Found in the basement among a bunch of pop ephemera that was my mother's: The Popular Annual 1964 Dave Clark Five vs. The Beatles.
With profiles of each member of the band, locked in hilarious "battles."
Battles include:
Do Ringo's girls want Rick [Huxley]?
George vs. Lenny Davidson
Paul vs. Mike Smith
John vs. Dave Clark
Other areas of contention: Mods (DC5) vs. Rockers (Beatles); The Mystery of Harrison; Why is Dennis Payton alone? Cassius Clay favors DC5; The Girls They Like [Ringo fancies older girls, Paul likes Ann-Margaret, Dave Clark prefers Hailey Mills]; The Beatles dark backdrops vs. DC5's light ones [Paul says dark backgrounds add to the mystery, Dave wants the audience to see all the fun they're having].
Ultimate conclusion of the magazine: While there's room at the top for both artists, the DC5's mod hipness and nascent individuality will outstrip The Beatles in popular appeal unless The Beatles "change their style, their way of putting across a song." Luckily, Popular Annual thinks that they'll be able to, and that the British music sky will have two brightly burning stars.
So, circa 1964, DC5 or The Beatles? Try not to let your biases about their future outputs influence your decision.
― js (honestengine), Tuesday, 15 November 2005 18:23 (twenty years ago)
my DC5 chronology is kinda iffy, but I guess "Because," "Glad All Over" and "Bits & Pieces" are sorta Beatles-worthy. Don't know much about them beyond that, but it seems unlikely that they'd have the sheer # of classics that the Beatles had amassed even by '64.
― The Good Dr. Bill (The Good Dr. Bill), Tuesday, 15 November 2005 18:34 (twenty years ago)