Ed Sullivan appearance and both Glad All Over and Bits And Pieces were on many charts at the same time. Do You Love Me was also rush-released soon after the Sullivan shows. They were a hot act and Paul White wrote in his weekly Sizzle Sheet for April 10th, 1964 that "Clark has built up such a following in the last couple of weeks that we're beginning to realize we have another 'mania' on our hands!".!

1964 was a huge year for the DC5 and they continued having hits on Capitol for another three years. Their unusually quiet-for-them song "Because" in August 1964 still sounds fresh today as does their version of You've Got What It Takes from our Centennial Year of 1967. Their records were very much party records to get people dancing ! My own favourite was always "Anyway You Want It".

By June of 1967, they were touring places like Regina in Saskatchewan, perhaps The Beatles had made the correct decision to stop touring in 1966. The Dave Clark Five had appeared on Ed Sullivan a staggering 12 times and their last appearance on the show was March 26th, 1967... and the Muppets were on that show as well !

The DC5 carried on releasing discs in England until 1970 but there was no chart action in Canada after the beginning of 1968. One of their catchiest songs "Red Balloon" did not chart in Canada when it was issued in Canada in August 1968 ... but compare that "pop" track to The Beatles magnum opus Hey Jude which was issued in Canada just a few weeks later.

One of their last Canadian discs was issued on Epic in 1972 and was credited to Dave Clark & Friends, the label that had carried them in the USA beginning in 1964.

Many years later I attended a benefit concert for Mike Smith after his terrible accident at his home in Spain. The benefit concert was held in New York City on August 2nd, 2005 and was a great success. Mike Smith could only attend via video link up but many pop stars were there to help him out and they included The Zombies, Peter And Gordon, Denny Laine, Billy J. Kramer, Paul Shaffer (the organizer) etc.

DC5 Chart History In Canada

The Dave Clark Five stormed the Canadian singles charts between 1964 and 1967. The following summary of their chart history on Toronto's CHUM AM 1050 is extracted from Ron Hall's excellent book "The CHUM Chart Book" (Stardust, 1990).



Capitol Of Canada 45 RPM Discography

NOTE - label images seen at the 72000 Series page

The group issued a staggering total of 23 singles in Canada between 1964 and 1968 !

Serial Number	Title	Date
Capitol 72138	Glad All Over / I Know You	January 1964
Capitol 72148	Bits And Pieces / All Of The Time	March 1964
Capitol 72154	Do You Love Me ? / Chaquita	May 1964
Capitol 72163	Can’t You See That She’s Mine / No Time To Lose	June 1964
Capitol 72177	Because / Theme Without A Name	August 1964
Capitol 72187	Everybody Knows (I Still Love You) / ‘Ol Sol	November 1964
Capitol 72198	Anyway You Want It / Crying Over You	February 1965
Capitol 72215	Come Home / Your Turn To Cry	March 1965
Capitol 72232	Reelin’ And Rockin’/ Little Bitty Pretty One	May 1965
Capitol 72267	I Like It Like That / Hurting Inside	August 1965
Capitol 72279	Catch Us If You Can / Move On	September 1965
Capitol 72299	Having A Wild Weekend / No Stopping	October 1965
Capitol 72317	Over And Over / I’ll Be Yours (My Love)	October 1965
Capitol 72324	At The Scene / I Miss You	January 1966
Capitol 72358	Try Too Hard / All Night Long	March 1966
Capitol 72375	Please Tell Me Why / Look Before You Leap	June 1966
Capitol 72401	Satisfied With You / Don’t Let Me Down	September 1966
Capitol 72422	Nineteen Days / I Need Love	November 1966
Capitol 72443	I’ve Got To Have A Reason / Good Time Woman	January 1967
Capitol 72458	You’ve Got What It Takes / Small Talk	April 1967
Capitol 72488	You Must Have Been A Beautiful Baby /Man In A Pin-Striped Suit	June 1967
Capitol 72499	A Little Bit Now / You Don’t Play Me Around	August 1967
Capitol 72515	Red And Blue / Concentration Baby	October 1967
Capitol 72521	Everybody Knows / Concentration Baby	December 1967
Capitol 72537	Please Stay / Forget	May 1968
Capitol 72552	Red Balloon / Maze Of Love	August 1968
Epic 5-10894	Rub It In / I'm Sorry Baby	issued in Canada in 1972
Dave Clark & Friends



Capitol Of Canada LP Discography

NOTE - cover images can be seen at 6000 Series page

Capitol of Canada issued an even dozen albums by The Dave Clark Five in Canada. All of them were issued in mono and a few were also issued in stereo.

