The Dave Clark Five
The Dave Clark Five were a British rock and roll group in the 1960s, and one of the few that were able to present a commercial threat to the Beatles, the dominant group of the period. They had a series of memorable hits, including "Glad All Over", "Because" and "Bits and Pieces". Dave Clark was the manager and producer of the band, who also wrote most of their own songs; this made them unusual at the time. The group consisted of Dave Clark (drums), Mike Smith (lead vocals and keyboards), Lenny Davidson (lead guitar), Rick Huxley (bass guitar), and Denis Payton (tenor and baritone saxophones, harmonica, guitar). In spite of their incredible success for a period, bolstered by a 1965 film Catch Us If You Can (directed by John Boorman, and a 1967 TV special, the hits dried up after 1967's "Nineteen Days" and "You Got What It Takes", due to their refusal to embrace the prevailing trend of psychedelia. They broke up in 1970 after a failed attempt at repositioning themselves as a Sha Na Na/Showaddywaddy type 1950s revival act. (see 1970 in music).