By Paul Freeman [2003 Feature]

Looks, charisma, charm and most of all, a thrilling voice -- rich, emotive and versatile.

Mike Smith, the lead singer, keyboardist and primary songwriter for the iconic British Invasion band The Dave Clark Five, felt he led a charmed life. Girls all over the world screamed wildly when he performed such hits as "Glad All Over" and "Because."

Teamed with drummer Dave Clark, guitarist Lenny Davidson, saxophonist Denis Payton and bassist Rick Huxley, Smith created an explosive sound. They could rock with the best of them. And they recorded sigh-inducing ballads, as well. In the early years, the group's success rivaled that of The Beatles. The Dave Clark Five sold over 100 million records.

In 2003, I had the pleasure of interviewing this gracious gentleman with the gloriously rockin' voice. He was about to play a series of U.S. concerts, after an earlier round of performances, his first in North America since the 60s, were warmly received.

In recent years, Smith had reunited with his true love, after losing touch with her for decades. Incredibly enthusiastic response to his comeback tour surprised him. Grand plans were made for the near future.

He viewed his happiness as a gift from destiny. Explaining his fatalistic philosophy during an earlier PCC interview, Smith said, "You can fight against it -- it will happen. You can't change it -- what is written, is written. I just roll with the flow."

But fate can be cruel, as well. In 2003, Smith's grown son, his one child, James, died in a diving mishap. A few months later, Smith himself suffered a terrible accident that left him paralyzed. Though hospitalized for years, he never lost his zest for life. He eagerly arranged to attend the 2008 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremonies, which would feature the induction of The Dave Clark Five. Tragically, just 11 days before the event, Smith died of pneumonia, a complication of the accident.

At least he knew that his musical contributions were not forgotten. Such artists as Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty and Billy Joel cited Smith as a key influence.

Smith began studying classical piano at five years old, but was awakened to rock 'n' roll upon hearing "Heartbreak Hotel."

"I'd never heard anything like that before," Smith said. "Someone asked if I could play that. I said, 'I don't think I'd find it too difficult after Rachmaninoff, Tchaikovsky and Brahms.' So he said, 'Would you like to play in my pub? I'll pay you five bucks.' I couldn't believe that someone would pay me money to just sing and play. It was phenomenal.

"Rock 'n' roll was a strange creature. I know many, many fine musicians who are much, much better than me. But the one thing about rock 'n' roll is -- it doesn't matter how technically good you are; if you don't have the feel for rock 'n' roll, it won't work. That feel -- you can't learn it from books. No one can teach you that. You either have the feel or you don't."

Smith had it. His remarkably soulful voice made a him a natural to cover the songs of Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard and Fats Domino. His vocals, some of the best ever heard in rock, could segue smoothly from raucous to poignant. The keen-eared band leader Dave Clark wisely invited Smith to join his Tottenham-based group in 1962.

The Dave Clark Five honed their rock chops playing in pubs, clubs and American Air Force bases. Clones of The Beatles were multiplying at an alarming rate. But The Dave Clark Five had a high-energy, power-packed, exhilarating sound all their own. Smith's Vox Continental electric organ, Clark's forceful drumming and Payton's sax gave them a very different sound from the guitar bands.

Smith's eclectic tastes, which encompassed classic pop, jazz, reggae, country and blues, enabled the band to add diversity to their albums. He also had a knack for writing instantly catchy songs. Soon the DC5's popularity exploded far beyond London.

While still working his day job at a finance company, Smith would take Fridays off to do "Ready, Steady, Go!," England's biggest pop TV program. "On Monday, I'd come back to the office and say I'd had a cold, which was quite mad -- all the company were watching me on TV," he said with a chuckle.

The band's song "Glad All Over" knocked The Beatles off the top of the charts in 1964. "David said, 'Let's make sure it's not just a one-hit wonder," Smith said. "I went home, wrote 'Bits and Pieces.' That went high on the charts. So he said, 'Okay, pack your jobs in, we'll go off and do something."

Smith's first airplane trip took him to New York City to appear in front of 70 million people on "The Ed Sullivan Show." "You can't really take it in," he said. "I was 19 years old. It's just a blur."

The Dave Clark Five went on to perform a record-setting 18 times on Sullivan's show. In the 1960s and early 70s, the band created enough hits to fill not one, but two greatest hits albums.

