Adrian Smith | |
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Background information | |
Birth name | Adrian Frederick Smith [1] |
Born | Hackney, London, England | 27 February 1957
Genres | |
Occupation | Musician |
Instruments | Guitar, vocals |
Years active | 1972–present |
Labels | |
Website | ironmaiden |
Adrian Frederick Smith (born 27 February 1957) is an English guitarist and singer best known as a member of heavy metal band Iron Maiden, for whom he also writes songs and performs backing vocals both live and in the studio.
Smith grew up in London and became interested in rock music at 15. He soon formed a friendship with future Iron Maiden guitarist Dave Murray, who inspired him to take up the guitar. After leaving school at 16, he formed the band Urchin, which he led until their demise in 1980. He joined Iron Maiden in November 1980, replacing Dennis Stratton. Following a short-lived solo project called ASAP, he left Iron Maiden in 1990 and, after a year-long hiatus, formed the band The Untouchables which later became Psycho Motel. In 1997, Psycho Motel was put on hold when Smith joined the band of former Iron Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson. Smith and Dickinson would both return to Iron Maiden in 1999, after which the band gained new success. During his second tenure with Iron Maiden, Smith has also led the side projects Primal Rock Rebellion and Smith/Kotzen.
Born in Hackney, [1] Smith grew up in Clapton. [2] He purchased his first record, Deep Purple's Machine Head , at the age of 15. This led him to befriend Dave Murray, [3] with whom he formed a band called Stone Free, which comprised Murray on guitar, Smith on vocals and their friend Dave McCloughlin playing the bongos. [4]
After seeing the attention Murray received from girls, [3] Smith took up the guitar, starting with an old Spanish guitar once owned by his brother, before purchasing an old guitar of Murray's for £5. [5] His early influences included Johnny Winter and Pat Travers, which he claims made him a "melodic player" rather than a "speed merchant or a shredder" as he "was inspired by blues rock rather than metal." [6]
Leaving school after completing his O-levels, Smith formed the band Evil Ways, including Dave Murray on guitar, which was later renamed Urchin. [7] Smith began writing his own material, including a song called "Countdown", which evolved into "22 Acacia Avenue", later included on Iron Maiden's The Number of the Beast (1982). [7] For a period of 2 years, Smith had a job as a Water Bailiff and Fisheries Officer at the Walthamstow Reservoirs.
Murray left Urchin to join Iron Maiden. Urchin then signed with DJM Records and released a single, "Black Leather Fantasy", in 1977. [8] Shortly afterwards, Murray rejoined Urchin on their next single, "She's a Roller", as he had been sacked from Iron Maiden after an argument with singer Dennis Wilcock, although he would be reinstated six months later. Smith was also offered a place in Iron Maiden while they were in the process of signing with EMI in 1979, but turned them down to continue with his own band, a decision he later regretted as Urchin split up in 1980. [9]
Shortly after Urchin split, Smith encountered Steve Harris and Dave Murray on a street in his neighborhood, and the two asked him to reconsider joining Iron Maiden as the replacement for guitarist Dennis Stratton. [10] This time Smith accepted the offer, [11] and debuted with the band on a West German TV show Rockpop in Concert in Munich on 8 November 1980, [a] [12] [13] [14] before setting out on a UK tour and recording the Killers album, released in 1981. [15] Smith's first song-writing contributions appeared on The Number of the Beast, co-penning "Gangland" and "The Prisoner", as well as the previously mentioned "22 Acacia Avenue", [16] after which he began co-writing many songs with singer Bruce Dickinson, on the following Piece of Mind album. [17] [18]
Smith and Dave Murray combined playing dual lead guitars, creating what AllMusic calls "the most formidable twin-guitar attack in heavy metal, outside of Glenn Tipton and K. K. Downing." [19] Smith, along with Steve Harris, also provides the band's backing vocals, and sang lead on "Reach Out", the B-side to the "Wasted Years" single, featuring Bruce Dickinson on backing vocals. [20] Originally written by guitarist Dave "Bucket" Colwell, with whom he had worked on The Entire Population of Hackney project, Smith would later sing "Reach Out" again for Colwell's solo album, Guitars, Beers & Tears, released in 2010. [21]
