Tom Smith (musician)

Thomas Michael Henry Smith (born 29 April 1981) is an English musician, best known as the lead singer, songwriter, keyboardist and rhythm guitarist of the indie rock band Editors.

This article is about the English singer. For the American singer, see Tom Smith (filker).

Tom Smith
Smith performing in 2018
Smith performing in 2018
Background information
Birth nameThomas Michael Henry Smith
Born (1981-04-29) 29 April 1981
Northampton, England
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Musician
  • singer
  • songwriter
Instrument(s)
  • Vocals
  • guitar
  • piano
  • keyboards
Years active2002–present
LabelsKitchenware

Early life

Thomas Michael Henry Smith was born in Northampton on 29 April 1981, the son of high school science teachers Sylvia and John Smith. He grew up in Stroud, Gloucestershire,[1] where he attended Woodchester Endowed Primary School and learned to play the guitar under the guidance of the school's headmaster. He then attended Archway School in Stroud, where his parents taught physics and chemistry. He later studied music technology at Staffordshire University and met his future Editors bandmates.

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, An End Has a Start, followed on 25 June 2007, which included singles such as "Smokers Outside the Hospital Doors" and the eponymous track. In July 2008, he contributed a cover of "Bonny" (by Prefab Sprout) for the UK edition of the Independents Day charity album. Editors released their third album In This Light and on This Evening on 12 October 2009, which marked a stylistic transition to a more electronic-influenced sound.

Smith performing in 2006

Smith performed a solo show in February 2012 in Brussels, where he sang old and new Editors songs. Editors released their fourth studio album The Weight of Your Love on 28 June 2013, after a hiatus and the departure of guitarist Chris Urbanowicz in 2012. On the first recording sessions of the album, Smith stated that it had been "a long, hard couple of years and it got pretty dark because whenever we tried creating new songs it wasn’t good enough. Chris's heart wasn’t in it any more. For a year, we'd leave rehearsals feeling very negative and uninspired." Smith also said that "I've talked for a long time about my love of American bands like R.E.M. and Arcade Fire, and that's the type of sound our new songs are going towards. They're more straightforward than our last album. That was more experimental, whereas the new songs could be played on an acoustic guitar. I don't know what a hit is any more, but these songs feel very classic and immediate."[3] The album was mostly recorded live. Regarding the sound of the album, lead singer Tom Smith stated that it "[has] a foot in that alt rock/Americana world" and that it feels "untouchable at times".[4] Lyrically, the album focuses on "love songs... that don't adhere to the traditional love song type". Smith explained, "If I ever find myself writing something too straightforward, I try to twist it, so it ends up odd and baffling."

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 in 2014

Smith's vocal style has been compared to that of post-punk singers such as Ian Curtis, Paul Banks, Robert Smith, and Michael Stipe. He mainly uses a Gibson ES-335 when playing guitar,[11] whilst also playing a Fender Telecaster Custom. He has stated that most of Editors' music begins with him composing on his piano or acoustic guitar.[12]

As a teenager, Smith listened to Britpop, including the albums Definitely Maybe by Oasis and Parklife by Blur. Because of these musical influences, he stated, "Suddenly, all I wanted to do was to be in a band. I learned to play the guitar by playing those records."[11] In 2006, he stated that Murmur by R.E.M. was his favourite album of all time. Editors drummer Edward Lay had mentioned this in an interview in 2005, saying, "Tom's favourite album is R.E.M.'s Murmur, so they were his favourite band whilst growing up and I think they've always maintained a certain cool vibe about everything they've released. They haven't sold out at all, so they're big influences not just in songwriting, but the way they've protected themselves as musicians and as a band."[13] Smith has also expressed admiration for performers such as Bruce Springsteen (whom he described as "a legendary artist who's still got that magic he started with"), Mogwai (a favourite since he was a teenager), Prefab Sprout, and Peter Gabriel (overcoming his initial skepticism that Gabriel made "music for your dad").[8]

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
Main article: Editors discography

With Andy Burrows

References
  1. Simpson, Dave (22 June 2007). "Violently happy". guardian.co.uk. The Guardian. Retrieved 23 June 2013.
  2. 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
  3. "Editors finally ready to record fourth album - NME". Nme.com. 23 December 2012. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
  4. "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.
  5. "EDITORS ANNOUNCE NEW ALBUM IN DREAM". XFM. 16 July 2015. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
  6. "EDITOR'S TRACK BY TRACK GUIDE TO IN DREAM". Gigwise. 29 September 2015. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
  7. "EDITORS: 'EVERYBODY HAS A DARK SIDE'". Gigwise. 29 September 2015. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
  8. Swash, Rosie (17 September 2007). "Peter Gabriel is not just music for your dad". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 6 July 2015.
  9. "Tom Smith / Andy Burrows Team Up". Clash Magazine. 10 October 2011. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
  10. "Musicians Andy Burrows and Tom Smith on their special relationship". Paste Magazine. 14 November 2014. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
  11. 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
  12. Editors Guadalajara (16 January 2018). "Editors - Tom Smith interview on NME Live Q&A". YouTube. Retrieved 16 April 2018. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  13. "Editors – Manchester, UK – Winter 2005 Meeting in the Back Room". Archived from the original on 10 June 2007. Retrieved 22 September 2009.
  14. 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.
  15. "BBC – Newsbeat – Entertainment – DJ Edith Bowman has baby boy". BBC News. 10 June 2008. Retrieved 7 December 2011.
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