Stuart Smith (musician)
| Stuart Smith | |
|---|---|
| Born | 30 May 1956 |
| Origin | York, England |
| Genres | Rock |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instruments | Guitar |
| Years active | 1970s–present |
| Labels | Quarto Valley Records |
| Associated acts | Heaven & Earth |
| Website | www |
Stuart Barry Smith (born 30 May 1956) is a British rock-blues guitarist and songwriter, who is best known for playing guitar in Sweet and Heaven & Earth.
Smith was born in York, England, the son of an RAF jet fighter pilot. At age seven and a half he was given a Spanish guitar by some RAF friends of his parents who were being transferred overseas. At his father's insistence he started classical guitar lessons and soon overtook his tutor. He studied classical guitar style until the age of 14 which is when he was introduced to rock & roll after seeing a Deep Purple concert. Although he excelled at playing guitar, he always considered it a hobby as his ambition was to follow in his father’s footsteps and become a jet fighter pilot. These hopes were dashed at 17 years old after discovering he was red/green color blind. After a brief stint working at Texas Instruments in Bedford, England he once again picked up the guitar and turned professional. Smith later on met and became good friends with Deep Purple's Ritchie Blackmore at a party after a Deep Purple concert, who mentored him and helped him refine his playing skills.
During the 1970s, after playing in numerous local rock bands, Smith formed his own group Sidewinder at the age of 17. They toured extensively throughout England and Europe and after the band dissolved towards the end of the 1970s he relocated to London and played with various other groups.
In 1983 after becoming disillusioned with the British rock music scene and at the suggestion of Ritchie Blackmore, Smith packed up his guitars and moved to Long Island, New York where he formed a band called Mirage. To help Smith get the band notoriety Ritchie Blackmore would frequently sit in with the band. Mirage played around New York and Long Island till 1986 when he moved to Los Angeles.
In 1994 Smith, along with longtime drummer Richie Onori, formed the Aliens of Extraordinary Ability with Keith Emerson. Other members of this band were bassist Marvin Sperlng and vocalist Robbie Wykoff who is currently the singer for Pink Floyd bassist, Roger Waters touring band. The Aliens of Extraordinary Ability were offered a record deal by Korean electronics giant Samsung but could not take them up on the offer as Emerson was contracted to tour with ELP. Smith was offered the deal from Samsung for a solo record. Having no permanent band at the time Smith recruited the help of Richie Sambora, Joe Lynn Turner, Glenn Hughes, Camine Appice, Howard Leese, and Kelly Hansen along with many others to record the critically acclaimed Stuart Smith's Heaven & Earth. This CD was produced by Pat Regan and Howard Leese and was released by Frontiers Records in Europe and Pony Canyon in Japan after Samsung's record division closed due to the Asian economy collapse in 1998. During this period Smith and Joe Lynn Turner were approached by Taylor Guitars to contribute a track for their Sounds of Wood & Steel album. The acoustic instrumental track "Alma de Alma" written by Smith & Turner continues to be played on radio stations to this day.
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Wikipedia