Among the most memorable are "Can't You See That She's Mine," "Because," "Do You Love Me," "I Like It Like That," "Anyway You Want," "Come Home," "Over and Over," "You Got What It Takes" and "Catch Us If You Can," the title tune from their feature film (aka "Having a Wild Weekend").

British pop culture was at its zenith in the 60s. U.K. music was dominating the U.S. charts. "The interesting thing was, most of the English bands, like The Beatles and ourselves, were listening to American music. But it was American black music we were listening to, like The Contours, The Isley Brothers, Lightnin' Hopkins -- those kind of people.

"And, of course, in America, those artists weren't being played on white radio stations. And we would get the exports in England and we thought, 'My God, this is amazing stuff! This is different.' What we did is we did our versions of American songs or wrote songs that we thought were like those songs. So we were actually returning to America what they already had.

"And that music is still good. You listen to The Isleys or The Contours or Ben E. King, The Drifters, all those people -- the music they recorded is still good. They still stand up today."

The DC5 was able to take classic material like "On Broadway," "Stay," "Blue Monday," "Little Bitty Pretty One," "Bring It On Home to Me," "Do You Love Me," "I Like It Like That," "Reelin' and Rockin'" and "You Got What It Takes," retain the essence and excitement, while putting their own distinctive imprint on the songs.

"That was more by accident than by design," Smith said with a laugh. "If someone plays a song and says, 'Sing this song,' I just sing it the way I sing it. I've never tried to copy anybody. I just sing the way I sing. I call it 'shouting in tune,' my singing. But maybe that's why The Beatles, The Animals, were so successful -- they weren't copying people. They were being themselves. Although they were listening, being influenced by other music, they were doing their interpretation of that kind of music. Maybe that's why it was a new phenomenon at that time."

The DC5 originals were unforgettable, packed with pounding rhythms and irresistible hooks. But their albums also included their own diverse and often musically complex numbers.

"Well, I was classically trained," Smith said. "Lenny also could read music. He studied guitar. And Denis also studied sax. So there were three musicians -- we were the main writers -- that understood music and chord structure and harmonics and things like that.

"It's like Lenny, our guitarist. I think he was a very underrated guitarist, if you listen to his playing. Once again, he doesn't sound like anybody else. He had his own sound, his own style. The same with me on keyboards. The same with Denis on sax. They never tried to copy anybody. They just did what they did. They just played it and gave their interpretation of it. I'm not saying it was any better or any worse. But that's why I think it was original."

The visionary Clark produced the records, shaping the unique, loud, commanding sound with the input of inventive engineer Adrian Kerridge. As for Clark's role in the songwriting process, Smith said, "We'd write the songs and then we'd go along and he would choose which ones he wanted."

So Clark wasn't generally involved in the actual co-writing? "No, not really," Smith replied. But being the leader of the group, Clark got to have his name on the copyright? "Uh-huh."

With mod fashion enjoying its heyday, the DC5 were among the snazziest dressers on stage. They had their trademark Dr. Kildare-type shirts at the beginning and remained impeccably stylish throughout their run. "That was David. David Clark. That was all his idea. He was the one who said, 'I think this would look good on stage.'

"I didn't have a problem with it," Smith said. "I thought the outfits were quite nice. So I just used to put the clothes on and go on stage and do what I did, which was singing. I wasn't really involved in it. I never thought about it.

"Or the lights. We were the first to be able to use blacklights and all that business, flashing lights. That was all down to David. He designed and thought of all that. He had the flashing lights on the drums. He knew how to put on a show."

Mania for The Dave Clark Five followed them to every corner of the globe. "I didn't hear a concert for years," Smith said. "You couldn't hear anything on stage, because once the kids saw you, that was it, screaming from beginning to end."

Nevertheless, The Dave Clark Five were electrifying in concert. But they couldn't enjoy the touring offstage. The sight of them set of screeching, hair-pulling, clothes-ripping mob madness. "We were locked away either in our private plane, the limousine or the hotel. You couldn't go anywhere without fuss and bother," Smith said.

