Brix Smith (born Laura Elisse Salenger) is an American singer and guitarist, best known as the lead guitarist and a major songwriter for the English
post-punk
Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-roc ...
band The Fall during two stints in the band (1983-1989, and 1994-1996).
Acknowledging her importance to the band, and noting she co-wrote several songs for the band's most widely acclaimed album ''
This Nation's Saving Grace
''This Nation's Saving Grace'' is the eighth studio album by English post-punk band the Fall, released in 1985 by Beggars Banquet. The lyrics and singing melodies were written by vocalist Mark E. Smith, with a portion of the music composed b ...
'' (1985), some critics break the Fall's career and evolution into the pre-Brix years, the Brix years, and the post-Brix years.
She is currently the lead vocalist and guitarist with
Brix & the Extricated
Brix & the Extricated are a British post-punk band, formed in 2014 in Manchester, by ex-Fall members Brix Smith Start (vocals/guitar) and Steve Hanley (bass guitar).Steve and Paul Hanley, both of whom were long time musicians in the Fall. She published her memoir ''The Rise, The Fall, And The Rise'' with
Faber & Faber
Faber and Faber Limited, usually abbreviated to Faber, is an independent publishing house in London. Published authors and poets include T. S. Eliot (an early Faber editor and director), W. H. Auden, Margaret Storey, William Golding, Samuel B ...
in May 2016, noting that "writing the book freed my creativity to play again."
Biography
Smith was raised in Los Angeles by her mother Lucy Salenger, a TV executive at CBS. Mother and daughter moved to
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
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, subdivision_name ...
in 1972, when Salenger married political economist
Marvin Zonis
Marvin Zonis (September 18, 1936 – November 15, 2020) was an American political economist who focused on Middle Eastern politics and history and an emeritus professor at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, where he taught courses ...
and became a powerful regional figure in the film business as head of the Illinois Film Office.
Studying theatre and literature at
Bennington College
Bennington College is a private liberal arts college in Bennington, Vermont. Founded in 1932 as a women's college, it became co-educational in 1969. It claims to be the first college to include visual and performing arts as an equal partner in ...
in
Vermont
Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...
, Smith formed a group, Banda Dratsing, in which she performed as bassist/vocalist; she adopted the name "Brix" after
the Clash
The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the wa ...
's 1979 song "
The Guns of Brixton
"The Guns of Brixton" is a song by the English punk rock band the Clash. It was written and sung by bassist Paul Simonon, who grew up in Brixton, South London. The song has a strong reggae influence, reflecting the culture of the area and the r ...
".
The Fall
Smith met
Mark E. Smith
Mark Edward Smith (5 March 1957 – 24 January 2018) was an English singer, who was the lead singer, lyricist and only constant member of the post-punk group the Fall. Smith formed the band after attending the June 1976 Sex Pistols gig at the ...
, vocalist of the Fall, at a gig at Metro in Chicago on 23 April 1983; she moved to his native
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
Bury
Bury may refer to:
*The burial of human remains
*-bury, a suffix in English placenames
Places England
* Bury, Cambridgeshire, a village
* Bury, Greater Manchester, a town, historically in Lancashire
** Bury (UK Parliament constituency) (1832–19 ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, and married on 19 July of that year.Hughes, Rob. "Slang Queen!". ''
Uncut
Uncut may refer to:
* ''Uncut'' (film), a 1997 Canadian docudrama film by John Greyson about censorship
* ''Uncut'' (magazine), a monthly British magazine with a focus on music, which began publishing in May 1997
* '' BET: Uncut'', a Black Enter ...
'', May 2016 She initially played with the group on two songs for the album ''
Perverted by Language
''Perverted by Language'' is the sixth studio album by English post-punk group The Fall, released in December 1983 on Rough Trade Records.
The record gave the band their first number one album on the UK Independent Chart since ''Grotesque (Aft ...
''. She co-wrote some of the best-regarded Fall tracks from the period, and is acknowledged for introducing a more mainstream, pop-oriented element to the group's sound. She remained with the Fall until her divorce from Smith in 1989. She rejoined for the live promotion of the album '' Middle Class Revolt'' (1994) and remained for the recording and promotion of albums '' Cerebral Caustic'' (1995) and ''
The Light User Syndrome
''The Light User Syndrome'' is the 18th album by the Fall, released in 1996 on Jet Records. It was the group's first album to feature keyboard player and guitarist Julia Nagle and the last to feature Brix Smith, while longtime guitarist Craig ...
