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.
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.
Biography
Early years and Urchin: 1957–1980
Born in Hackney, Smith grew up in Clapton. His father was a painter and decorator from Homerton. Smith has 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. He purchased his first record, Deep Purple's Machine Head, at age 15. Shortly thereafter, he met Dave Murray who lived in the same neighborhood.[2] Smith and Murray formed a band called Stone Free, with Murray on guitar, Smith on vocals, and their friend Dave McCloughlin playing the bongos.[3]
After seeing the attention Murray received from girls,[2] 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.[4] His early influences included Johnny Winter and Pat Travers, who 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."[5]
Leaving school after completing his O-levels, Smith formed the band Evil Ways, including Dave Murray on guitar, which was later renamed Urchin.[6] Smith began writing his own material, including a song called "Countdown", which evolved into "22 Acacia Avenue" that later appeared on Iron Maiden's The Number of the Beast in 1982.[6] While leading Urchin, Smith worked as a labourer and bricklayer on building sites in London, and as a water bailiff and fisheries officer at the Walthamstow Reservoirs.
Murray left Urchin in 1976 to join Iron Maiden. Urchin then signed with DJM Records and released the single "Black Leather Fantasy" in 1977.[7] Shortly afterwards, Murray rejoined Urchin on their next single, "She's a Roller", as he had been temporarily sacked from Iron Maiden. Smith was also offered a position in Iron Maiden in 1979, but turned them down to focus on leading Urchin. Smith later regretted this decision as Urchin split up in 1980.[8]
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.[9] This time Smith accepted the offer,[10] and debuted with the band on the West German TV show Rockpop in Concert in Munich on 8 November 1980,[a][11][12][13] before setting out on a UK tour and recording the Killers album in 1981.[14] Smith's first songwriting contributions appeared on The Number of the Beast in 1982, co-penning "Gangland" and "The Prisoner", as well as the aforementioned "22 Acacia Avenue".[15] He became a more active songwriter in Iron Maiden, often in collaboration with singer Bruce Dickinson, on the following Piece of Mind album.[16][17]
Smith and Dave Murray often played dual lead guitars, creating what AllMusic calls "the most formidable twin-guitar attack in heavy metal, outside of Glenn Tipton and K. K. Downing."[18] 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.[19] 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.[20]
Departure from Iron Maiden and other projects: 1989–1999
While Iron Maiden were taking some time off in 1989, Smith released a solo album with the band ASAP (Adrian Smith and Project),[21] entitled Silver and Gold,[22] which was a commercial failure in spite of a promotional club tour.[23] Unhappy with the direction Iron Maiden were taking for their next release, No Prayer for the Dying,[24] and feeling that he could not help enough in the creative work,[25] Smith left the band in 1990 during the album's pre-production stages,[26] and was replaced by Janick Gers.[27] After two albums that explored progressive songwriting, bassist Steve Harris decided that the band should return to a "stripped-down" and "street level" approach, which Smith thought was a "step backward".[24]No Prayer for the Dying contained one last Smith song, co-penned with Bruce Dickinson, entitled "Hooks in You".[28]
In 1999, Smith rejoined Iron Maiden, along with 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."[33] Smith himself recalled, "Now, when I rejoined, we were all a bit older and wiser. We just gave each other a bit more headroom. And it's great. [...] If you're in a band and you're just playing for yourself, it's only gonna work for a limited amount of time. And you see bands breaking up all the time because one guy wants a spotlight and the other guy is jealous, and, you know, there's all this stuff."[34] The band embarked on a short tour,[35] after which the new lineup's first album, Brave New World, was recorded with producer Kevin Shirley and released in 2000.[36]
Smith remains in Iron Maiden to the present, and since his return the have released five additional studio albums. 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".[5] Since returning to Iron Maiden, he has experimented with tuning, stating that he has used drop D tuning in live renditions of "Run to the Hills", "Wrathchild", "The Trooper". and "Hallowed Be Thy Name".[5] Although Smith had previously been known to contribute shorter and more "commercial" tracks, since his return to the band he has penned many longer songs, beginning with "Paschendale" from Dance of Death.[37]
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.[45] In 1988 he married married to Nathalie Dufresne-Smith, who currently works for Maiden Flight, a cancer awareness/patient rights organisation,[46][47] and the pair have three children.[48][49]
Smith released the book Monsters of River and Rock in 2020.[50] 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.[51] Smith stated that around 70% of his book was focused upon fishing, with the remaining content discussing his music career.[52] In its review of the publication, MetalTalk described the book as "a prize catch amongst rock biographies – highly recommended."[53]
Smith is ranked #8 on Total Guitar's list of the Greatest Metal Guitarists of All Time,[56] #28 on Loudwire's Best 75 Hard Rock/Metal Guitarists of All Time.[57] In conjunction with his Iron Maiden bandmates Dave Murray and (later) Janick Gers, Smith was ranked #11 in the list of the 100 greatest metal guitarists of all time according to Guitar World magazine,[58] #4 in the list of the greatest metal guitarists of all time according to Metal Hammer,[59] and #83 in Rolling Stone's list of the 250 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.[60]
As of 2010, his touring guitars included: Gibson Les Paul Deluxe Goldtop 1972 with DiMarzio Super Distortion in bridge position,[63] his Jackson Superstrat 1986 prototype (which can be seen in the Maiden England video) with the pickguard changed to resemble his signature model,[64] a Jackson Signature model with black scratchplate and maple neck,[65] an early 70s Gibson SG,[66] and another Jackson, inspired by his Les Paul Goldtop.[67]
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.[68][69] 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.[70]
ADA MP-1 Valve Midi Preamp, T.C Electronic 2290 Delay with Marshall 9000 series valve power amps during "Ed Hunter" and "Brave New World" Tours (1999-2001)[74]
↑Huey, Steve. "Iron Maiden – Piece of Mind review". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 28 September 2011. 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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