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 Former Dave
Clark Five Singer Returns After Long Absence
By
Daniel Dullum
Spectrum staff writer
As the second American tour of Mike Smith’s Rock Engine rolls on, the
former lead singer and keyboardist for the Dave Clark Five is finding that
absence, indeed, creates a fondness in the heart.
The popular British Invasion rock group may have disbanded 33 years ago and
been ignored by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame selection committee, but the
DC5 is far from forgotten.
Smith had just finished a mid-afternoon sound check Aug. 31 at the Radisson’s
Grove in the sweltering Sacramento heat when two 50-something ladies from the
Bay area, Bernadette and her friend, Nancy (surnames withheld by request),
approached him.
Bernadette was armed with a cover from the DC5’s 1966 album, “5x5,” when
she approached Smith to autograph it next to the song title “Bernadette.” Smith
politely declined, explaining that he would sign it after the show.
“But he gave me a hug and kiss,” Bernadette said, adding with a touch
of rediscovered adolescence, “I’ll never wash this cheek again!”
True to his word, following his high-energy, two-hour vintage rock and roll
concert in The Grove, Smith signed the album, right next to the title “Bernadette.” And
for her patience, Bernadette received another hug, another kiss, and a photo
with the singer who was completing his first concert tour in 35 years.
“I’ve waited almost 40 years for this,” Bernadette said as
she admired her prized signature. With a touch of mist in her eyes, she added, “I
can die now!”
As the 59-year-old Smith tells it, this was not an isolated incident.
“The fans know more about me than I’ll ever know,” he said. “I
just arrived here [at the Radisson] and this girl came running up, shaking like
a leaf, and said, ‘I was the fan club president in 1964 and I’ve
waited 39 years to meet you!’ It’s amazing. All that time and they’re
still coming out of the woodwork.”
On this particular evening, nearly 500 DC5 enthusiasts came out of the woodwork
to enjoy Smith’s Rock Engine, which was preceded by the (Beau Brummels’)
Sal Valentino Band — a golden opportunity for ‘60s music fans to
enjoy two of the genre’s most distinctive and talented voices at one
venue.
“What’s amazing to me is that people sit there and they sing the
words. I’m not just talking about older people, younger people as well,” Smith
said. “It’s extremely flattering that the younger people listened
enough to know the words. The older people, I understand, because maybe I bring
back memories. But for the younger ones — it’s flattering that anyone
knows your records that well, especially after such time. I love it.”
The Dave Clark Five formed in Tottenham, England, in 1958, but the hit-making
lineup of Smith, Clark, Lenny Davidson, Rick Huxley and Denis Payton didn’t
come together until 1961. Two years later, their cover of the Contours’ “Do
You Love Me” put them on the British Top 30. Their next release, “Glad
All Over,” made nationwide headlines in Great Britain for overtaking
the Beatles’ “I Want To Hold Your Hand” as the No. 1 song.
“It was quite strange. I was only 19 and I was just into the music. I didn’t
know anything about fame,” Smith remembered. “I felt prouder when ‘Do
You Love Me’ got to No. 40. That was the first time I saw the Dave Clark
Five in the charts. I was excited about that. But after that, it was a bit of
a whirlwind. You go into planes, cars, hotels, concerts, so it didn’t really
sink in.
“It wasn’t until the last couple of years that I realized what an
influence the band had in America — Billy Joel, Steve Van Zandt, Max Weinberg,
Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty — they all said what an influence we had on
them. I’m absolutely astounded, to be honest.”
Smith learned of this firsthand when the Rock Engine made a March appearance
at B.B. King’s club in New York.
“It was packed solid and there were many famous people there. Steve Van
Zandt, Paul Shaffer, Mark Ramone. I didn’t realize the influence that the
Dave Clark Five had — they still enjoyed the music,” Smith said. “Little
Stevie [Van Zandt] came up and played on ‘Any Way You Want It’ and
sang, which was a great, great thrill. We first met when I got an e-mail from
him to come to London and see his band play with Bruce Springsteen.”
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