'' (1996).
The Adult Net
In 1985, Smith launched side project
the Adult Net
The Adult Net was a British indie pop band formed by British-based American singer and guitarist Brix Smith in 1984, while she was a member of The Fall.Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, , p. 194
The group was ...
with fellow Fall member
Simon Rogers
Simon Rogers is an English musician, record producer and composer who has been a member of The Fall, and The Lightning Seeds.
Biography
In 1976, Rogers entered the Royal College of Music, London, later becoming an associate (ARCM) and winni ...
. Contributors included Mark E. Smith. The group released four singles for the Fall's label
Beggars Banquet Records
Beggars Banquet Records is a British independent record label. Beggars Banquet started as a chain of record shops owned by Martin Mills and Nick Austin and is part of the Beggars Group of labels.
History
In 1977, spurred by the prevailing DI ...
in 1985 and 1986, including a cover of
Strawberry Alarm Clock
Strawberry Alarm Clock is a psychedelic rock band formed in 1967 with origins in Glendale, California
Glendale is a city in the San Fernando Valley and Verdugo Mountains regions of Los Angeles County, California, United States. At the 20 ...
's "Incense and Peppermints".
The Adult Net released ''The Honey Tangle'' in 1989 on
Phonogram Records
Phonogram Incorporated was started in 1970 as a successor to Philips Phonographic Industries, a unit of the Grammophon-Philips Group (GPG), a joint venture of Philips N.V. of the Netherlands and Siemens A.G. of Germany.
Phonogram was the nam ...
. This line-up included
Craig Gannon
Craig Gannon (born 30 July 1966) is an English guitar player, best known as the second guitarist in the Smiths. He is now a composer for film and television.
Career
Born in Manchester, Gannon had played in bands with friends since he was 12 ye ...
,
The The
() are an English post-punk band. They have been active in various forms since 1979, with singer-songwriter Matt Johnson being the only constant band member. achieved critical acclaim and commercial success in the UK, with 15 chart singles ...
Clem Burke
Clement Burke (born Clement Anthony Bozewski; November 24, 1954) is an American musician who is best known as the drummer for the band Blondie from 1975, shortly after the band formed, throughout the band's entire career. He also played drums f ...
Brix & the Extricated
Brix & the Extricated are a British post-punk band, formed in 2014 in Manchester, by ex-Fall members Brix Smith Start (vocals/guitar) and Steve Hanley (bass guitar).Ruby Lounge in December 2014. They played Fall songs to celebrate the launch of Steve Hanley’s book '' The Big Midweek: Life Inside The Fall''. The success of the concert saw the band start performing more gigs and, in 2015, a national UK tour. They played the
Rebellion Festival
The Rebellion Festival, formerly Holidays in the Sun and the Wasted Festival is a British punk rock festival first held in 1996. The festival has attracted mainstream press coverage from such sources as The Guardian, The Independent, The Daily ...
in August 2016, where Brix was interviewed by John Robb. The line-up is completed by guitarists Steve Trafford (another ex-Fall member) and Jason Brown.
By this time new material was being written and introduced into the set. A single, "Something to Lose", was released on Blang Records in November 2016, followed by the album '' Part 2'' in September 2017. Their second album, ''
Breaking State
Breaking or breakin' may refer to:
Arts
* Breakdancing (also breaking), an athletic style of street dance
* ''Breakin, a 1984 American breakdancing-themed musical film
* "Breakin, a twelfth-season episode of the American animated television se ...
'', was released in October 2018 on Grit Over Glamour Records and almost exactly a year later in October 2019, their third album, ''
Super Blood Wolf Moon
''Super Blood Wolf Moon'' is the third album by the post-punk group Brix & the Extricated, released on 25 October 2019 on Grit Over Glamour records. The album was released on CD and digital formats.
Critical reception
The album received positiv ...
'', came out on the same label.
