Brett Anthony Smiley (September 25, 1955 – January 8, 2016)
[Glam rock cult hero Brett Smiley dies in NYC at age 60](_blank)
''Herald Net''. Retrieved January 12, 2016. was an American singer-songwriter who was active in the UK during the
glam rock era of the early 1970s. Smiley released one single, "Va Va Va Voom," and made an appearance on the
Russell Harty
Frederic Russell Harty (5 September 1934 – 8 June 1988) was an English television presenter of arts programmes and chat shows.
Early life
Harty was born in Blackburn, Lancashire, the son of greengrocer Fred Harty, who ran a fruit-and-veget ...
television show, where he performed the song "Space Ace". In 2003, a previously unheard album called "Breathlessly Brett" was released. One posthumous vinyl album entitled "Sunset Tower" was released in 2019.
Career
Smiley was born in Indiana and began his career as a child actor, playing
Oliver on
Broadway for four years. He also appeared in many television commercials.
[
In 1974, Smiley—who, at the time, was managed and produced by ]Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...
manager Andrew Loog Oldham—recorded an album, ''Breathlessly Brett.'' However, Oldham feared that the album, which included the songs "Va Va Va Voom" and "Space Ace", would sell poorly, and refused to release it. However, it was eventually released in 2003, when RPM Records included it as part of its Lipsmackin' 70s collection.
Smiley also starred as the Prince, in the 1977 American erotic musical comedy '' Cinderella.''
In 2004, rock biographer Nina Antonia
Nina Antonia (born Nina Antonia Benjamin in 1960) is an English author who has chronicled the lives and misadventures of Johnny Thunders, the New York Dolls, Peter Perrett, and the elusive Brett Smiley. Antonia's later work has explored decade ...
published a book about Smiley, ''The Prettiest Star: Whatever Happened to Brett Smiley.''
In 2006, Smiley contributed to the charity album Not Alone.
Smiley still performed occasionally until 2015 in New York City, and was recording songs for a new CD. He died on January 8, 2016, after a lengthy battle with HIV and hepatitis. His cause of death, though, was a head injury from falling down.
Discography
Singles
* Va Va Va Voom/Space Ace (1974)
Albums
* Breathlessly Brett (2003) track listing:
# "Brett's Lullaby"
# "Highty Tighty"
# "Space Ace"
# "April in Paris"
# "Solitaire"
# "Va Va Va Voom"
# "Run for the Sun"
# " I Want to Hold Your Hand" ( Lennon–McCartney)
# "Pre-Columbian Love"
# "Queen of Hearts"
# "I Can't Help Myself"/"Over the Rainbow"
# "Young at Heart"
* Sunset Tower (2019) track listing:
# Highty Tighty
# Cherry Hookers
# Abstracted Billy
# Mood in Deco
# Space Ace
# Queen of Hearts
# Lying in the Sun
# Diamonds Couldn't Bring You Back
Other
* Our Lady of the Barren Tree (Not Alone, 2006)
References
Further reading
*
*Wired Up by Jeremy Thompson and Mary Blount,
*
External links
*
Whatever happened to Brett Smiley? Magnet Magazine Article About Brett Smiley by Kristian HoffmanYouTube Brett Smiley on the Russell Harty showSunset Tower
on Bandcamp
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smiley, Brett
1955 births
2016 deaths
20th-century American male actors
20th-century American musicians
21st-century American musicians
American male child actors
American male singers
American male film actors
American male stage actors
American rock singers
Glam rock musicians
Singers from New York City
20th-century American male musicians
21st-century American male musicians