Gary James' Interview With
Dave Berry





He formed his first band in 1960, Dave Berry And The Cruisers. They built up a considerable following in his hometown of Sheffield, England. Decca Records came calling and he found himself and his band on the Top 40 charts. Appearances on British TV shows Thank Your Lucky Stars and Ready, Steady, Go! followed. It wasn't long before he found himself touring with The Rolling Stones. Dave Berry spoke with us about that time and what he's doing these days.

Q - Dave, you titled your autobiography All There Is To Know. How did you come up with that title?

A - It's actually a line from "The Crying Game" (one of Dave Berry's biggest hits). Myself and the journalist who helped put the book together with me, we thought that was a perfect name. We didn't throw any of the different titles together. We just came on that straight away. So, that's the story with the title.

Q - Your father was a Jazz drummer. You were part of a Rock 'n' Roll band. How did that go over with your father? Did he like Rock 'n' Roll?

A - I think initially he didn't 'cause he was a Jazz player. I think certainly through the 1960s we were sort of frowned upon, Rock 'n' Roll musicians. We were looked down on really with the Jazz people. My Dad was very supportive when I started out. He gave me good information about how to start in the music profession. Very mundane suggestions. One of them, which sounds strange now; when we were buying our first van as a young band, "Don't buy the van between you. You buy it." (laughs)

Q - That's pretty good advice.

A - It is because he said when you've got a couple of days off during the week the bass player or the lead guitarist will suddenly say, "The van is owned by all of the band. You had the van last Tuesday to take your girlfriend out. I'd like to take my girlfriend out on Thursday." It's just those hassles at the beginning of your career that create problems.

Q - I don't know if your father said this, but since you own the van you're responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of the van. So, make sure the other guys kick in some money for that.

A - That's absolutely exactly what he said. Because it was used exclusively for the band meant everything was paid for out of the band's money. I probably paid 20% of any bills. Another very important thing which has stood me in good stead over the years is, you've heard of the Working Man's Club here in Britain, haven't you?

Q - I have.

A - He advised me don't play Working Man's clubs.

Q - Why would that be?

A - Because he said you will not develop your own style. The only thing they want to hear is the current Pop charts. We were playing Muddy Waters, Bo Diddley, Roscoe Gordon, all the great American, Black singers who we loved. He said if you play the clubs you're not going to develop.

Q - Dave Berry And The Cruisers became very popular in Sheffield. How far is Sheffield from Liverpool?

A - Liverpool to Sheffield is probably about seventy-five miles.

Q - At the time your band was together, Liverpool groups were being offered work in Hamburg, Germany. Were you ever approached to work in those German clubs?

A - Yes. In 1961 or 1962 I worked in Hamburg at the Top Ten Club, which was just after The Beatles had played their final performances there in Hamburg.

Q - The Top Ten Club was one of the better clubs in Hamburg, wasn't it?

A - Oh, yes. It was the Star Club and the Top Ten Club.

Q - What was the Top Ten Club like?

A - To be absolutely honest, as I've always tried to be in my career, I hated every minute of it. We were there for I think six weeks. We were contracted to do maybe three, forty-five minute performances per night and we finished up playing one hour on stage and one hour off the stage all through the night. It nearly destroyed the band because no band has enough material to do that. So we were repeating songs. It was not a good time. None of the band and myself enjoyed it at all really.

Q - It must have been tough on your hands, your arms, your voices.

A - When you're younger those sort of things you never worried too much about. As a young person you don't think about the wear and tear on your voice.

Q - There must've been large crowds that would come out to hear British bands.

A - Oh, yes, very much so. They were packed every night. I think we shouldn't put too much emphasis on the influence of those clubs because the German people were there really just to listen to the music and drink. They were not there to particularly watch the band.

Q - Decca signed your band in 1963. You were no doubt aware of what was going on in all of England with the bands being signed, weren't you?

A - Yes, very much aware of it. Because we'd built up such a strong following, Dave Berry And The Cruisers, it was always a great band. We were playing all the major Rock venues in Sheffield and Manchester and trips over to Liverpool and Leeds, the whole area. Because everybody else was being signed we thought we were being left behind. So, it was a very disappointing time for us as a band. We signed up with Decca quite late really. The Beatles, Wayne Fontana And The Mindbenders, Freddie And The Dreamers, The Searchers, they all signed up probably six or eight months before we were signed.

