35 curiosities about Adrian Smith

1) He dropped school at the age of 16 to dedicate to music. According to him, he wouldn’t need it because he was going to be a rockstar.

2) His first guitar was a red Woodworth, which he bought from Dave Murray for £5.

3) It was Murray who taught him his first tunes. He met Dave in a shop, while brownsing through some albuns in the rock section.

4) Adrian wrecked a hotel room during the World Slavery Tour, because he was suffering from ‘hotelities’.

5) After the World Slavery Tour, Adrian went to visit his parents, but he knocked at the door of the wrong house.

6) He was the lead singer of his band (Urchin) before he joined Maiden.

7) His first band was called Stone Free. After some time the name changed to Evil Ways and, later on, to Urchin.

8) His first gig with Maiden was at the Brunel University, in Uxbridge, on 21 November, 1980.

9) Before following his artistic vein, he worked as a carpenter and milkman.

10) He is a very indecisive person, to the point of not deciding whether to get up or stay in bed.

11) He loves the interned and says he has a lot of fun with it.

12) He loves fishing and claims to have caught the biggest caboz. The fish weighs 3,5 kilos. He used to take worms with him during the tours so he can practice his hobby.

13) He thought Wasted Years was too comercial and believed Steve would not like it.

14) In 1996 Michael Kiske, former lead singer of Helloween, launched his first solo project, named “Instant Clarity”, and invited Adrian Smith to participate in the project. Adrian contributed in the songs “The Calling”, “Burned Out” and “New Horizons”.

15) Besides fishing, he also loves to play tennis.

16) He has been accused by his bandmates of being a penny-pinching.

17) He was in two of Bruce Dickinson’s solo albums: Accident of Birth and Chemical Wedding.

18) His band Urchin actually signed with DJM. Urchin made 100 gigs that year.

19) He declined Steve’s first invitation to join Iron Maiden because he wanted to continue in his band, Urchin, once the had signed a contract and they were making concerts. Before giving Steve his answer, he smoked two packages of cigarettes, while thinking about it.

20) The second invitation happened while he was walking down the street, very sad, because his band had come to an end. He met Dave and Steve and Steve asked what he was working at. He explained that his band was over and that second Steve said he was looking for a new guitarist for his band and invited Smith, who accepted at the same moment.

21) The first songs he worked with Maiden were Killers and Purgatory.

22) His first task as a Maiden musician was a gig for the TV in Germany.

23) To Adrian, Psycho Motel second album (Welcome to the World) was the best thing he has done for many years. Bruce helped him choose a new lead singer (due to the fact that Solli, who sang on the first album, quit the band). Adrian was indecisive about two candidates and, in the end, Andy Makin was chosen.

24) After Clive Burr’s departing, Adrian thought he could be the next, because he drank a lot too. Adrian started to cut the drinks before the gigs, because he was tired of going to the stage feeling headaches every time.

25) His nickname is Melvin, because of the drinking. Every time he got drunk, he used to become a diferente person and used to say lots of funny things (in the ‘80s).

26) Adrian’s last gig with Maiden (before quitting the band to pursue his solo career) was on 12 December, 1988, in Hammersmith Odeon.

27) A.S.A.P. (Adrian Smith and Project), launched in 1989, was “born” long before he quit Maiden. During the Somewhere Back in Time period, he got together with Nicko and his mates (from Urchin times). In the beginning they were named The Entire Population of Hacken. They even got a gig at the Marquee with Iron Maiden. Two songs from The Entire Population of Hacken were used as b-sides by Maiden: Juanita and Reach Out. Later, Reach Out was rerecorded by his friend Dave Colwell on his solo album Guitar, Beers & Tears. Actually it was Dave who wrote Reach Out. When he rerecorded the song, he invited his friend Adrian Smith to sing it.

28) The Untouchables (Adrian’s band after the ‘end’ of A.S.A.P.) had his brother-in-law Carl Dufresne (guitarist). Rumour has it that it was him who convinced Adrian to come back to music, once Adrian was quite exhausted of all of it. There were no albums. After some time they changed the name to Psycho Motel.

29) His influences are Michael Schenker (former Scorpions, UFO) and Ritchie Blackmore (Deep Purple, Rainbow, Blackmore’s Night).

30) Adrian participated in the album DESTINY, from the gospel singer Kym Mazelle. He made backing vocal, played the guitar and the bass in the track “My Shoes”. He also wrote, produced and recorded the singer’s album.

31) During the records of Psycho Motel second album – Welcome to the World – his mother passed away.

32) Adrian had a Beatles wig.

33) Smith credits his career choice to his mother, who was na Irish violinist.

34) He had got formal singing classes.

35) He almost ran over Pat Cash (former tennis player).

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