It was during the 1963/64 season that The Dave Clark Five record Glad All Over reached Number One in the UK Singles chart and – 61 years on – it seems as good a time as any to relate the background to our club song.
Dave Clark was born in 1942 in Tottenham and, in 1958, formed The Dave Clark Five, the first version of which made its debut at a youth club to raise funds for a local football team (not Spurs!).
Dave was the drummer and, by 1961, the band had become the known quintet of Clark; Lenny Davidson (guitar); Denis Payton (saxophone); Rick Huxley (bass guitar); and Mike Smith (keyboards and vocals).
Originally with the Pye label without any chart success, the DC5 transferred to E.M.I. and Columbia in January 1963. Clark had the business acumen to control the group's recordings, which meant they were one of the few Sixties artists not to be ripped off by managers and record companies, instead receiving their due royalties.
