Description
You can consider the UK’s Dave Clark Five as the Grand Funk Railroad of the 60s. Like Grand Funk, the Brits were insanely popular for a short time but neither band had the cultural staying power that yields legendary status. Yet in both cases the bands tapped, however briefly, into a popular zeitgeist that made them at least temporary superstars.
Unlike the DC5 though, Funk’s music stayed in print throughout the decades. Clark owns the rights to his tapes and, for unclear reasons, kept them out of the marketplace for many years. A beautifully compiled 1993 double disc of the group’s best material alleviated things… for a while, until that also was taken off the shelves.
Finally, to celebrate the group’s 60th anniversary, Clark remastered and reissued his act’s hits which can now be purchased as a 16 track CD. Either way it’s a treat to have this music available, sounding as fresh, vibrant and alive as ever.
The gold embossed statement on the cover of the CD and vinyl says it all; “The DC5 sold over 100 million records.” Their only competition was The Beatles and for a while those two were neck and neck in popularity.