Sometimes the frenzy could be frightening. "That was always dangerous. I remember one, in Long Beach, because the police weren't used to the kinds of crowds that would come to our shows. There were so many. There were 15,000 inside and the other 10,000 couldn't get in. So they stayed outside to listen to it. And they knew how to get us in and out of places, our people, our guards that traveled with us. But this certain place, the guy said, 'No, you've got to stay here 10 minutes and then you can go.' We said, 'That won't work.'

"So anyway, to cut it short, they made us wait. And then when we did go out, of course, there were like 25,000 people standing outside, going nuts. And they climbed on the roof and the roof started coming in on the car and I had to get on my back with Rick and help support the roof up, while the roof was coming in.

"And then also, we'd just done the Cow Palace, we were taking off from San Francisco to go to Las Vegas, our plane, whilst we were going down the runway to take off, we hit a Boeing 707 and lost our wing. It wasn't much fun, I can tell you. Those are just some of the adventures that one had when one is touring."

When the DC5 played the Cow Palace, Sonny & Cher were the opening act. "I saw Cher last year or the year before at a TV show in London. And she came up to me and said, 'Do you know, I opened for you in 1964 or '65 at the Cow Palace.' I said, 'Yes, I do remember, actually,'" Smith recalled, laughing.

Smith had a painful mishap while promoting the band's movie, which was directed by John Boorman. "We made a film called 'Catch Us If You Can.' It was called 'Wild Weekend,' I think, in America [actually "Having a Wild Weekend"]. And we were going visiting theatres. We were just going to visit nine cinemas. And as I was going up the stairs to the stage, with all the pandemonium, and they switched off the lights, I couldn't see where I was going and fell about 15 feet into the orchestra pit and managed to break two ribs and injured my back. But anyway, we got a week off in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin."

While in California, the band was able to experience Disneyland. "We sneaked in, before the show, because no one expects to see you, that's the thing. There's thousands of people in there. And they don't expect to see you."

They didn't even don disguises. "If you go in disguise, people recognize you. But if you just go and behave normally, it's fine. It works for a little while, but not for too long, because as soon as one person recognizes you... We only managed to stay there for 15, 20 minutes, because as soon as one person recognizes you -- 'Oh, you're Mike Smith! Dave Clark Five!' -- then of course the pandemonium begins and then you have to run for it. But we did go in for 15 or 20 minutes. I got on a couple of rides. But that was it. And I thought it was absolutely brilliant. I loved it. The next time I go back to that area, that's the first place I'm going."

Those years were filled with adventures, but could also be grueling. "Great fun. I wouldn't change a thing. But very, very hard work. You earned every penny, because you had to do your show, you had to meet millions of people every day, then you'd fly to the next place, then you'd have to meet a lot of people and do a show, then you'd have to meet a lot of people, then you'd get to bed, get up the next day and get in the plane. That was like two or three months at a time.

"It was hard work, but, once again, great, great fun. Met lots of lovely people, smashing people. And lots of famous people that were my heroes. I got to meet Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin and Ella Fitzgerald -- these were my heroes. So it was hard work, but I wouldn't change it for the world."

By 1970, the DC5 had stopped touring, though Smith and Clark continued to record for a while. They knew when it was time to call it a day.

Smith explained, "We always said that we didn't want to go out on the way down; we want to go out while we're still at the top and the people have good memories of us. And that's what we did. We waited until we thought, 'That's it. The time is right now to leave it.' So we did. And I'm pleased we did, when we did."

When the band decided to dissolve, Smith resolved to find a quieter existence. He had tired of the spotlight. "I wanted a private life," he told Pop Culture Classics. "I hadn't had a private life for a very long time."

Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice chose Smith to sing on the recording of "Evita," a concept album released prior to the stage production.

That same year, Smith recorded a fine album joining him with former Manfred Mann lead singer Mike D'Abo [1976's "Smith & d'Abo"]. "I'm very proud of the album I made with Mike D'Abo. I think we wrote some beautiful songs together. I'm very proud of them. Then once again we went out on tour and I was being a front man again. And I thought, 'It'd be nice to go home at night and not be in a different city every night.' So I moved into production and writing for commercials, TV theme music and album production."

Smith found success behind the scenes, producing hit albums for such prominent artists as legendary Shirley Bassey and West End superstar Michael Ball.

"Michael Ball, went on to star in Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Aspects of Love," and sang "Love Changes Everything," and has been on Broadway. They introduced me to him and I made his first four albums. I'm pleased to say they all went to number one. And he has a fantastic voice, one of the best voices I think I've ever recorded. A very talented young man.