While Iron Maiden were taking some time off in 1989, Smith released a solo LP with the band ASAP (Adrian Smith And Project), [22] entitled Silver and Gold , [23] which was a commercial failure in spite of a promotional club tour. [24] Unhappy with the direction the band were taking for their next release, No Prayer for the Dying , [25] and feeling that he could not help enough in the creative work, [26] Smith left Iron Maiden in 1990 during the album's pre-production stages, [27] and was replaced by Janick Gers. [28] After releasing the more progressive Somewhere in Time and Seventh Son of a Seventh Son albums in 1986 and 1988 respectively, Steve Harris had decided that the band should go for a "stripped-down" and "street level" approach, which Smith thought was a "step backward". [25] No Prayer for the Dying contained one last Smith song, co-penned with Bruce Dickinson, entitled "Hooks in You". [29]
After leaving Maiden, Smith started a family with his Canadian wife, Nathalie, and also auditioned to replace Steve Clark in Def Leppard, a position which ultimately went to former Dio guitarist Vivian Campbell. [30] Smith joined Iron Maiden onstage at Donington Park in 1992 to "Running Free". [31] That performance appeared on the live album Live at Donington . In the same year, after hearing King's X for the first time, he decided that he would "love to play in a band like that" and formed The Untouchables, [32] which later became Psycho Motel. [31] The band recorded two albums, State of Mind in 1995 and Welcome to the World in 1997, during which they supported Iron Maiden on the British leg of The X Factour. [31] The project was put on hold, however, when Smith joined Bruce Dickinson for his 1997 album, Accident of Birth , [31] after which he became a full-time member of Dickinson's solo outfit, embarking on two world tours and contributing to one further studio release, 1998's The Chemical Wedding . [33]
In 1999, Smith rejoined Iron Maiden, along with vocalist Bruce Dickinson, who commented, "When he (Smith) left the band in 1990, I think everybody was a bit surprised at how much we missed him and certainly, I don't think anybody had realized how much the fans would miss him – big time. I wouldn't have rejoined Iron Maiden if he wasn't in the band. I just don't think it would have been complete without Adrian, and now, it's great having three guitarists." [34] The band embarked on a short tour, [35] after which the new line-up's first album, Brave New World , was recorded with producer Kevin Shirley and released in 2000. [36]
He remains in Iron Maiden, with whom he has released five further studio albums, 2003's Dance of Death , 2006's A Matter of Life and Death , 2010's The Final Frontier , 2015's The Book of Souls and 2021's Senjutsu. Smith claims that his guitar playing improved after leaving the band in 1990, in particular while working with Roy Z, from whom he "learned a lot about picking" and became "more disciplined". [6] Since returning to Iron Maiden, he has also continued experimenting with tuning (which he began doing in Psycho Motel), stating that he has used drop D tuning in live renditions of "Run to the Hills", "Wrathchild", "The Trooper" and "Hallowed Be Thy Name". [6] Although Smith had previously been known to contribute shorter, more "commercial" tracks, since his return to the band he has penned many longer songs, beginning with "Paschendale" from Dance of Death. [37]
In 2011, Smith formed the side project Primal Rock Rebellion with Mikee Goodman. They released the album, Awoken Broken , in February 2012. [38] [39] [40] In 2020, Smith collaborated with Richie Kotzen under the name Smith/Kotzen. Ultimate Classic Rock described the project's sound as a mixture of blues, traditional R&B, and hard rock. [41] A video for teaser track, "Taking My Chances", debuted in January 2021. [42] Their self-titled debut album was released in March 2021. [43] [44]
Adrian Smith was born in Hackney Hospital and grew up a few streets away from his childhood friend, and current bandmate, Dave Murray. [45] Smith, whose father was a painter and decorator from Homerton, was the youngest of three, with an older brother and a sister. [1] As a child, he was "a Manchester United fanatic", although he would lose his interest in football once he got into music. [1]
In his spare time, Smith is a keen angler, revealing that he used to take "worms and maggots" with him on tour, and was featured on the front cover of Angler's Mail on 25 August 2009. [46] Since 21 October 1988, [47] he has been married to [31] Nathalie Dufresne-Smith, who currently works for Maiden Flight, a cancer awareness/patient rights organisation, [48] and the pair have three children. [49] [50]
