From the Daily Mirror...I'm feeling glad all over: Dave Clark Five star is going home after four years in hospital
by TAHIRA YAQOOB - More by this author » Last updated at 01:02am on 19th May 2007
Homeward bound: Mike Smith with his wife Charlie
He used to travel the globe followed by hordes of screaming fans, but for the last four years Mike Smith’s world has been his hospital room.
The former singer and keyboard player with the 1960s pop group the Dave Clark Five was left paralysed in a freak accident when he fell while trying to climb a gate at his Spanish villa.
Since then he has been treated at Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Buckinghamshire learning how to cope with being paralysed from the neck down.
Now at last he has been told he can go home to live with his wife Charlie – and the 63-year-old says he cannot wait to experience the simple pleasures which most take for granted.
"It’s the little things I am looking forward to – having an ice-cream or a picnic and drives through the countryside seeing grass, trees and cows," he said.
"It is exciting but scary at the same time. There are some things that terrify me, like being stuck in a crowd in my wheelchair.
"It is treading into the unknown. This hospital has been my home for the past four years but it has been like a prison for me.
"Now I am going to be out there and have my freedom again."
The Dave Clark Five sold 100 million records around the world with hits such as Bits And Pieces while their song Glad All Over knocked the Beatles’ I Want To Hold Your Hand off the top spot.
But clashes within the group led to them splitting up in 1971. Smith went on to sing with other bands and produce records for the likes of Dame Shirley Bassey and Michael Ball.
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Chart toppers: The Dave Clark Five with Smith on the left
He also married his long-lost sweetheart Charlie, 64, in October 2001, 35 years after they first dated. The pair had lost contact but the actress tracked him down in 1999.
Their happiness was cut short in September 2003 when Smith, who was trying to climb a 7ft gate after locking himself out of their villa, fell heavily and landed on his head.
He cracked his spine in three places and was left a tetraplegic.
Smith has regained enough use of his left arm to operate an electric wheelchair but a tracheotomy he underwent means he can speak only through a plastic microphone and tube attached to his throat.
As well as having to relearn simple tasks, he is also facing a legal battle against a charity set up to raise cash for his treatment.
The Royal Theatrical Fund set up an appeal to help pay for equipment for him – but Smith and his wife claim they have received only a pair of glasses and a television, while £11,000 remains unaccounted for.
The fund has denied the allegations, saying it has paid out £20,000 to the couple.
When Smith returns to his home in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, within the next three months he will have two full-time carers on hand round the clock to dress and feed him.
His home has been adapted to accommodate his wheelchair but the couple are desperate to raise £50,000 for a van big enough for the chair.
They have already raised about £13,000 with pledges pouring in for an eBay charity auction from celebrities including Roger Daltrey, Sir Cliff Richard and Ringo Starr.
Anyone wanting to donate should visit www.mikesmith1964.com
