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Catch Us If You Can

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"Catch Us If You Can"
Single by the Dave Clark Five
from the album Having a Wild Weekend
B-side"Move On" (UK)
"On The Move" (US)
Released2 July 1965 (UK)
5 August 1965 (US)
Recorded1965
StudioLansdowne, London
GenrePop rock
Length1:54
LabelColumbia
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Dave Clark
The Dave Clark Five UK singles chronology
"Come Home"
(1965)
"Catch Us If You Can"
(1965)
"Over and Over"
(1965)
The Dave Clark Five US singles chronology
"I Like It Like That"
(1965)
"Catch Us If You Can"
(1965)
"Over and Over"
(1965)
Audio
"Catch Us If You Can" on YouTube

"Catch Us If You Can" is a 1965 song from The Dave Clark Five, written by group's drummer Dave Clark and guitarist Lenny Davidson.[1] It was the title song for the film of the same name, which was retitled Having a Wild Weekend in the United States. The single reached number five in the UK and number four in the US.

Background

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Starting with guitar and finger snapping accompaniment, the hook was instantaneous:

Here they come again, mmmm-mm-mm
Catch us if you can, mmmm-mm-mm
Time to get a move on, mmmm-mm-mm
We will yell with all of our might!
[drums kick in]
Catch us if you can ...

In contrast to most other songs of that era, the verses consist mainly of minor chords, while the intrumental break shifts to a rather conventional major chords structure.

It served as the title song to John Boorman's well-regarded 1965 DC5 vehicle and pop scene film Catch Us If You Can (retitled Having a Wild Weekend in the U.S.). The title phrase was seemingly a take-off on the 1959 crime film Catch Me If You Can and similar phrases, with "me" turned to the group's "us".

Reception

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Cash Box described it as a "rollicking, fast-moving rocker with a contagious, funky rhythmic undercurrent," saying it could be a "blockbuster."[2] Record World said that "it moves and grooves for the groovy movers."[3]

Chart performance

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The song was one of DC5's top hits, reaching number 5 on the UK Singles Chart in the late summer of 1965,[4] and number 4 on the U.S. pop singles chart,[5] later that fall.

In the U.S., "Catch" remains one of the DC5's most played tunes on oldies radio stations. Billboard described the song as a "pulsating rocker."[6]

Cover versions

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Given the song's significance to Shrewsbury Town F.C. – the club's fans consider it Shrewsbury's theme song – a local Shropshire band, Hello Cleveland, and Shrewsbury fans released a cover version in 2011, with a percentage of the proceeds going to children's charity Hope House.[7] The song was made available for purchase on Amazon and on the club's official shop webpage.

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References

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  1. ^ "secondhandsongs.com". secondhandsongs.com. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
  2. ^ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. 21 August 1965. p. 18. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  3. ^ "Singles Reviews" (PDF). Record World. 14 August 1965. p. 12. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  4. ^ "officialcharts.com". officialcharts.com. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
  5. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits: Eighth Edition. Record Research. p. 129.
  6. ^ "Spotlight Singles" (PDF). Billboard. 14 August 1965. p. 16. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  7. ^ The song on YouTube
  8. ^ 1989 Winston 500 on YouTube