Mike Smith Of The Dave Clark Five, R.I.P.

Jess Harvell | February 28, 2008 5:30 am
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Mike Smith, the singer and keyboard player for ’60s British rockers the Dave Clark Five, died of pneumonia this morning outside of London. According to a statement from his manager, the infection was “a complication from a spinal cord injury he sustained in September, 2003 that left him a tetraplegic (paralyzed below the ribcage with limited use of his upper body).” Sadly, Smith will now have to be posthumously inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame with the rest of the Five in less than two weeks, an event he was still planning to attend despite a four year hospitalization and ongoing medical problems stemming from his injury. The Dave Clark Five shook their mops through a memorable 18 month run on the American Top 10 between the spring of 1964 and December of 1965, scoring at least six smashes during the high moment of the British Invasion and enjoying success on both sides of the Atlantic through the late ’60s before breaking up in 1970. Smith was 64. [Velvet Rope/Rolling Stone]

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