Greedy Smith
Greedy Smith | |
---|---|
Birth name | Andrew McArthur Smith |
Also known as | Greedy |
Born | Warner Music | 16 January 1956
Website | mentalasanything |
Andrew McArthur "Greedy" Smith[1] (16 January 1956 – 2 December 2019) was an Australian vocalist, keyboardist, harmonicist and songwriter with Australian pop/new wave band Mental As Anything.[2] Smith wrote many of their hit songs including "Live It Up"[1] which peaked at No. 2 on the Australian singles chart.[3][4] Smith had a solo music career, had worked with other bands and was also an artist and television personality.[2]
Early life
Born Andrew McArthur Smith in Sydney, Australia, he later attended
Art career
All early members of Mental As Anything are also
Mental As Anything
Smith joined Mental As Anything in 1977, and in addition to playing keyboards and harmonica was one of the band's frontmen and songwriters. (Martin Plaza also frequently wrote and sang the band's material; Reg Mombassa and Peter O'Doherty also wrote for the band, and less frequently, sang.) Smith usually wrote and sang at least two songs on each of the band's albums, and was the writer and singer of the band's international hits "Too Many Times" (1982) and "Live It Up" (1985), as well as Australia-only hits like "You're So Strong" (1986) and "The World Seems Difficult" (1990).
The four other original members of the band quit, left or stopped touring with Mental As Anything in the 2000s, and were replaced by new recruits. By about 2016, Smith was the only original band member left still touring with Mental As Anything, and he continued to tour with the band until his death.
Solo and side projects
In 1982, Smith played with Twohill in a group called the Space Shuttle Ramblers that recorded an EP, however the tapes were destroyed in a studio flood prior to release. In 1992, during the Mental As Anything sabbatical he formed a side group called Greedy's on the Loose that played gigs and recorded however no product was released. In 1996 he recorded a solo album, Love Harmonica, for TWA at Jim Blackfoots Audioscapes Studio This led to live work with a band dubbed Greedy's People and the re-recording in full band mode and subsequent re-release of the album. This new version of the album, also on TWA, was retitled Greedy's People and included a bonus recording of the Carpenters' "Close to You". Rock historian Ian McFarlane described Love Harmonica as an album of "easy-listening love songs that featured latin, pop and jazz rhythms with lush harmonica as the lead instrument."[2]
Media work
As the most gregarious member of Mental As Anything, in the early days he was often relied upon to give interviews for TV, radio and press. This led to further media opportunities such as hosting episodes and segments of the music shows
Death
On 3 December 2019 it was announced, via the band's website, that Smith had died a day earlier: "It is with an incredibly heavy heart to announce that one of the founding members of Mental As Anything, Andrew Greedy Smith passed away from a heart attack."[6][7]
In an interview recorded on 30 October 2019 (five weeks before Smith's death) with Alan Gilmour, from the Australian Songwriters Association, to honour him and Martin Plaza as the 2019 Australian Songwriters Hall of Fame Inductees, Smith stated "To have lived this long is a great thing."[8] He was survived by his fiancée, Fiona Docker, and his son, Harvey Hutchings Smith.[7]
Awards
Australian Songwriter's Hall of Fame
The Australian Songwriters Hall of Fame was established in 2004 to honour the lifetime achievements of some of Australia's greatest songwriters.[9]
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
---|---|---|---|
2019 | himself | Australian Songwriter's Hall of Fame | inducted |
Countdown Australian Music Awards
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
---|---|---|---|
1985 | himself | Best Songwriter | Won |
Discography
Solo
Albums
- Love Harmonica – TWA (September 1996)
Singles
- "Time Heals All Wounds" – TWA (September 1996)
- "Always Thinking of You" – TWA (February 1997)
Greedy's People
- Greedy's People – TWA (1997)
References
- ^ a b ""Live it Up" search result". American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP). Retrieved 24 December 2008.
- ^ ISBN 1-86448-768-2. Archived from the originalon 13 August 2004. Retrieved 24 December 2008.
- ISBN 0-646-11917-6. NOTE: Used for Australian Singles and Albums charting from 1970 until ARIA created their own charts in mid-1988.
- ^ "Mental As Anything discography". Australian Charts Portal. Retrieved 24 December 2008.
- ^ Sutherland, Donnie (3 December 2019). "From the Archives, 1979: How Greedy Smith got his name". The Sydney Morning Herald.
- ^ "Mental As Anything". Mental As Anything. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
- ^ a b Boulton, Martin (3 December 2019). "Mental As Anything's 'Greedy' Smith dies aged 63". The Sydney Morning Herald. Australian Associated Press (AAP). Retrieved 24 February 2020.
- ^ "2019 Interviews Andrew Greedy Smith 2019 Australian Songwriters Hall of Fame Inductee". YouTube. Archived from the original on 15 December 2021. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
- ^ "Hall of Fame". asai. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
- Portable document format (PDF)). Countdown Magazine. Australian Broadcasting Corporation(ABC). March 1987. Retrieved 16 December 2010.