PBS Distribution is releasing
Dave Clark Five and Beyond: Glad All Over on Blu-ray. The two-hour
Great Performances documentary presents a look at the British Invasion from the perspective of the first English group to tour America (in May 1964), and arrives on Blu-ray on May 13th.
Synopsis: The Dave Clark Five, the Beatles and the Rolling Stones were all war babies, born during the World War II.
Dave Clark Five and Beyond: Glad All Over highlights the band's working-class roots in war-torn England and tells in fascinating detail the story of how the five -- Clark, Mike Smith (an underrated rock vocalist, as several of the luminaries in the film attest), Denis Payton, Rick Huxley and Lenny Davidson -- met while training in the gym two nights a week in Tottenham and their rise to worldwide fame, selling more than 100 million records in the process.
The band achieved a record-breaking 15 consecutive Top 20 U.S. hit singles within a two-year period; more than any other group in the world except the Beatles. The Dave Clark Five appeared a record-breaking 18 times on
The Ed Sullivan Show, with its weekly audience of 70 million viewers; more than any other rock, pop or R&B artist. They took the world by storm and helped change the rock scene, blasting hit after hit over the world's radio airwaves. In 2008, Tom Hanks inducted the Dave Clark Five into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
The film presents new interviews with Tom Hanks, Sir Paul McCartney, Sir Elton John, Bruce Springsteen, Steven Van Zandt of The E Street Band, Stevie Wonder, Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne, Gene Simmons of Kiss, Whoopi Goldberg, Dionne Warwick, '60s fashion icon Twiggy and Sir Ian McKellen, all sharing their memories of how the music of the '60s and the cultural revolution of 1964 changed their lives forever.
Footage includes the Dave Clark Five's iconic performances on
The Ed Sullivan Show, along with rare live concert footage and the band's countless appearances on television with American musical icons. Most of this material -- much of it on 35mm film -- has not been seen in decades, either on television or home video. The film also features never-before-seen footage from Clark's personal archives together with performances by the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Who, Dusty Springfield, Stevie Wonder, the Supremes, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, Marvin Gaye, Otis Redding, Freddie Mercury of Queen and Sir Laurence Olivier.
Glad All Over includes scenes from the band's feature film,
Catch Us If You Can as well. There are scenes of the group with Lucille Ball (on whose "Lucy in London" special they guest-starred), Richard Chamberlain, Lulu, Cliff Richard, Julian Lennon and Mercury.
PBS has yet to detail tech specs or special features.