Spike T. Smith (Drummer)
Spike T. Smith | |
|---|---|
| Born | 12 January 1967 Bangor, North Wales |
| Origin | Holyhead, North Wales |
| Genres |
|
| Instruments | Drums, percussion, vocals |
| Years active | 1982–present |
| Associated acts | Morrissey, The Damned, Sacrilege, English Dogs, The T4 Project |
| Website | spiketsmith.com |
Spike T. Smith is a British professional freelance session/touring drummer and teacher hailing from Holyhead in North Wales. He has played with The Damned, Morrissey, Killing Joke, Sacrilege and New York Dolls, among others.[citation needed]
Career[edit]
Smith's first band, Alternative Attack, made their live debut in December 1982, and he was the only member in an ever revolving line-up, to play on all recordings and live shows. They released one EP in 1987, No Turning Back.[1]
During these formative years his talent for playing diverse styles was honed playing with local reggae act The Regulaetors, supporting all of the big-name reggae acts of the time that toured the area.[citation needed]
After playing on the same bill as English Dogs, Smith was invited to join the band after original drummer Andrew Pinching left. They toured the UK throughout 1987. At their final gig in Birmingham, Smith was encouraged to audition for Sacrilege, who were in attendance. Smith drummed on their Turn Back Trilobite LP (1989), and also appeared on Behind the Realms of Madness LP (2015).[2][3][full citation needed]
Smith was a member of Wardance from its beginnings in 1987 until the end in 1996, although not the only drummer to play with them. He toured consistently with them throughout Europe in the 1990s.[citation needed] He played on We're All N****s..... But Not Your Boys LP (1993), Put Up Or Shut Up EP (1995), and "You're So Right / Psyche" 7” (1995).[citation needed] Their final tour with GrimSkunk crossed the Atlantic to Canada ending in summer 1996.[citation needed] During this period he recorded an LP with former English Dogs/Prodigy guitarist Gizz Butt under the band name name Sundance (both had previously played in Wardance), on The Beyond Within LP (1990).[citation needed] During this period, with the help of The Prince's Trust, he setup his drum school in his new home city of Peterborough - still operating 30 years on.[citation needed]
Smith joined his long-time heroes The Damned, and in February 1999 played his first show with them in Valencia, Spain, then their UK tour and summer festivals.[citation needed] He was due to record their next album, Grave Disorder, and play on their upcoming US tour in the Autumn,[citation needed] but was poached by former Smiths frontman Morrissey for the ¡Oye Esteban! world tour. The tour began playing at the first ever Coachella, where Smith makes an appearance on the documentary Coachella: 20 Years in the Desert (2020). The tour was very successful, and marked Morrissey's first concerts in Mexico and South America, drawing huge crowds.[4]
The T4 Project were a band made up of many well-known punk musicians from both sides of the Atlantic, featuring members of Bad Religion, Pennywise, Strung Out, Buzzcocks, Subhumans, Circle Jerks, Porno For Pyros. They released one album: Story-Based Concept Album (2008).[5]
Smith joined political punk band Conflict in 2006, regularly touring Europe and the US with them until 2017.[citation needed] In 2010, during a band hiatus, Steve Ignorant, frontman of Crass, was putting a band together to perform a one-off world tour of Crass songs, covering Europe, US, Australia & NZ, billed as “The Last Supper”, and released a DVD of the final show of the tour in London - The Last Supper - Shepherd's Bush Empire on 19 November 2011.[citation needed] During this period, long-time collaborator Gizz Butt was fronting his own thrash metal band, The More I See, and had Smith contributing his drumming skills to the albums The Unholy Feast (2008) and Tread the Darker Path (2010).[citation needed]
Associated acts[edit]
- English Dogs (1987)
- Sacrilege (1987–1989)
- The T4 Project (2006–2008)
- The Damned (1999)
- Morrissey (1999–2003)
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ↑ Anesiadis, Alexandros (2019). Crossover the Edge: Where Hardcore, Punk and Metal Collide. London: Cherry Red Books. p. 376. ISBN 9781909454750. Search this book on
- ↑ Glasper, Ian (2018). Contract in blood. Great Britain: Cherry Red books. p. 253. ISBN 9781909454675. Search this book on
- ↑ "Terrorizer Magazine" (265). Dark Arts Ltd. Nov 2015.
- ↑ "Rhythm". Morrissey (April 2000). Future plc. April 2000.
- ↑ "Wonka Vison T4 issue". T4. Justin Luczejko.
This article "Spike T. Smith (Drummer)" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Spike T. Smith (Drummer). Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
