Tom Smith (Editors musician)
Tom Smith | |
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Background information | |
Born | 1980 or 1981 (age 42–43) |
Genres | |
Occupation(s) |
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Instrument(s) |
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Years active | 2002–present |
Labels | Kitchenware |
Tom Smith (born 1980 or 1981) is an English musician, best known as the lead singer, songwriter, keyboardist and rhythm guitarist of the indie rock band Editors.
Early life
Smith is the son of high school science teachers Sylvia and John Smith. He grew up in
Career
Editors
After a number of name changes and preluding singles, Editors released their debut album The Back Room on 25 July 2005 to critical acclaim. The album included singles such as "Bullets", "Munich" and "Blood". The warm reception for the album was exemplified by the band's nomination for the Mercury Prize in 2006. When Smith lost his voice during the 2006 SXSW concert, the band had to cancel the last song of their first gig.[2]
An equally well received second album,
Smith performed a solo show in February 2012 in
The following album, In Dream, was released on 2 October 2015. According to Smith, the record was driven by a belief that "music can be both pop and experimental."[5] "It feels like a progression from our third record. It was very electronic, but I feel like the last record had to be a guitar record to prove to ourselves that we could be a band,"[6] says Smith. "To us, it's interesting if it has a darkness. Whatever that is. On the lyric side of things, if I was singing about dancefloors or happier or rosier things, it wouldn't ring true for me. I don't think you need to be sad to write a sad song, everybody has a dark side."[7]
Editors released their sixth album Violence on 9 March 2018, followed by their seventh album EBM on 23 September 2022.
Other work
Smith has collaborated with a number of artists, including Cicada on the songs "Executive" and "Talking" from their 2009 album Roulette, the song "The Good Book" by Tired Pony on the 2010 album The Place We Ran From. In 2011, Smith contributed vocals for songs "Joshua" by Northern Irish electronic band The Japanese Popstars and "The Call" by London/Manchester progressive house project Raized by Wolves.
In October 2011, Smith announced that he was collaborating with his good friend Andy Burrows under the moniker Smith & Burrows.[8][9] Their album Funny Looking Angels was released on 25 November 2011. In December 2011, Smith & Burrows played a number of shows throughout Europe. Smith also provided backing vocals to the lead single from the second Andy Burrows' solo album Company, "Keep On Moving On". Smith also sang in Burrows' track "Watch Me Fall Again" from his third album Fall Together Again (2014).[10]
In 2012, Smith worked with the French band Indochine for the song "The Lovers" on their album Black City Parade.
In 2013, Smith contributed vocals for the song "Lux Lisbon" by German rapper Casper on his album Hinterland.
In 2014, Belgian dance project Magnus teamed up with Smith for their song "Singing Man", which was the lead single from their second album Where Neon Goes to Die.
Artistry
Smith's vocal style has been compared to that of post-punk singers such as
As a teenager, Smith listened to
Personal life
Smith lives in Stroud with his wife, Scottish radio DJ Edith Bowman, whom he began dating in 2005. They were married on 22 December 2013,[14] and have two sons named Rudy Brae Bowman Smith (born 10 June 2008)[15] and Spike Bowman Smith (born February 2013).
Smith is an avid fan of Arsenal FC. He is a friend of fellow musicians Guy Garvey and Andy Burrows. In April 2011, he ran the London Marathon alongside Editors bandmate Russell Leetch, raising over £10,000 for Oxfam.
Discography
With Andy Burrows
- Funny Looking Angels (2011)
- Only Smith & Burrows Is Good Enough (2021)
References
- ^ Simpson, Dave (22 June 2007). "Violently happy". guardian.co.uk. The Guardian. Retrieved 23 June 2013.
- ^ Stellastarr Upcoming Concert Reviews of the Editors, Metric and More... Archived 7 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine Cincinnati CityBeat, 12 April 2007. Accessed 24 October 2007
- ^ "Editors finally ready to record fourth album - NME". Nme.com. 23 December 2012. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
- ^ "Editors unveil new single 'A Ton of Love' and announce new album". AltSounds. Archived from the original on 10 May 2013. Retrieved 7 May 2013.
- ^ "EDITORS ANNOUNCE NEW ALBUM IN DREAM". XFM. 16 July 2015. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
- ^ "EDITOR'S TRACK BY TRACK GUIDE TO IN DREAM". Gigwise. 29 September 2015. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
- ^ "EDITORS: 'EVERYBODY HAS A DARK SIDE'". Gigwise. 29 September 2015. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
- ^ a b Swash, Rosie (17 September 2007). "Peter Gabriel is not just music for your dad". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 6 July 2015.
- ^ "Tom Smith / Andy Burrows Team Up". Clash Magazine. 10 October 2011. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
- ^ "Musicians Andy Burrows and Tom Smith on their special relationship". Paste Magazine. 14 November 2014. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
- ^ a b Vaziri, Aidin Gibson Recommends Editors An End Has a Start Archived 23 January 2009 at the Wayback Machine 11 October 2007. Accessed 24 October 2007
- ^ Editors Guadalajara (16 January 2018). "Editors - Tom Smith interview on NME Live Q&A". YouTube. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
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has generic name (help)[dead link] - ^ "Editors – Manchester, UK – Winter 2005 Meeting in the Back Room". Archived from the original on 10 June 2007. Retrieved 22 September 2009.
- ^ Lyons, Beverley (26 December 2013). "Radio 1 DJ Edith Bowman marries Editors frontman Tom Smith in secret festive ceremony". dailyrecord.co.uk. Daily Record. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
- ^ "BBC – Newsbeat – Entertainment – DJ Edith Bowman has baby boy". BBC News. 10 June 2008. Retrieved 7 December 2011.