Serial Number	Title	Date
Capitol T-6062	Session With The Dave Clark Five	April 13 1964
Capitol T-6068	Bits And Pieces	May 11 1964
Capitol T-6083	On Stage With The Dave Clark Five	September 14 1964
Capitol T-6103	Across Canada With The Dave Clark Five	January 11 1965
Capitol T-6137	Songs From The Movie Having A Wild Weekend	August 30 1965
Capitol (S)T-6153	The Hits Of The Dave Clark Five	January 3 1966
* the stereo version was re-issued in 1969 on the green target label and then in 1970/1 on the red target label
Capitol (D)T-6162	The Dave Clark Five Instrumental Album	May 2 1966
Capitol T-6167	I Like It Like That / Over And Over	March 7 1966
Capitol T-6180	At The Scene	June 6 1966
Capitol (D)T-6196	More Hits Of The Dave Clark Five	April 3 1967
Capitol (S)T-6220	You Got What It Takes	September 4 1967
Capitol (S)T-6265	Everybody Knows	February 5 1968
... and yes there are mono copies !

DC5 Cash-In Records Released In Canada During 1964 …

Capitol's first two 45 RPM releases by The Dave Clark Five were smashes in Canada ... and in their wake in mid 1964, the record companies scrambled to see what they had in their own vaults ... and out came the DC5 cash-in discs !

The other UK Pye 45 was also issued in Canada but on the Congress label as:



Another odd 45 was issued in Canada as:



Dave Clark Five Concerts In Canada During The 1960s

(By courtesy of web site ... http://allowell.homesite.net/dc5concerts.html )



Toronto, Ontario - June 9, 1964 - Varsity Stadium (more information on this concert is required)



Montreal, Quebec - October 29, 1964 - Montreal Forum

Opening acts - Pierre Lalonde

Les Beatlettes

The Bobsmiths

The 4 Frenchmen

Mickey Day

The Esquires

 

Above Left - Newspaper advert for the show held at the Montreal Forum on October 29th., 1964. Above Right - 1964 Capitol Of Canada publicity photo that appeared on the back of Capitol Lp T-6116. which may possibly have been taken in Montreal.





Toronto, Ontario - Monday, November 2nd, 1964 - Maple Leaf Gardens

Emcee was CKEY DJ Dave Mickie

Bobby Curtola

The Esquires



Above Left - Poster For The Toronto Show on Monday, November 2nd., 1964 Above Right - Helium-sucking CKEY DJ Dave Mickie introduces support act The Esquires (he is holding their Capitol Lp) as he stands in front of Dave Clark's' famous drums at Maple Leaf Gardens on November 2nd., 1964 !





London, Ontario - Tuesday, November 3, 1964 - Treasure Island Gardens

Jimmy Soul (from the USA)

David Clayton Thomas & The Shays (Toronto)

The Esquires (Ottawa)

Sandy Simms & The Diplomats (Brantford)

Johnny Stevens And His Sextet (London)

The Fortune Tellers (London)

The Undertakers (London)

 

Above Left - The Dave Clark Five pictured with Ottawa's very own Esquires
Above Right - The DC5 arrive in London Ontario on their very own plane (courtesy of the London Free Press, Fred Young)





Vancouver, British Columbia - November 26, 1964 - Georgia Auditorium

Fort William, Ontario - June 22, 1965 - Memorial Gardens

Sudbury, Ontario - June 23, 1965 - Sudbury Arena

Calgary, Alberta - July 6, 1965

No Canadian concert dates in 1966...

Regina, Saskatchewan - June 21, 1967 - Exhibition Park Agridome

 

Above - A very cool cardboard-backed flexi disc that appeared in some teen magazines in 1965