The Sun-Herald

The Tribal Mind: Great moments in trend spotting

To nominate displays for the Museum of Australian Failures, go to Who We Are.
For regular updates on Australian attitudes, bookmark http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare.

by David Dale
The death last month of the English singer Mike Smith has made me wonder if I should revise a prediction I made a while back: that history would judge The Dave Clark Five to be more significant than The Beatles.

I made that prediction to my parents, when they offered to take me to see the Beatles at Sydney Stadium. I said The Mersey Beat was just a passing fad, and the ticket money would be better spent on bookings for The Dave Clark Five, whose Tottenham Sound clearly had a bigger future, what with Mike Smith's bluesy roar and Dave Clark's booming drums pushing along such lyrics as "All of your life now (all of your life) Till the ayend of time (end of time) Because this love now (because this love) Is gonna be yours and mine (yours and mine). Cos I'm feeling (thump thump) glad all over. Yes I'm-uh glad all over. Baby I'm (thump thump) glad all over. So glad you're mine."

In the ensuing years, as The DC5 faded from view, I became subject to regular ridicule from my cousins as the kid who had said no to Beatles tickets. That was the begining of my brilliant career as a trend spotter.

When two different video recording systems came out in the early 80s, I invested in Betamax, which was clearly technically superior to VHS. I stand by that analysis.

Around that time, working as a political journalist, I predicted that the first woman prime minister of Australia would be Susan Ryan, while the first woman leader of the Liberal Party would be Kathy Martin, who would defeat Susan Ryan and become the second woman prime minister of Australia. Both women are still alive, as far as I know, so I have not given up hope.

In 1994, when Liberal leader Alexander Downer got into trouble for making tasteless jokes, I went into print advising him to ignore the critics and put more jokes into his policy pronouncements. When the Liberals surprised me by replacing him with John Howard, I predicted Howard would lose the 1996 election and retire to work as a solicitor in North Sydney. But I thought he'd make a comeback in 2000, when Australia would become a republic and Prime Minister Keating, as a gesture of national reconciliation, would appoint Howard as our first president.

On March 12, The Dave Clark Five were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in New York (along with Madonna). At the ceremony, attended by the three surviving members pictured here -- Dave Clark (drums), Lenny Davidson (lead guitar) and Rick Huxley (bass) -- Clark said: "Mike tried desperately to be here tonight, but sadly he passed away just a few days ago. But at least he knows he's a Hall of Famer. Mike, you are with us in spirit, my friend, and always will be."

So The Dave Clark Five could rise again, once they find a new singer and keyboardist (Alan Price?). And when Australia becomes a republic in 2012, PM Turnbull, as a gesture of national reconciliation, will offer the first presidency to Paul Keating. Trust me, I can sense these things.

David Dale is the author of Who We Are -- A snapshot of Australia today (Allen and Unwin). To discuss Australian attitudes, go to http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare.