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, the hits soon dried up and they broke up in 1970 (see 1970 in music).