Q - How did the band look in those days. Did you have long hair? Did you wear matching suits?

A - Yes, in the early days. All the bands did. '62, '63, '64, it was all sort of Italian suits. In the early days I was wearing black leather. The band was wearing sort of matching suits. One of my earliest influences was Gene Vincent. So, at that time I was wearing black leather.

Q - You had Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones play on your records. Did it ever cross your mind that these guys are pretty good? Maybe one day they'll form a band.

A - No. They were playing in bands at the time. That was the very nice thing about it. They were session players who could read music. I think Jimmy Page was only 19 years old. So, they were playing in a band at the same time they were recording with me. I never thought that in the future they'd go on to be one of the biggest bands in the world, (Led Zeppelin), no.

Q - In 1964 you toured with The Rolling Stones. What was that tour like?

A - I toured with The Stones about two or three times on concert tours. We had a great time with them. Andrew Loog Oldham (Stones manager and record producer) was my publicist as well in London, so I had a great association with Andrew Oldham. There wasn't sort of a big difference in the bands at the time. We were all new to the business. So we did as young people do on the road for the first time. We had lots of drinking and fooling around. We were refused admission to hotels, things like that. It was all new to us, so it was just good fun.

Q - These tours you did, were they U.K. tours or European tours?

A - U.K.

Q - Did you have the chance to talk to Brian Jones?

A - Oh, yes, two or three times, especially around London when you'd go back after gigs to someone's house somewhere in the middle of nowhere for a bit of an after show party. I played a few Muddy Waters songs with Brian Jones on piano. It was a very friendly time.

Q - You liked Brian Jones? You found him pretty friendly?

A - I liked all The Stones. I think of all of 'em Bill Wyman was my favorite. I still see Bill Wyman now. He seemed to be the most, if you can use that expression in Rock 'n' Roll, a down to earth person. It was a very impressive band. All of the tricks of the trade were being used. Andrew Oldham created mayhem at theatres by hiring women to go crazy and storm the stage. It was very theatrical. He knew exactly what he was doing with The Stones, to create this bad boy image at the time.

Q - I never heard that story before, but now that you mention it, it sounds about right.

A - I know it was right 'cause I was there. I was aware that these things had taken place.

Q - You appeared on these TV shows Thank Your Lucky Stars and <>i>Ready, Steady, Go!. Was that as a performer or a judge?

A - Those programs were sort of for performers. Thank Your Lucky Stars people would sort of have records coming up on the charts. Thank Your Lucky Stars was all the performers, The Kinks, The Stones, The Beatles. We all appeared on that. Ready, Steady, Go! was sort of a 'live' thing from London which went out on a Friday night. That was more 'live'. A lot of the shows were mimed at the time. You were working on Ready, Steady, Go! with a 'live' audience.

Q - What did an appearance on one of those shows do for your career? Did it increase your record sales?

A - Oh, very much, so yes. When you consider it, there was no commercial radio at the time. We were relying on the BBC for plays which was very, very restrictive. A lot of the areas had their regional TV shows also as they still do. So, we'd be trekking around the country promoting the new single on the local TV also. So, they were very, very important. In fact, they were the only way an artist could be seen nation wide.

Q - Mickie Most was your record producer. He was very successful at the time.

A - Mickie Most and Mike Smith, who became my record producer, recorded me. They were the two who signed me at Decca. Mickie Most produced a single for me, a two-sided single, but that was never released. I don't think Decca considered it strong enough to be released. My association with Mickie Most was for that one single. He disappeared anyway and Mike Smith became my record producer for all my years at Decca Records.

Q - And that brings us up to now. Are you still active in music as we speak?

A - Very much so, yes. In fact, I just signed for a new tour in the Spring of 2019 which will take me on the road with Chris Montez, Brian Hyland, Brian Poole, Vanity Fare and myself in a nationwide tour. I've enjoyed my career. From the beginning I wanted to stay in music as a working musician. That's where I wanted to be and I've got young players backing me as well, not people of my own age. I like to work with young players. Three of the band are sort of in their 30s. Brian, who plays pedal steel guitar has been with me for 29 years. So, we have a great mixture of ages in the band and I enjoy them. I've not only done '60s shows over the years, but recently I've been on shows with Brian May from Queen, Tony Hedley, Paloma Faith and people like that. I'm very involved in music and I enjoy the music profession.

Official Website: www.CryingGame.co.uk

© Gary James. All rights reserved.