Just two weeks shy of being inducted in to the Rock and Roll Hall of fame with his band mates on March 10, Mike Smith, lead singer and keyboard player of The Dave Clark Five (DC5), died on Feb. 28 from pneumonia at Stoke Mandeville Hospital outside of London. His wife was by his side. Smith was 64.

DC5 was one of the premier bands to emerge during the 1960’s “British Invasion” with hits “Glad All Over,” “Catch Us If You Can” and “Over and Over.”

Smith was admitted to the hospital’s intensive care unit on Feb. 27 with a chest infection, 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). Smith had been in the hospital since the accident and was just released last December when he moved into a specially prepared home near the hospital with his wife. Prior to his recent hospitalization, arrangements were being made to transport Smith to New York so he could personally attend the Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony.

After his accident, industry peers including Bruce Springsteen, Little Steven Van Zandt and Peter Noone of Herman’s Hermits rallied around him and helped defray his medical costs through donations and fundraisers. Long-time fan and “Late Show” bandleader Paul Shaffer helped organize a benefit concert in New York in August 2005, which featured many of Smith’s fellow “British Invasion” stars, including The Zombies and Peter & Gordon.

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“These last five years were extremely difficult for Mike,” said Smith’s agent, Margo Lewis of TCI in a statement. “I am incredibly saddened to lose him, his energy and his humor, but I am comforted by the fact that he had the chance to spend his final months and days at home with his loving wife, Charlie, whom he adored, instead of in the hospital, and that he was able to attend a recent concert in London by his good friend, Bruce Springsteen. He was extremely excited and honored to have been inducted into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame, and I am glad that he will be remembered as a “Hall of Famer,” because he was in so many ways.”

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