Clarke was born in
Coventry. He remembered the city as bombed-out from the effects of
the Blitz. He wrote "The Guy Who Made Her A Star" for
The Equals, featured on the
B-side of the band's 1968 hit single, "Laurel And Hardy". He was assigned to work with
The Moody Blues starting in 1966, when the group was fading after its first major hit, "
Go Now". He worked with them on the single "Fly Me High", and following this was put in charge of a project to create a rock version, with the Moody Blues, of
Antonín Dvořák's
New World Symphony. After this idea was shelved, he produced what became their 1967
symphonic rock album
Days of Future Passed. Like the members of the Moody Blues themselves, Clarke had received no formal training in
classical music as a youngster. He worked with them closely over the course of their next six albums, helping them develop a complex sound which, among other things, involved copious use of the
mellotron (and earning the nickname "the Sixth Moody" from fans). When the Moody Blues set up their own label,
Threshold Records, Clarke attempted to have them sign
King Crimson, although the deal never came to fruition. Aside from the Moody Blues, Clarke also worked with
Providence and on the album
Blue Jays, by Moody Blues members
Justin Hayward and
John Lodge. He also produced the
Four Tops on two
Mike Pinder-penned songs - "(A) Simple Game" and "So Deep Within You" - previously recorded by the Moodies. Each initially appeared as the A-side of a Four Tops UK 7" single in 1971 and 1973 respectively, and in other territories as well; both productions were on a 4-track 7" ep release
Simple Game from Australia in 1972. After the Moody Blues went on hiatus in the middle of the 1970s, he worked to have them reunite, and produced their 1978 comeback album,
Octave; however, he elected not to continue working with them after this album. In 1981 Moody Blues' guitarist
Justin Hayward said of Clarke's departure: Subsequently he produced for
Clannad,
Rick Wakeman, and
Nicky Hopkins, among others. He talked extensively about his career in
Nick Awde's 2008 study
Mellotron, subtitled
The Machine and the Musicians That Revolutionised Rock. == As a producer ==