Solo work and other activities
After leaving the Fall and disbanding The Adult Net, Smith went on to tour with
the Bangles
The Bangles are an American pop rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1981. The band recorded several singles that reached the U.S. top 10 during the 1980s, including "Manic Monday" (1986), "Walk Like an Egyptian" (1986), " Hazy Shade ...
. She became romantically involved with
violin
The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...
ist
Nigel Kennedy
Nigel Kennedy (born 28 December 1956) is an English violinist and violist.
His early career was primarily spent performing classical music, and he has since expanded into jazz, klezmer, and other music genres.
Early life and background
Kenn ...
, and they collaborated on a cover of
Donovan
Donovan Phillips Leitch (born 10 May 1946), known mononymously as Donovan, is a Scottish musician, songwriter, and record producer. He developed an eclectic and distinctive style that blended folk, jazz, pop, psychedelic rock and world mus ...
's "
Hurdy Gurdy Man
"Hurdy Gurdy Man" is a song by the Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan. It was recorded in April 1968 and released the following month as a single. The song gave its name to the album ''The Hurdy Gurdy Man'', which was released in October of that ...
" for the 1992 Donovan tribute album ''
Island of Circles
''Island of Circles'' is a tribute album to singer-songwriter Donovan that was released on June 26, 1992, by Nettwerk. The title song "Island of Circles" is provided by Donovan himself. Along with Donovan's contemporaneous box set collection '' T ...
''; the song was released as a single in 1993 on
Nettwerk
Nettwerk Music Group is the umbrella company for Nettwerk Records, Nettwerk Management, and Nettwerk One Publishing.
Established in 1984, the Vancouver-based company was created by Nettwerk principals Terry McBride and Mark Jowett as a record ...
.
In 1994, Smith auditioned for
Hole
A hole is an opening in or through a particular medium, usually a solid body. Holes occur through natural and artificial processes, and may be useful for various purposes, or may represent a problem needing to be addressed in many fields of en ...
after the death of bassist
Kristen Pfaff
Kristen Marie Pfaff (née Parco; May 26, 1967 – June 16, 1994) was an American musician, best known as the bassist for alternative rock band Hole from 1993 to 1994. Prior to Hole, Pfaff was the bassist and backing vocalist for Minneapolis-base ...
, but was in the group for one day. Hole guitarist
Eric Erlandson
Eric Theodore Erlandson (born January 9, 1963) is an American musician, guitarist, and writer, primarily known as founding member, songwriter and lead guitarist of alternative rock band Hole from 1989 to 2002. He has also had several musical s ...
, while supportive of Melissa Auf der Maur as Pfaff's replacement, later commented that he was a huge fan of Brix and expressed regret that he didn't get a chance to play with her in the group. In 1997, she released the ''Happy Unbirthday'' EP on Strangelove. The EP is a collaboration with
Marty Willson-Piper
Marty Willson-Piper (born 7 May 1958) is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter best known as a former long-time member of the Australian psychedelic rock band The Church. He joined in 1980 after seeing an early gig where they were perform ...
and includes a cover of
David Bowie
David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...
's "
Space Oddity
"Space Oddity" is a song by English singer-songwriter David Bowie. It was first released on 11 July 1969 by Philips Records as a 7-inch single, then as the opening track of his second studio album ''David Bowie''. After the commercial f ...
". A decade later, in 2007, she released her debut solo LP ''Neurotica'', as a digital download on Loser Friendly Records.
In 2022 Smith announced a new album, '' Valley of the Dolls'', co-written with
Youth
Youth is the time of life when one is young. The word, youth, can also mean the time between childhood and adulthood ( maturity), but it can also refer to one's peak, in terms of health or the period of life known as being a young adult. You ...
from
Killing Joke
Killing Joke are an English rock music, rock band from Notting Hill, London, England, formed in 1979 by Jaz Coleman (vocals, keyboards), Paul Ferguson (drums), Geordie Walker (guitar) and Youth (musician), Youth (bass).
Their first album, ''Ki ...
, and a new live band to perform this material, containing
Debbie Googe
Deborah Ann Googe (born 24 October 1962) is an English musician, best known as bassist for the band My Bloody Valentine. She has also worked with Snowpony, Primal Scream and Thurston Moore.
