Dave Berry (musician)


Dave Berry is an English pop singer and former teen idol of the 1960s.
He performed a mixture of R&B and pop ballads and was popular in Britain, and in Continental Europe, especially Belgium and the Netherlands, but had no commercial success in the US, where he is best known for the original versions of Ray Davies' "This Strange Effect" and Graham Gouldman's "I'm Going To Take You There".
He had an unusual ambition for a pop performer trying to make a name for himself - to appear on television completely hidden by a prop. In his own words, to "not appear, to stay behind something and not come out". He often hid behind the upturned collar of his leather jacket, or wrapped himself around, and effectively behind, the microphone lead.

Career

His best-remembered hits are "Memphis, Tennessee", "The Crying Game" and his 1965 hit "Little Things", a cover version of Bobby Goldsboro's Stateside Top 40 success. "This Strange Effect", written by Ray Davies, became a Number One hit for him in the Netherlands and Belgium, countries where he still enjoys celebrity status, having received an award from Radio Veronica, Netherlands, for their best selling pop single of all time. B. J. Thomas's sentimental "Mama" and "Don't Gimme No Lip Child", the latter is the flip to Berry's #5 hit single, "The Crying Game", in 1964, and covered by the Sex Pistols, were other notable recordings.
His early hits name-checked his backing band the Cruisers who at that time were John Fleet, Roy Barber, Frank Miles and Kenny Slade. Berry parted with this line-up around the time of "The Crying Game" and recruited three more local musicians - Frank White, Johnny Riley and Pete Cliff as the second generation of Cruisers. Lead guitarist White was eventually replaced by Roy Ledger. Berry regularly used session musicians Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, Big Jim Sullivan and Bobby Graham. Currently in the Cruisers are Daniel Martin, Adrian Fountain, Dan Wright and Brian Wood.
His stage act, which drew on the work of Elvis Presley and Gene Vincent, provided an inspiration for Alvin Stardust. The Geoff Stephens-penned song "The Crying Game" brought Berry's voice to his biggest international audience in 1992, when it was used as the theme song for the film The Crying Game. In the final quarter of 2010, "Little Things" was used in an advertisement campaign on British television by Andrex toilet paper. Berry also regained some recognition when he was the surprise hit of the annual Alexis Korner Tribute in 1995. In 1998 "This Strange Effect" was covered by the Belgian band, Hooverphonic, on their album, Blue Wonder Power Milk.
In May 2009, Berry toured the UK and appeared in a cameo role in a theatrical production, The Mod Crop. In August that year, RPM Records issued a double CD anthology of Berry's earliest recordings for Decca, entitled This Strange Effect . The package added two previously unissued tracks made in 1963 with producer Mickie Most: "Easy To Cry" and "Tongue Twisting".
Berry's illustrated autobiography, Dave Berry - All There Is To Know, was published in 2010 by Heron Publications Ltd. It included contributions from Joe Cocker, Ray Davies, Tony Iommi, Peter Stringfellow and Bill Wyman.
A double compilation, Picture Me Gone - The Decca Sessions 1966–1974, was released in January 2011.

Discography

Singles

EPs

"The Crying Game" / "Not Fade Away" / "I Don't Want To Go On" / "Ella Speed" / "The Girl from the Fair Isle" / "Go on Home" / "Everybody Tries" / "God Bless The Child" / "Memphis, Tennessee" / "On The Other Side of Town" / "Go Home Girl" / "My Last Date" / "St. James Infirmary" / "Just A Little Bit" / "See See Rider" / "Don't Make Fun of Me"
"Mama" / "I Ain’t Going With You Girl" / "It’s Gonna Be Fine" / "You Made A Fool of Me" / "Sticks And Stones" / "Now And From Now On" / "Same Game" / "Alright Baby" / "I Love You Babe" / "Soft Lights And Sweet Music" / "Green Grass" / "Love Has Gone Out of Your Life" / "Little Things"
"Hey Little Girl" / "Round And Round" / "Casting My Spell" / "Girl From The Fair Isle" / "Fanny Man" / "If You Wait For Love" / "Sweet And Lovely" / "Tears To Remind Me" / "Baby It's You" / "Run My Heart" / "I Love You Babe" / "Heartbeat"

"Maybe Baby" / "Coffee Song" / "She Cried" / "And The Clock on the Steeple Struck 13" / "You Can Live on Love" / "My Baby Left Me" / "Baby’s Gone" / "Dying Daffodil Incident" / "Suspicions" / "Since You’ve Gone" / "Stick To It Ivity" / "I Got The Feeling"
"Searchlight" / "Love from Johnny" / "Heart of Stone" / "Love is a Killer" / "Bring my Cadillac Back" / "God Bless the Child" / "Mountains of the Moon" / "On the Waterfront" / "My Baby Left Me" / "For a Knight to Win His Spurs" / "Boppin' the Blues" / "Tracks of My Tears"
"Mercury Blues" / "Same old Blues" / "Mean 'ol Frisco" / "Are You Going My Way" / "Memphis in the Meantime" / "Cajun Moon" / "Georgia Rae" / "Pony Boy" / "Taking the Midnight Train" / "Boppin' the Blues" / "My Baby Left Me" - Blues Matters! Records

Compilation albums