Update (11/6/08)

Update (10/9/08)

Update (3/19/08)

Update (3/16/08)

Update (3/15/08)

At the end of the VH1-Classic presentation of the Tribute to Mike Smith they ran the setlist for the complete show. Perhaps a reader who recorded it can send the list in. I noted that Peter and Gorden performed several additional numbers including World Without Love, Lady Godiva and Woman. Interestingly, John Lennon is credited for Woman. I assume that they performed their hit version of the Lennon-McCartney tune and someone confused it with John's Double Fantasy Woman. I wonder if they'll fix that for the DVD. By the way, the Fab Faux rendition of Penny Lane was exquisite.

Here is the list of perfomances that rolled at the end of the Tribute to Mike Smith:

Fab Faux: Penny Lane, Tomorrow Never Knows, Catch Us If You Can.

Billy J. Kramer: Little Children, Come Home, Bad To Me.

Denny Laine Go Now, I Go Crazy, Any Way You Want It.

Peter And Gordon: I Go To Pieces, Lady Godiva, True Love Ways, Because, World Without Love, Woman.

The Zombies: Time Of The Season, I Love You, Can't You See That She's Mine, Hold Your Head Up, She's Not There.

Ensemble: Bits And Pieces, Glad All Over.

Update (3/13/08)

Update (3/12/08)

Steve,

Sat thru the 3 ½ hours of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductions last night to see the Dave Clark 5 get their due. Wonderful. (But Dave Clark has been seeing Joan River’s plastic surgeon too much. Yikes!) Anyway, we thought that Tom Hank’s intro speech for the boys was brilliant. It captured growing up during the British Invasion here in America. It was about the pure joy of the DC5’s music, smashing to “bits and pieces” the turgid remorse we were all trying to come out of after November 22, 1963. I gotta find a transcript of Tom’s speech. If you find it, please link it on Abbeyrd !! Like we said, it was a kick in the arse for the HoF and all boomers out there with transistor radios permanently attached to our ears.

All the best,
Sean

Update (3/10/08)

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremonies air live on VH1 Classic on Monday from 8:30 pm to 12:30 p.m. ET. VH1 Classic is NOT the same as VH1. Last year a severely edited version of the show aired later on VH1. The Ronettes performed three songs at the induction ceremony while only part of one song made the edited broadcast! If you are interested and you have access to VH1 Classic, I would recommend watching the live broadcast.

Update (3/7/08)

Update (3/4/08)

Update (3/1/08)

(2/29/2008) Singer Mike Smith of the Dave Clark Five died Thursday in the UK. Here's the press release from Mike Smith's official site. If you would like to send a sympathy card, send it to theboltons@rpa.net. :

February 28, 2008
For Immediate Release
DAVE CLARK FIVE SINGER-SONGWRITER MIKE SMITH, R.I.P.

Mike Smith, the lead singer and keyboard player of The Dave Clark Five, one of the premier bands to emerge during the 1960's "British Invasion", died today from pneumonia at Stoke Mandeville Hospital outside of London. His devoted wife, Arlene, who is known as Charlie, was by his side. Smith was 64 years old.

Smith, who was due to be inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame with his band mates on Monday, March 10th, was admitted to the hospital's Intensive Care Unit yesterday morning 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 in December 2007 when he moved into a specially-prepared home near the hospital with his wife. Prior to his hospitalization yesterday, arrangements were being made to transport Smith to New York so he could personally attend the Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony.

After his accident, Smith found tremendous support from his peers including Bruce Springsteen, Little Steven Van Zandt, and Peter Noone of Herman's Hermits, who 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. A DVD of the benefit, Paul Shaffer and his British Invasion: A Tribute to Mike Smith will be released in March by VDI Entertainment.

According to Smith's agent, Margo Lewis of TCI in New York, "These last five years were extremely difficult for Mike. 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."

Dear friends,

I spoke with Charlie Smith just moments before receiving the above press release. She told me that Mike passed away peacefully last night, confident of heaven, after exchanging "I love you" with her. Mike's health had declined rather suddenly this past week. While the above press release mentions some celebrities, Mike was also very thankful to his many fans/friends who sacrificially gave to provide him his wheelchair, his van, and most of all, the encouragement and prayers needed to continue these past years. Mike will have a better view than any of us at the R&R Hall of Fame Induction, not to mention an even more glorious induction into eternity.