Pitchfork

Mike Smith, lead vocalist, keyboardist, and sometime songwriter for British Invasion act the Dave Clark Five, passed away outside London yesterday (February 28) at the age of 64, according to reports in The New York Times and elsewhere.

Smith died of pneumonia, stemming from a spiral cord injury he suffered a few years ago that left his lower body paralyzed. The Dave Clark Five were among the selections for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this year, and Smith was planning to attend the induction ceremony in New York City on March 10.

Though their notoriety was relatively short-lived, the Five produced quite a few instantly-recognizable hits in their day, including "Because" and "Catch Us If You Can". For a time in 1964 the quintet-- named after drummer, manager, and founder Dave Clark-- was considered a viable threat to the Beatles' reign over the pop charts, and they had played "The Ed Sullivan Show" a dozen times by 1966.

Following the Dave Clark Five's breakup in 1970, Smith continued working in music, and had been performing with Mike Smith's Rock Engine in recent years.

Born Michael George Smith in 1943 in Edmonton, England, the beloved musician is survived by his wife.