In April 2020, ironmaiden.com announced Smith's autobiography titled Monsters of River and Rock would be released in September 2020. [51] The book primarily details Smith's love of fishing, and relates anecdotes from his many decades of pursuing the hobby whilst touring and recording with Iron Maiden. [52] Smith stated that around 70% of his book was focused upon fishing, with the remaining content discussing his music career. [53] In its review of the publication, MetalTalk described the book as "a prize catch amongst rock biographies – highly recommended." [54]
Smith currently prefers to use his Jackson signature 'San Dimas' Dinky, although he has used a variety of guitars over his career, including several different Dean models, [55] various Jacksons [55] (including the Randy Rhoads model), Fender Stratocasters (including three Fender Floyd Rose Classic Stratocasters; one with an added Roland midi pick-up), Gibson Les Pauls, [55] Gibson Explorers, Gibson SGs, [55] an Ibanez Destroyer, [55] a Hamer Scarab, [55] and Lado Guitars. [55] On the A Matter of Life and Death DVD, he says the first decent guitar he bought was a Deluxe Gold Top 1972 Gibson Les Paul, which he paid £235 for when he was 17, in 1974. [56] He still uses it to this day, [57] stating that "it's still probably the best guitar I've got". [56]
As of 2010, his touring guitars included: Gibson Les Paul Deluxe Goldtop 1972 with DiMarzio Super Distortion in bridge position, [57] his Jackson Superstrat 1986 prototype (which can be seen in the Maiden England video) with the pickguard changed to resemble his signature model, [58] a Jackson Signature model with black scratchplate and maple neck, [59] an early 70s Gibson SG, [60] and another Jackson, inspired by his Les Paul Goldtop. [61]
As of August 2007, Smith endorses Jackson Guitars, his first guitar company endorsement in over fifteen years. With Jackson he has released two signature models, a San Dimas Dinky and an SDX. [62] [63] Prior to his endorsement, he was seen using other Jackson guitars, such as a King V during his time in Bruce Dickinson's solo band, before he went to Fender guitars. In August 2008, one of his Jackson guitars was stolen from backstage at a show in Greece. [64]
Smith is ranked #8 on Total Guitar's list of the Greatest Metal Guitarists of All Time, [69] #28 on Loudwire's Best 75 Hard Rock/Metal Guitarists of All Time, [70] and also takes 11th place in the list of the 100 greatest metal guitarists of all time according to Guitar World magazine together with Dave Murray [71] and 4th place together with Dave Murray and Janick Gers (all three are Iron Maiden guitarists ) – in the list of the greatest metal guitarists of all time according to Metal Hammer . [72] Also he is ranked jointly with Dave Murray at number 83 on Rolling Stone's list of the 250 Greatest Guitarists of All Time. [73]
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Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. Although fluid in the early years of the band, the line-up for most of the band's history has consisted of Harris, lead vocalist Bruce Dickinson, drummer Nicko McBrain, and guitarists Dave Murray, Adrian Smith and Janick Gers. As pioneers of the new wave of British heavy metal movement, Iron Maiden released a series of UK and US Platinum and Gold albums, including 1980's debut album, 1981's Killers, and 1982's The Number of the Beast – its first album with Bruce Dickinson, who in 1981 replaced Paul Di'Anno as lead singer. The addition of Dickinson was a turning point in their career, establishing them as one of heavy metal's most important bands. The Number of the Beast is among the most popular heavy metal albums of all time, having sold almost 20 million copies worldwide.
The Number of the Beast is the third studio album by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. It was released on 22 March 1982 in the US by Harvest and Capitol Records, and on 29 March 1982 in the UK by EMI Records. The album was their first to feature vocalist Bruce Dickinson and their last with drummer Clive Burr.
Maiden England is a live video by the band Iron Maiden during their Seventh Son of a Seventh Son world tour, which was dubbed Seventh Tour of a Seventh Tour.
Stephen Percy Harris is an English musician and songwriter, best known as the bassist, keyboardist, backing vocalist, primary songwriter, founder, and leader of heavy metal band Iron Maiden. He is the band's only constant member since their inception in 1975 and, along with guitarist Dave Murray, the only member to appear on every album.
Janick Robert Gers is an English musician who is best known as one of the three guitarists in heavy metal band Iron Maiden since 1990. He initially joined to replace Adrian Smith, but remained in the band after Smith rejoined in 1999. Gers was previously a member of Gillan and co-founder of the band White Spirit in 1975.
