Singer of British Invasion Band Dies

Fri., Feb. 29, 2008 10:20 AM PST by Joal Ryan

There weren't many bands that rivaled Beatlemania in 1964. The Dave Clark Five was one of them.

Mike Smith, the lead singer of the hard-driving British Invasion group, died Thursday in a hospital near London, less than two weeks before he and his bandmates' scheduled induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Smith was 64, and had been in compromised health since 2003 when he suffered a spinal cord injury that paralyzed him below the ribcage. He was admitted to the hospital on Wednesday with a chest infection.

"He was extremely excited and honored to have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame," his agent Margo Lewis said in a statement, "and I am glad that he will be remembered as a Hall of Famer, because he was in so many ways."

The Dave Clark Five's hits included "Bits and Pieces," and "Glad All Over," which knocked the Beatles' "I Want to Hold Your Hand" from its No. 1 perch on the British charts in 1964.

In 1965, the group starred in the Hard Day's Night-style comedy Having a Wild Weekend, known to British audiences by the track that set its breathless pace, "Catch Us If You Can," another of its big hits.

In all, according to the Rock Hall, the Dave Clark Five amassed 17 Top 40 U.S. hits, and 18 appearances on the career-making Ed Sullivan Show, more than either the Beatles or the Rolling Stones. It disbanded in 1970.

The group, which took its name from its drummer, manager and chief songwriter, was praised by the Rock Hall for a "slick melodic sensibility" that was offset by volume.

As the New York Times put it, mildly, in a 1964 review of the band's Carnegie Hall concert, "The Clark group appears to play louder than the Beatles."

Historians would apparently concur. In its inductees announcement last month, the Rock Hall said "the DC5 were the loudest group in the U.K. until the advent of the Who."

The Rock Hall's Class of 2008, which also includes Madonna, John Mellencamp, The Ventures and Leonard Cohen, will be honored at a Mar. 10 induction ceremony in New York.

Despite his health woes, Smith was planning to attend the black-tie gala, his agent said.

Since his accident, Smith was championed by Bruce Springsteen, Late Show with David Letterman bandleader Paul Shaffer and more, who sought to help him with medical costs through fundraisers and benefits.

Smith was hospitalized for more than four years after becoming paralyzed. Only this past December was he able to move into a specially equipped home with his wife, his agent said.

In a 2003 interview before the accident with Cosmik Debris magazine, Smith, who doubled as the Dave Clark Five's keyboardist, said he was surprised to belatedly learn that the band was beloved by Springsteen, Billy Joel, Tom Petty and so many other Americans.

"In all the three or four years we toured there I never heard one show," Smith said. "They heard more than we did because all I ever heard was screaming."