Top of the Pops started in 1964 and this is how the show opened.
According to number-ones The Animals were at the top of the charts with “House of the Rising Sun” in July 1964 so presumably this clip was from then.
The BBC TOTP website says the show started on New Year’s Day 1964 but the film of the first show is lost.
The Dave Clark Five were at Number 1 in January 1964 with “Glad All Over” which, at the time, I thought was dreadful. Listening to it now, it’s quite jolly but unfortunately it stays in your head for hours so approach with caution!
The only other DC5 song I can recall is “Bits and Pieces” which I disliked even more than “Glad All Over”. It’s still really awful but this clip is hilarious and there are some good shots of Chelsea boots.
The Dave Clark Five originated from Tottenham, North London and the band was founded in 1957 but disbanded in 1970.
And after the breakup in 1970?
Wikipedia records that Dave Clark (drums) was also the band’s manager and producer of their recordings. Following the group’s break-up, he set up a media company. In the process, he acquired the rights to the 1960s pop series Ready Steady Go!. Additionally, he wrote and produced the 1986 London stage musical Time – The Musical where he directed the last performance of Sir Laurence Olivier. The production was seen by an audience of over one million and a two-disc vinyl album was released in conjunction with the stage production. Mike Smith (keyboard) returned to performing in 2003 after a hiatus of 25 years. He formed Mike Smith’s Rock Engine and did two mini-tours of the U.S. He died on 28 February 2008 in London from a spinal injury sustained after scaling a fence at his home in Spain. Denis Payton (sax, harmonica and guitar) died on 17 December 2006 at the age of 63 after a long battle with cancer. Rick Huxley (guitar) died from emphysema on 11 February 2013 at the age of 72. Lenny Davidson (guitar) taught guitar for many years at a school in Cambridgeshire, where he still lives. The Dave Clark Five were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2008.
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