Chris Reidy: Met Adrian Twice.

I've had the pleasure of meeting Adrian Smith twice. The first time I met him was 1992, at an Untouchables show in Bradford, England. My wife and I were on our honeymoon and went from Indiana (U.S.A.) to London, England. During our week there, I bought every Kerrang! and Metal Hammer magazine I could find to try and get info about Adrian. After Silver & Gold, there was very little information out about him. In a Kerrang!, I saw that he had formed a new band, The Untouchables, and they were going to play a series of club dates. We were due to leave for home in a few days, so we rented a car and driver and headed for Bradford. Once there, we lined up outside the venue, waiting to go in. We're there maybe 10 minutes and there's a murmur through the crowd- I turn and coming down the line of fans is Adrian and his bandmates!! He gets to me and I say (in an unmistakable American accent): "When are you coming to Indy, Adrian?!" Without missing a beat, Carl Dufrense (guitarist/keyboardist for the band) says "When you buy the tickets, dude!" We all laughed and Adrian went on down the line.I kicked myself for not saying something more intelligent, but I was starstruck! I finally got to meet the guy who I worshipped since 1981 and I just went dumb. A few years later, when the Internet was brand new, I online to a webpage dedicated to Bruce and Adrian and relayed that story. That was 1994 or 1995. Soon after, I got an e-mail from "Nina" at the Psycho Motel website- she had seen my story, shared it with Adrian, and he remembered me from that night! Very cool, but it got cooler. In our exchanges, I told "Nina" about Carl's funny response and she wrote, "Yeah, that sounds like my brother." Well, I might have been dumb that night back in 1992, but I am otherwise sharp- if Carl Dufresne is "Nina's" brother, then that would make her (probably) Nathalie Dufresne-Smith, Adrian's wife! So, I asked her: "So, you're Adrian's wife, huh?" Busted! She wrote back and said "Yep- good eye." We continued our correspondences and she let me know that Adrian went to L.A. to see Bruce about a project in 1997- what would become Accident of Birth. She said that Adrian wasn't sure how much time he would invest in Bruce's band, since the 2nd Psycho Motel CD was coming out, but perhaps he would tour with them. And, she said, if they tour the U.S., I'll get you after show passes. I was in heaven!!! Now, I just had to hope that Adrian would commit to Bruce's gig and they'd come somewhere near Indiana. Sure enough, Adrian signed on and a show was listed for the House of Blues in Chicago, Illinois. I told my Maiden buddy Roger and his wife Cindy (who was also a big Maiden fan) and we made plans. Part of those plans included sneaking a camera into the show for the post-show meet up with Adrian. Problem solved- I hid it in my underwear!I wore my Untouchables t-shirt to the gig; I had that shirt since 1992 (still have it) and I doubted anyone else in Chicago (or America) had one- I would stand out! We got right up in front of Adrian's mic and on the first or second song, he looks right at me, sees the shirt, and his eyes bug out- and he had a great big grin. He thew some picks my way (grabbed one) and pointed at me a few times. Great show, too- everybody was on fire! After the show, we got our passes for the meet-n-greet. The first person we saw was Bruce, who got mobbed. I said "Hi Bruce. Glad you're back doing metal. Now, where's Adrian?" He seemed taken aback that I wasn't there for him, but he smiled and said, "Right behind you, mate." Sure enough, I turned around and there was Adrian F. Smith. He shook my hand and complimented me on wearing The Untouchables shirt! We spent the next 3 hours chatting, or I would fend off drunks who didn't know what he had been doing since he left Maiden, or I would point fans toward an early online record shop where they could get the first Psycho Motel album. I made it a point to not talk about Maiden- either the guys in the band, their post-Adrian music, or his departure. For me, it was more about what he was doing now and where he was going. I think he appreciated that.So, eventually, we got the camera out of my pants and my buddy's wife took some pictures of Roger and I talking with H. We talked about music, Psycho Motel (he left a rough mix of the 2nd album on the bus, but he thought about getting it for me), working with Bruce and Roy, and family life and kids. I told him my wife was pregnant and that we were toying with naming the child "Adrian"- he seemed flattered, but at the same time was his usual shy, gracious self. In the end, we had a daughter, so we named our next child (a boy, born in 2000) "Adrian David" after the greatest guitar duo in the world. It was a great night and I know I'm a very lucky fan to have had the opportunity to meet Adrian not just once, but twice. In return for my support, Adrian included me in his liner notes for the Chemical Wedding booklet (slight misspelling- "Cris Reidy"). I'm forever grateful and will be an Adrian F. Smith fan for life.