Dave Berry (& The Cruisers) |
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Dave Berry and the Cruisers were in the vanguard of the British R&B movement, but Dave gradually drifted into recording rather sentimental ballads as his chart career progressed. He had an exceptionally innovative stage act for the time- dressed all in black, even with Alvin Stardust style gloves- writhing within the microphone cable. David Holgate Grundy was an ardent follower of American rock and roll, and the music that he and his backing group, The Cruisers, played at their gigs in and around Sheffield reflected it. Dave even changed his surname to one of the artists he most admired, and when given the chance to record he chose a number from the repertoire of this same hero. Due to Pye deciding to reissue the original 'Memphis Tennessee', Dave found himself competing with his American namesake. Doubtless, the availability of Chuck's version prevented the Cruisers from climbing higher than #19- but it was sufficient for Dave Berry to have established a niche. The next two releases didn't manage the top twenty at all, but did well enough to keep the group in contention with other British R&B acts like the Rolling Stones. However, by the third release the Cruisers had been dropped from the record credits- their place taken by session musicians. Nevertheless, the Cruisers were to serve Berry well for many years as part of his stage act. Dave Berry's most original offering probably came from his fourth release, 'The Crying Game'- a ballad written by a former school teacher who had turned to 'Tin Pan Alley', Geoff Stevens. Probably because of this record's success, Dave Berry then concentrated on ballads that were a good deal less bluesy than the material that he'd started out with. Nevertheless, the new formula suited his style and was sufficiently commercial to keep the Yorkshireman in hits until the middle of 1966- though none did anything on the other side of the Atlantic. The flow of singles kept up until 1970, but by this time it was Dave's unusual stage act that was sustaining his musical career. He was never able to re-establish himself as a significant recording artist again and he and his Cruisers had to submit to the nostalgia scene. |
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| Decca F11734 | 1963 | Memphis Tennessee/ Tossin' And Turnin' | #19 |
| Decca F11803 | 1963 | My Baby Left Me/ Hoochie Coochie Man | #37 |
| Decca F11876 | 1964 | Baby It's You/ Sweet And Lovely | #24 |
| Decca F11937 | 1964 | The Crying Game/ Don't Gimmee No Lip Child | #5 |
| Decca F12020 | 1964 | One Heart Between Two/ You're Gonna Need Somebody | #41 |
| Decca F12103 | 1965 | Little Things/ I've Got A Tiger By The Tail | #5 |
| Decca F12188 | 1965 | This Strange Effect/ Now | #37 |
| Decca F12258 | 1965 | I'm Gonna Take You There/ Just Don't Know | |
| Decca F12337 | 1966 | If You Wait For Love/ Hidden | |
| Decca F12435 | 1966 | Mama/ Walk Walk Talk Talk | #5 |
| Decca F12513 | 1966 | Picture Me Gone/ Ann | |
| Decca F12579 | 1967 | Stranger/ Stick By The Book | |
| Decca F12651 | 1967 | Forever/ And I Have Learned To Dream | |
| Decca F12739 | 1968 | Just As Much As Ever/ I Got A Feeling | |
| Decca F12771 | 1968 | Do I Figure In Your Life/ Latisha | |
| Decca F12905 | 1969 | Oh What A Life/ Huma Luma |
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