BORN THE 27'TH OF FEBRUARY, 1957, ON THE EAST SIDE OF LONDON,ADRIAN SMITH EMBRACED LIFE WITH A MUSICAL DESTINY . HIS PARENTS WERE HARD WORKING AND DETERMINED TO SEE THEIR CHILDREN ACHIEVE AN ACADEMIC FUTURE.BUT IT DIDN'T QUITE WORK THAT WAY FOR 'H'. HE LEFT SCHOOL AT THE AGE OF FIFTEEN TO PURSUE HIS DREAM. IT FIRST STARTED IN HIS FAMILY BASEMENT WITH DAVE MURRAY AND A FEW FRIENDS. THEIR BIGGEST ACCOMPLISHMENT AT THAT STAGE WAS DRINKING A FULL BOTTLE OF CIDER OR TWO AND THEN GIVING IT BACK TO THE PAVEMENT. AFTER A FEW ODD JOBS, INCLUDING PAINTING AND DECORATING WITH HIS DAD AND DELIVERING MILK , ADRIAN FORMED HIS FIRST BAND NAMED 'EVIL WAYS'. THIS LINE UP INCLUDED ADRIAN SINGING & PLAYING GUITAR , DAVE MURRAY ON GUITAR , JOHN HOYE ON BASS (THE ACTOR WHO IS IN THE UNDERWATER BEER ADVERT IN THE UK ! ) AND VARIOUS DRUMMERS.
THEIR GIGS MOSTLY WERE AT SCHOOL DANCES AND PUBS ,COVERING SONGS BY BANDS SUCH AS THE STONES , PINK FLOYD , AND THE BEATLES. THE FIRST BREAKTHROUGH CAME FIVE YEARS LATER WHEN THE BAND WAS SIGNED BY DJM RECORDS . THIS PARTNERSHIP PRODUCED TWO SINGLES , ANOTHER TWO YEARS OF GIGGING IN THE UK AND EVEN A BRIEF APPEARANCE ON " PANORAMA" ( A HIGH-BROW BRITISH CURRENT AFFAIRS PROGRAM!) .
BY THIS TIME THE BAND HAD CHANGED ITS NAME TO "URCHIN" AND HAD EVOLVED INTO A FIVE PIECE . WHEN RECORD COMPANIES STARTED JUMPING ON THE PUNK BAND WAGON IN THE LATE '70'S URCHIN PARTED WAYS WITH DJM. ANOTHER LINE-UP CHANGE ENSUED WITH ADRIAN MOVING BACK TO THE LEAD VOCALS / GUITAR SPOT AND A NIFTY YOUNG GUITARIST CALLED ANDY BARNET JOINING THE RANKS. ( ANDY WAS LATER TO TEAM UP WITH CANADIAN ARTIST COREY HART , BRIT AOR ROCKERS FM AND ADRIAN'S POST MAIDEN BAND ASAP). DESPITE BUILDING UP A RESPECTABLE CLUB FOLLOWING OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS , URCHIN BROKE UP IN LATE '79, CITING LACK OF RECORD COMPANY SUPPORT AS A MAJOR FACTOR. ABOUT THE SPLIT ADRIAN COMMENTED ," AT THE TIME I FELT I'D WASTED EIGHT YEARS OF MY LIFE , BUT IN REALITY IT WAS PAYING YOUR DUES, GAINING EXPERIENCE, THAT ALWAYS PAYS OFF SOMEWHERE DOWN THE LINE". ( PROPHETIC WORDS AS IT TURNED OUT AS AN OLD EVIL WAY SONG " ACACIA AVENUE ", LATER FEATURED ON THE PLATINUM SELLING IRON MAIDEN ALBUM " NUMBER OF THE BEAST" ).
ADRIAN WASN'T OUT OF WORK FOR LONG HOWEVER AND AFTER A SHORT STINT WITH THE BROADWAY BRATS , A BAND FRONTED BY EX BLAZER BLAZER VOCALIST JEB MILLION, JOINED IRON MAIDEN IN 1980. THE NEXT TEN YEARS SAW SIX WORLD TOURS , EIGHT ALBUMS AND NUMEROUS HIT SINGLES.IN 1989 ,WHILST STILL IN THE BAND ,ADRIAN RELEASED HIS FIRST SOLO ALBUM SILVER AND GOLD , HANDLING LEAD VOCALS AND GUITAR HIMSELF, BACKED UP BY FRIENDS FROM URCHIN DAYS . ALTHOUGH THE ALBUM FEATURED SOME FINE MELODIC ROCK IT WAS A FAR CRY FROM THE MAIDEN BLOOD AND THUNDER APPROACH, AND AS SUCH WAS UNJUSTLY OVER LOOKED. THEN CAME THE SPLIT FROM MAIDEN. " I WAS BEGINNING TO FEEL STIFLED IN THE BAND", EXPLAINS "H". " I NEEDED TO EXPLORE MY OWN MUSICAL IDEAS WHICH AT THE TIME WERE GOING IN A DIFFERENT DIRECTION TO MAIDEN".
