Gulliver Smith
| Gulliver Smith | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Kevin Gullifer Smith |
| Also known as | Kevin Gullifer Hopkins-Smith, Gullifer Smith, Little Gulliver |
| Born | Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
| Died | 12 November 2014 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| Genres | R&B, soul, progressive rock |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Years active | 1961–2003 |
| Labels | WEA/Reprise, Dragon/Larrikin |
| Associated acts | Little Gulliver and the Children, Company Caine |
Kevin Gullifer Hopkins-Smith (born Kevin Gullifer Smith ca. 1950 – November 2014), who performed as Little Gulliver and Gulliver Smith (also styled as Gullifer Smith), was an Australian singer and songwriter from the early 1960s to mid-2000s. He was the front man and founding mainstay vocalist of Company Caine. In 1976 he and Ross Wilson co-wrote "A Touch of Paradise" for Wilson's group, Mondo Rock, which appeared on their third album, Nuovo Mondo (July 1982). It was covered by John Farnham on his album, Whispering Jack (October 1986), and was issued as its third single in February 1987, which reached the top 30 on the Kent Music Report Singles Chart.
Gulliver Smith died on 12 November 2014 from kidney failure, and was survived by his wife Stephanie Hopkins-Smith (nee Hopkins) and their three sons. According to Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, "Smith drew on vintage rock'n'roll, Professor Longhair-styled New Orleans R&B, psychedelia and soul for inspiration. He was known for his outrageous stage act, which incorporated an inventive free-form approach and much evangelist-styled ad-libbing. Later on, he added a satirical Zappaesque component to his on-stage banter and lyrics."
Kevin Gullifer Smith (later Kevin Gullifer Hopkins-Smith) was born in the 1950s and was a child performer in the early 1960s in Melbourne, covering tracks by artists from the previous decade. Occasionally he was a guest singer for local bands, the Thunderbirds and the Lincolns. Smith remembered his early performances "I remembering listening to gospel records where people would start preaching in the middle of the song. A lot of soul music would have the guys interrupt the singing to talk about their broken heart, so that gave me the idea. I used to imitate Johnny Ray when I was nine or ten. He used to cry on stage."
In 1965 he fronted Little Gulliver and the Children, a R&B and soul band, on lead vocals with Ian McCausland on guitar and Lawrie Byrnes on drums. Smith explained "my manager changed my name from the original spelling of Gullifer, which is Welsh, to Gulliver." They issued two singles, "Short Fat Fannie" (cover version of Larry William's 1957 single) in September, and "No Money Down" (1955 original by Chuck Berry) in March 1966. A self-titled extended play appeared in September 1966. Smith would interrupt live performances of songs to deliver a monologue, "some little vignette that was quite unrelated."
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