Dave Berry

In the mid-1960s Dave Berry briefly commanded major attention throughout Britain. Like many other UK teen idols of the period, he confronted a clear tension: although R&B remained his truest passion, commercial pop songs were required to reach the charts. His vocal strengths actually suited romantic ballads far better than raw, energetic R&B, despite his personal tastes. At the height of his fame his releases therefore alternated between tough R&B and rock tracks on one side and conventional pop on the other. Even with the support of top session musicians such as Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones, his smooth delivery could not match the commanding style Mick Jagger or Eric Burdon brought to bluesier material. He fared considerably better with heartfelt pop and rock ballads, entering the British Top Ten with “The Crying Game” in 1964, Bobby Goldsboro’s “Little Things” in 1965, and the excruciatingly sentimental “Mama” in 1966. “This Strange Effect,” written by Ray Davies though never issued by the Kinks, also became a major European success for him in 1965.

Berry’s voice lacked strong individuality and he made no impression whatsoever on American audiences, yet his finest recordings remain agreeable examples of the era’s sound. He still enjoys respect in Britain, where the Sex Pistols unexpectedly recorded his hardest number, “Don’t Gimme No Lip Child.” Even more surprising, “The Crying Game” introduced his singing to its largest international public in 1992, when the song served as the theme for one of that year’s most successful films.