NEXT UP ADRIAN FORMED THE UNTOUCHABLES ," A SORT OF CROSS BETWEEN ZZ TOP AND EARLY BRYAN ADAMS " SAYS ADRIAN. THE UNTOUCHABLES MUTATED INTO PSYCHO MOTEL WHEN SECOND GUITARIST HUWEY LUCAS QUIT LEAVING THE BAND AS A THREE PIECE." PLAYING AS A POWER TRIO THE MUSIC SOUNDED HEAVIER AND HAD MORE VITALITY" SAYS ADRIAN. SO PSYCHO MOTEL HAD FOUND THEIR DIRECTION. NORWEGIAN VOCALIST SOLLI COMPLETED THE LINE UP AND THE BANDS DEMOS CAUGHT THE EAR OF CASTLE RECORDS. " SUDDENLY THEIR WAS A LOT OF INTEREST " SAYS SMITH. " I'D GONE FULL CIRCLE SINCE LEAVING MAIDEN AND COME BACK TO PLAYING HEAVIER STUFF. BUT IT CAME ABOUT IN A NICE NATURAL WAY ".THE RESULTING ALBUM , STATE OF MIND WAS RELEASED IN 1995 MIXING FULL ON METAL WITH RETRO-TINGED GUITARS AND SOLLI'S ROBERT PLANT LIKE DELIVERY, THE ALBUM RECEIVED CRITICAL ACCLAIM . HOWEVER , BEFORE THE BAND COULD FULLY TEST ITS STAGE METTLE SOLLI QUIT ."I THINK THAT HE WAS A BIT DISILLUSIONED THAT THINGS HADN'T HAPPENED FASTER" , QUOTES "H". PSYCHO MOTEL WAS PUT ON ICE FOR THE TIME BEING WHEN ADRIAN REUNITED WITH OLD MAIDEN BAND MATE BRUCE DICKINSON FOR THE SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF THE ACCIDENT OF BIRTH ALBUM AND WORLD TOUR. MORE GOOD NEWS FOLLOWED WHEN OUT OF THE HUNDREDS OF PSYCHO MOTEL AUDITION TAPES THEY DISCOVERED NEW VOCALIST ANDY MAKIN. IN FEBRUARY 1997 THEY ENTERED THE STUDIO WITH PRODUCER SIMON HANHART AND EMERGED SOMETIME LATER WITH " THE BEST THING I'VE DONE FOR YEARS !" ( ADRIAN ).
IN 1998 THE PARTNERSHIP WITH BRUCE DICKINSON AND " TRYBE OF GYPICES " RESULTED IN ANOTHER WONDERFUL WORK, THE CD " CHEMICHAL WEDDING ", WHERE ADRIAN SHOWED HIMSELF ONCE AGAIN STRONG IN THE HEAVY GUITARS AND WENT OUT IN A TOUR WITH BRUCE DICKINSON, VISITING BRAZIL AND RECORDING A NEW LIVE CD AT THE CONCERT OF APRIL 21 IN SÃO PAULO. WHEN HIS NAME WERE ANNOUNCED AT THE CONCERT, THE OWN ADRIAN GOT SURPRISED WITH THE VIBRATION OF THE PUBLIC. BUT THE BEST NEWS CAME, WHEN ON FEBRUARY 10, 1999, WERE ANNOUNCED THE OFFIVIAL RETURN OF ADRIAN SMITH AND BRUCE DICKINSON TO IRON MAIDEN. NOW THE PLANS OF THE BAND PROCEED IN A SMALL TOUR THAT GOES BY UNITED STATES AND EUROPE. RIGHT AFTER THAT THE BAND ENTERS ONCE AGAIN IN STUDIO TO RECORD, PROBABLY, THE BEST ALBUM OF ALL THE TIMES.