Adrian Smith
From Freepedia
Adrian 'H' Frederik Smith (born February 27, 1957 in Hackney, east London,England) is one of three guitarists in the heavy metal band Iron Maiden.
Whilst at school, Adrian befriended Dave Murray, and joined Dave's band, "Urchin", as lead singer. During this time, Adrian bought his first guitar from Murray. Murray left to join the band of another friend, Steve Harris, Iron Maiden. Smith continued to front "Urchin" until joining Maiden in late 1980 for the Killers album (released in 1981), replacing Dennis Stratton. Smith first wrote songs for Maiden on the 1982 album The Number of the Beast, and was the bands secondary song writer from then on. Adrian Smith & Dave Murray combined playing dual lead guitars helping to forge the trademark sound of Iron Maiden until his departure in 1990: they have played many twin solos like:2 Minutes To Midnight,Alexander The Great,and Rime Of The Ancient Marriner and for his single solos: Powerslave, Stranger In A Strange Land and Caught Somewhere In Time are impressive examples.
It is widely believed that Adrian left due to his unhappiness with the direction the band was taking - after releasing the experimental Somewhere in Time and Seventh Son of a Seventh Son albums, Steve Harris decided to take the band back to a more traditional heavy metal direction, which Smith disapproved of, and consequently left.
Adrian quit Iron Maiden and released a solo LP as the band "ASAP" - (Adrian Smith and Project) titled Silver and Gold in 1989. Steve Harris created the Band Psycho Motel(a Progressive metal band) in 1996, which recorded two albums, State of Mind (1996) and Welcome to the World (1997)
Later, he played guitar for Bruce Dickinson's various solo projects, who had left Maiden himself in 1994. He played on Accident of Birth and The Chemical Wedding albums for Dickinson. In 1999, Smith re-joined Iron Maiden for the "Ed Hunter" tour, a tour in support of the video game of the same name, based on the Iron Maiden mascot Eddie, after that Maiden released 2 albums, Brave New World in 2000 and Dance of Death in 2003: both of them sold millions of copies, once again Maiden is on its way to the top and shows Adrian improving talents as one of the greatest metal guitarists.
Adrian remains in the band to this day. He is now using more wah-wah and plays faster and cooler solos, he plays his killer solos in an energetic and accurate way while playing them in live performances.
Contents |
Albums with Iron Maiden
- Killers (1981)
- The Number of the Beast (1982)
- Piece of Mind (1983)
- Powerslave (1984)
- Live After Death (1985)
- Somewhere in Time (1986)
- Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
- Brave New World (2000)
- Rock in Rio (2002)
- Dance of Death (2003)
- Death on the Road (2005)
Albums with Psycho Motel
Albums with Bruce Dickinson
External links
- Adrian's Lair: Adrian Smith's fansite
- IMDb.com Profile: Adrian Smith
- The Holy Scriptures of Adrian Smith
| Iron Maiden |
| Bruce Dickinson | Dave Murray | Adrian Smith | Janick Gers | Steve Harris | Nicko McBrain |
| Albums and EPs |
|---|
| Studio albums: Soundhouse Tapes | Iron Maiden | Killers | The Number of the Beast | Piece of Mind | Powerslave | Somewhere in Time | Seventh Son of a Seventh Son | No Prayer for the Dying | Fear of the Dark | The X Factor | Virtual XI | Brave New World | Dance of Death Live albums: Maiden Japan | Live After Death | A Real Live One | A Real Dead One | Live at Donington | Rock in Rio | Death on the Road Compilations: Best of the Beast | Ed Hunter | Edward the Great |
| Videos and DVDs |
| Live at the Rainbow | Video Pieces | Behind the Iron Curtain | Live After Death | 12 Wasted Years | Maiden England | Up the Irons - The First Ten Years | From There to Eternity | Donington Live 1992 | Raising Hell | Rock in Rio | Visions of the Beast | The Early Days | Death on the Road |
Categories: Guitarist stubs | 1957 births | Iron Maiden | Guitarists | British musicians | Heavy metal guitarists | English musicians