"And then I was asked to produce an album for Shirley Bassey, "The Show Must Go On." She was great fun, despite people warning me that she's a diva and throws things at people and nasty. I found her to be extremely nice, extremely professional and expected no more, no less from other people than she did from herself. It's just that she doesn't suffer fools gladly."

Smith didn't miss the limelight. "Rudyard Kipling said, 'If you can meet triumph and disaster and treat those imposters just the same... ' As far as I was concerned, it was wonderful while it lasted, we had a good time, but you know it's not going to last forever. Rock 'n' roll music will live on, but it doesn't mean your fame will."

In 1990, Smith released a terrific solo album featuring his right-on renditions of rock 'n' roll classic tunes like "The Girl Can't Help It," "High School Confidential," "Blue Monday," "Bonie Moronie," "Ready, Willing and Able" and "No Particular Place to Go."

In later years, Smith was surprised to hear from Arlene "Charlie" Gorek, a girlfriend he hadn't seen since the 60s. She was an actress, appearing in several Elvis movies. So their careers kept them apart at the time. They married in 2001. "Another dream come true," Smith said.

The following year, Smith was asked to perform at a charity ball in Spain, where he was then based. It was to benefit abused children. He put together a band -- Mike Smith's Rock Engine -- and had such fun he resolved to play a few U.S. dates.

"I hadn't played with a band for years, seriously. And I got this band together and we played and raised $100,000 for the abused children. And I had such a laugh, such good fun playing and being able to join in. I said, 'Should I see if we can take it a stage further?' And they said 'Fine.' The one stipulation I have is, if you play in my band, you've got to love rock 'n' roll. They all love rock 'n' roll.

"And once I got on stage, it was a bit like riding a bike. Once you've done it, you don't ever forget it. And I just had great fun. And all the boys did. We had a marvelous time in America."

The reaction to the tour dazzled him. "That was amazing. I couldn't believe it. The shows were sold out. The audiences were dancing in the aisles. It's just gone beyond one's wildest dreams.

"We played B.B. King's and Steve Van Zandt came and played with us. He came on stage and did our last number with us. Steve's a very nice guy," Smith said as he prepared to launch his brief follow-up tour. "That whole band, they're very, very nice guys. And we played the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. That was a very proud moment to play that place. And we did the Moondog Coronation Ball. I loved the history of that, which is very interesting, with Alan Freed. And they had about 18,000 people there. It was very, very elating. I didn't quite expect that response. It was very gratifying."

Smith was also gratified to hear rock stars like The E Street Band, Eddie Van Halen, Billy Joel and Tom Petty mentioning the DC5 as an inspiration. "Much to my amazement. I didn't realize until I was told about it and started reading about it once it was announced I was going to America to tour again. And a lot of famous people turned up at B.B. King's. The guy from The Ramones turned up. Paul Shaffer came. And that's why they invited me to do the Letterman show, which was great fun, great musicians. And Paul was a very big fan, of course. And we had a laugh and played together. So doing the Letterman show was fun, but tiring, because I was in Canada at the time and had to fly back to do two shows that day. But I really enjoyed it."

Somehow his voice was as dynamic as ever, showing no signs of aging. Smith said he had no regimen. "None whatsoever. My only thing is, if you're going to sing rock 'n' roll, you give it 100 percent or you don't do it. That's the only way. If you're going to sing and play rock 'n' roll, you have to give it everything... or you can tell. People know. My thing is, if you enjoy yourself on stage, people know it and they join in with you.

"So I try to have a good time on stage and the only way I can have a good time is by giving it 100 percent. And I think that's why people are enjoying me and my band, because all the band, as well, are very enthusiastic and love playing rock 'n' roll. That's the thing -- if you love what you do, and you're fortunate enough to get paid for it, I think people appreciate it."

Smith relished the rush of performing to wildly enthusiastic audiences. "It's unique. There's nothing else like it. Forget your drinking and your drugs and everything else. There is nothing like the charge you get, when you're on stage and you're having fun, because you know that the audience is with you.

"To sing rock 'n' roll for two hours, you've got to be pretty fit, so you get high anyway, on the adrenaline. With the audience behind you as well, enjoying themselves and joining in, you just go so high, it's wonderful. It's a great feeling."