My Bloody Valentine
Googe was born in Yeovil, Somerse ...
and Jen Macro of My Bloody Valentine, as well as Vas Antoniadou and Ros Cairney from
deux furieuses Deux and D'eux means "of them" or "about them" while also being the number "two" in French.
* 2 (number), the natural number following 1 and preceding 3
**Two (disambiguation)
*Folie à deux, a rare psychiatric syndrome
Geography
*Deux Montagne ...
. The album contains guest contributions from Susanna Hoffs of
The Bangles
The Bangles are an American pop rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1981. The band recorded several singles that reached the U.S. top 10 during the 1980s, including "Manic Monday" (1986), "Walk Like an Egyptian" (1986), " Hazy Shade ...
and
Siobhan Fahey
Siobhan Maire Fahey (; born 10 September 1958) is an Irish singer whose vocal range is a light contralto. She was a founding member of the group Bananarama, who have had ten top-10 hits including the US number one hit single "Venus". She later ...
and is planned for release in 2023 on Republic of Music. The band has supported Killing Joke, and went on tour with
Public Image Ltd
Public Image Ltd (abbreviated and stylized as PiL) are an English post-punk band (and incorporated limited company) formed by singer John Lydon (previously known as the singer of Sex Pistols), guitarist Keith Levene, bassist Jah Wobble, and dr ...
in June 2022
Work in fashion
Smith married fashion entrepreneur Philip Start. In 2002 the couple opened the boutique "Start" in east London. The business expanded to four boutiques and an online store. The Shoreditch boutique closed in May 2015. In recent years Smith has appeared as a fashion expert on British television shows, including
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
The Culture Show
''The Culture Show'' is a British magazine programme about books, art, film, architecture, music, visual fashion and the performing arts. The show was broadcast weekly on BBC Two between 2004 and 2015.
Early history
Launched in November 2004, th ...
'' on
BBC Two
BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...
, ''
John Peel's Record Box
''John Peel's Record Box'' is a documentary film made by Elaine Shepherd, released on 14 November 2005 on Channel 4. It was nominated for Primetime Emmy Award.
__TOC__
Contents
The box contains a small private collection of the British radio ...
'', '' LK Today''s 'What's Hot and What's Not' segment and
Sky 1
Sky One was a British pay television channel operated and owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). Originally launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, it was Europe's first satellite and non-terrestrial channel. From 31 July 1989, ...
's ''
Angela and Friends
''Angela and Friends'' is a British talk show which was produced by Crackit Productions for Sky1. The show aired at 12pm, Monday to Friday, and was presented by actress Angela Griffin, who was joined by three "friends" in each show to discuss t ...
''. She appeared as a fashion expert on
Sky
The sky is an unobstructed view upward from the surface of the Earth. It includes the atmosphere and outer space. It may also be considered a place between the ground and outer space, thus distinct from outer space.
In the field of astronomy, ...
television's coverage of the 2011 Academy Awards in February 2011, and she took part in the fashion commentary in
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
's coverage of
Royal Ascot
Ascot Racecourse ("ascot" pronounced , often pronounced ) is a dual-purpose British racecourse, located in Ascot, Berkshire, England, which is used for thoroughbred horse racing. It hosts 13 of Britain's 36 annual Flat Group 1 horse races and ...
in June 2013. That summer she presented the first series of ''Ultimate Shopper'', broadcast in the UK by digital channel
TLC
TLC may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Television
* ''TLC'' (TV series), a 2002 British situational comedy television series that aired on BBC2
* TLC (TV network), formerly the Learning Channel, an American cable TV network
** TLC (Asia), an A ...
* Edge, Brian. ''Paintwork: Portrait of The Fall''. London: Omnibus Press, 1989.
* Ford, Simon. ''Hip Priest: The Story of Mark E.Smith and the Fall''. London: Quartet Books, 2002.
* Hanley, Steve. '' The Big Midweek: Life Inside The Fall''. London: Route, 2014.
* Irvin, Jim (ed). ''The Mojo Collection: 4th Edition''. London: Canongate Books, 2017.
* Norton, Tessa; Stanley, Bob. ''Excavate!: The Wonderful and Frightening World of The Fall ''. London: Faber & Faber, 2021.
* Smith, Brix. ''The Rise, The Fall, and The Rise''. London: Faber & Faber, 2017.