MOJOEYEWITNESS
THE BRITISH INVASION PEAKS
Spearheaded by The Beatles’ success in early ’64, the USA’s love affair with Anglo groups cranked into overdrive, and by May 1965 eight of the Top 10 were by British acts. But what was the experience really like for The Zombies,The Dave Clark Five,Petula Clark and others as they crashed headlong into America? “They went crazy,” recall participants and witnesses 60 years on. “The screaming was like a jet plane taking off.”
Interviews by MAT SNOW
Jump for joy: The Dave Clark Five (from left) Rick Huxley, Denis Payton, Dave Clark, Lenny Davidson and Mike Smith, Central Park, New York, March 4, 1964; (below) 1965 US Number 1 hit, Over And Over.
Jeremy Clyde: The Beatles broke through in ’64 and all the A&R men in America came rushing to England. We [Chad & Jeremy] had gone on Jukebox Jury with Ringo on the panel. Everybody voted our track A Summer Song a ‘miss’ though Ringo said, “It’s a bit soft for England, but I think it might be a hit in America.” And so it proved [reaching US Number 7 in October ’64].
Petula Clark: I was touring in Quebec, singing in French. We kept getting these calls from Ed Sullivan and my husband Claude would say, “What does ’e want? Zis man, what is ’e?” You know, I think it’s important.
Colin Blunstone: The Zombies [who’d reached US Number 2 in early December with She’s Not There] played Murray The K’s Christmas [1964] shows at the Brooklyn Fox Theatre for 10 days with The Shangri-Las, Patti LaBelle And The Bluebelles, Ben E King, Chuck Jackson and two English bands, The Nashville Teens and The Hullaballoos. The American acts were very friendly and welcoming. There was a fine camaraderie because everyone was away from home over Christmas.
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PC: The first time I sang Downtown live in front of an audience was in New York for The Ed Sullivan Show. I arrived from Paris totally jet-lagged, and my plane was late. I walked on stage and the orchestra was playing the introduction much too fast but the audience didn’t seem to mind. As soon as they heard it and as soon as they saw it was me, they went crazy. I was only there to sing one song, and it was the song that they all wanted to hear. Downtown [US Number 1 in January 1965] was the anthem for New York and the New Yorkers loved it.