Decades after the British Invasion mania, Smith found performing to be even more gratifying. "Yes, because now, the people actually listen," he said, laughing. "For years I played and I never heard one concert I did, because of the screaming. I truly never heard that a show that we did, whereas, with this, the people are very appreciative. They clap and what's amazing is to watch them actually sing along. And they know the words to most of the songs.

"And they let you know, if they like you. That's what I like about playing in America. If they like you, they let you know. In Europe, they are much cooler audiences... although I haven't played in Europe for, God, more than 40 years. But the reactions that I got in Spain, when I did this charity show, was the thing that got me going. I couldn't believe the reaction. Everybody got up on their feet. And they all knew all the songs I was playing. And in America, they know the songs and they know if you're playing well or if you're not playing well. And they let you know. I like it."

The music of the DC5 has proven to be timeless. "I don't think it's just DC5 music. I think it's that whole era. I mean, Beatles music, Stones music, The Animals, all those kind of people -- everyone still knows their songs and you still hear them played on the radio. I think it was a much happier age, to begin with, a happier time in the world.

"Also you had to be a musician. You had to be able to play. We didn't have machines to play for us. You had to be able to sit down and actually play those notes. We didn't have big reverbs and delays and onstage sound, off-stage sound and all that business. We just plugged in the amplifiers, set up and sang.

"And the songs were all new. It was a fresh thing. Now everybody seems to be a little bit lost. Well, different strokes for different folks, as they say in America. But I still love rock 'n' roll, music that makes my feet move."

Smith was open to doing more producing. "Yes, if I'd like to produce something, if it's something interesting, yes, I would. I love producing. With Michael and Shirley, they were big orchestral things, 80-piece, 90-piece orchestras, some of them with synths included. But at the moment, my focus is on touring and seeing America for the first time in 35 years."

In reality, there still wasn't much sightseeing possible. "Not really. It's the same as before, really, except you can get out of the hotel and go for a walk and have a look around. Before we were stuck in the hotels and couldn't get out. At least now I can walk," he said, laughing.

He was looking forward to recording an album with his Rock Engine band. "It's a very busy time at the moment, needless to say. We're rehearsing like mad. But I have started writing new material for the album already."

No new material was included in the tour sets. "Unfortunately, already, when I did the show at B.B. King's, someone taped it and somebody has released it on a bootleg, which is very unfair, very unkind. So no, not until I get the whole album together and it's ready to go out and released, then I'll do it. Otherwise, it just gets bootlegged everywhere."

Smith's last concert took place in Sacramento, Ca. He planned to return for a major tour. His fire for performing was rekindled. "Now, when I finish, I go back to Spain, where we live in the countryside, by the sea, and it's peaceful and quiet again. I couldn't do that before. Even when I got home to where I lived, there were always fans camped outside and I could never go out. I'm grateful, but it was a little difficult not being able to have a private life. Now I can have the best of both worlds."

In 2003, having forgotten his key, Smith attempted to climb the seven-foot gate at his villa in Spain. He fell and suffered a grievous spinal cord injury. A terrible ordeal ensued.

However, Smith still considered himself a lucky man, because of the encouragement from fans and friends, as well as the unwavering devotion of his wife Charlie.

Smith was finally allowed to move to a specially prepared home near the hospital in 2007, on his 64th birthday, following years in care facilities. At that time, he was invited to attend a Springsteen concert at London's O2 Arena. The Boss, Van Zandt and Max Weinberg are huge Dave Clark Five fans who had become friends of Smith's. They parked Smith's wheelchair at the side of the stage and dedicated "Born to Run" to Mike and Charlie.

Buoyed by this outing, Smith was determined to attend the Hall of Fame ceremony. Tom Hanks, another DC5 fan, inducted the band. Joan Jett sang "Bits and Pieces" and was joined by Billy Joel, John Fogerty and John Mellencamp for a rousing rendition of "Glad All Over."

But a chest infection, a complication of his injury, had taken Smith's life just days prior. His wife Charlie had the song "Free As a Bird," from the Smith & d'Abo album, played at his funeral, as white doves were released. Smith's immeasurable contributions to rock 'n' roll will live on.

When millions of fans hear him belting out "Do You Love Me?" they'll answer with a resounding "Always!"