Michael Henry "Nicko" McBrain is an English musician, best known as the drummer of the heavy metal band Iron Maiden since 1982. Having played in small pub bands since 1966 from the age of 14, after leaving school McBrain did session work before joining a variety of artists, such as Streetwalkers in 1975, Pat Travers, and the French political band, Trust. He joined Iron Maiden, in time to debut on their fourth album Piece of Mind (1983), and has remained with them since, contributing to a total of fourteen studio releases, as well as being the third-longest serving member of the band.
Seventh Son of a Seventh Son is the seventh studio album by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. It was released on 11 April 1988 in the United Kingdom by EMI Records and in the United States by Capitol Records. Like The Number of the Beast (1982) and later Fear of the Dark (1992), The Final Frontier (2010), and The Book of Souls (2015), the album debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart. The lead single "Can I Play with Madness" was also a commercial success, peaking at No. 3 in the UK Singles Chart.
Clive Ronald Burr was an English musician. He was the drummer of the heavy metal band Iron Maiden from 1979 to 1982. Together with fellow Iron Maiden member Dennis Stratton, he joined Praying Mantis for the recording of their 1996 live album Captured Alive in Tokyo City.
Rock in Rio is a live album and video by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden, recorded at the Rock in Rio festival, Brazil in 2001 on the last night of the Brave New World Tour. The band played to approximately 250,000 people; the second largest crowd of their career and with the relatively recent return of lead singer Bruce Dickinson and guitarist Adrian Smith to the band, they recorded their fifth live release.
"Run to the Hills" is a song by the English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. It was released as their sixth single and the first from the band's third studio album, The Number of the Beast (1982). It is their first single with Bruce Dickinson as vocalist. Credited solely to the band's bassist, Steve Harris, Dickinson contributed to the song but could not be credited due to a contractual agreement with his former band Samson. "Run to the Hills" remains one of the band's most popular songs, with VH1 ranking it No. 27 on their list of the 40 Greatest Metal Songs, No. 14 on their list of the Greatest Hard Rock Songs, and Rolling Stone ranking it No. 10 on their list of the 100 greatest heavy metal songs
"Hallowed Be Thy Name" is the final track on Iron Maiden's 1982 album The Number of the Beast. The song was written by bassist Steve Harris and has been acclaimed as one of the greatest heavy metal songs of all time. It is also considered one of the band's signature songs.
Urchin were an English hard rock band.
"Wasted Years" is a song by the English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. It is the band's fourteenth single released and the first from their sixth studio album, Somewhere in Time (1986). Released in 1986, it was the first single solely written by guitarist Adrian Smith, who also sings backing vocals.
"Wildest Dreams" is a song by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. It was released on 1 September 2003 as the lead single from their 13th studio album, Dance of Death (2003). It was written by guitarist Adrian Smith and bassist Steve Harris, and produced by Kevin Shirley.
BBC Archives is a live album by the English heavy metal band Iron Maiden, released on 4 November 2002 as part of the Eddie's Archive box set. It is a collection of songs from three live shows and one live radio broadcast, recorded by the BBC between 1979 and 1988.
The Entire Population of Hackney is the name used for a supergroup project featuring members of Iron Maiden, FM and Urchin that played two concerts in December 1985. It is also the name used for a bootleg recording of the first show. It is most notable for being the spark that would lead to Adrian Smith forming his ASAP project later on and ultimately his split with Iron Maiden in 1990. It is also notable for leading to the first Iron Maiden recording without the current lead singer on lead vocals.
David Michael Murray is an English guitarist, best known as a member of the heavy metal band Iron Maiden. He joined Iron Maiden early in its history, and is the second-longest serving member of the band after founder Steve Harris. He and Harris are the only members of Iron Maiden to have appeared on every album.
"Empire of the Clouds" is a song by the English heavy metal band Iron Maiden from their sixteenth studio album, The Book of Souls. The song was issued as a single on 16 April 2016, tying in with Record Store Day.
"The Writing on the Wall" is a song by the English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. The song was released on 15 July 2021 alongside a music video, and served as the lead single from their seventeenth studio album Senjutsu. It was also the band's first single since 2016's "Empire of the Clouds".
We also get greater involvement in the songwriting from Bruce Dickinson and Adrian Smith, whose themes are perfectly in tune with Steve Harris' epic storytelling.
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