


Of course any notions of that sort quickly subsided, but the Dave Clark Five still holds that special distinction of getting in ahead of the stampede. Others joined them throughout the year, but it was Mike Smith, Lenny Davidson, Rick Huxley, Denny Payton and Dave Clark who made many of us feel, if only for a minute, or a day, or a week, that maybe John, Paul, George and Ringo weren't the best from across the pond. Kramer and the Dakotas, Freddie and the Dreamers, The Hollies, The Searchers and others had slipped in before the DC5 the previous year, as of March '64 only the two British bands were hitting in the States (along with female duo The Caravelles and solo singers Cliff Richard and Dusty Springfield). While in England, Gerry and the Pacemakers (who beat the Beatles to number one), Billy J. The Dave Clark Five suddenly appeared within a few weeks of the Fab Four in early 1964, and for a little while there was a period of indecision between Beatlemaniacs and DC5ers. To those of us in America, they were " The Beatles Part Two," the second group component of the British Invasion.
