the history of david clark allen and carmen

Son of aztec mexican beauty (flamenco dancer/actress - One-eyed Jack’s and currently Sunset Beach) and welsh/oglala sioux father (guitarist/painter) who together started the famous l.a. night club el cid in 1961 (still a landmark on Sunset Boulevard), David was trained as a classical flamenco guitarist, first playing on stage at the age of two, supporting his parents in their nightclub act. Sabicas, the greatest flamenco guitarist of the last century, in the audience one night, remarked that David played like a gypsy.

Until the Beatles, David was to destined to become a classical flamenco success, but life takes funny turns, and the arrival of the Liverpool lads in his life turned him in a completely different direction.

Dabbling in various name changes and musical styles from then on in, David had his first chart success after sitting outside Shindig, the first coast to coast popular music show in the US, for one entire summer holiday until the sympathetic security guard took the music in for him, and shortly after he appeared on the contemporary music scene with his first band, the Offbeats and their one single!

At 15 he and his band played musical backing on two albums with Mae West (Way Out West and her Christmas album). David also wrote one of the songs on Way Out West, and two on the other album, which, thankfully were not mentioned when a recent promo on Channel Four voted Way Out West as containing some of the worst songs ever written!!

At 16, with a new band called Somebody's Chyldren, David recorded three singles.

During the next two years, David's next band, The Marianne, recorded 8 singles for Bell Records and EMI Regal Zonophone.

At 18 David formed Brave Butter with Dennis Trerotola. They produced two singles.