Curt Smith
Encyclopedia
Curt Smith is an English musician. He is best known for forming the band Tears for Fears
, along with childhood
friend Roland Orzabal
. Also a solo artist, he released his third album Halfway, Pleased in May 2008.
influenced band Graduate
, who released their only album in 1980 achieving minor success in Europe.
Around this time, Smith and Orzabal also became session musicians for the band Neon. Fellow band members included Pete Byrne and Rob Fisher who went on to become the duo Naked Eyes
.
in 1981. Their debut album, 1983's The Hurting
, reached no.1 in the UK and produced three international hit singles – "Mad World
", "Change
", and "Pale Shelter
" – each with lead vocals performed by Smith.
Their 1985 album Songs from the Big Chair
was even more successful, yielding hits including "Everybody Wants to Rule the World
" (with Smith again on lead vocals), "Shout
," and "Head Over Heels
” (which Smith co-wrote).
The duo spent the next several years recording their 1989 album The Seeds of Love
, which proved to be another international best-seller. Smith’s last single as a lead vocalist with the group (and his only lead vocal track on the album) was "Advice For The Young At Heart
". Following another world tour, increasing tensions between himself and Orzabal prompted Smith to leave the band in 1991 and he moved to New York.
In 2000, routine legal paperwork obligations led to Orzabal and Smith's first conversation in nearly a decade. The two patched up their differences and, along with Smith's associate Charlton Pettus, began writing a new album – Everybody Loves a Happy Ending
– released in 2004. Prior to this, "Mad World" was covered by Michael Andrews
and Gary Jules
for the soundtrack of film Donnie Darko
. It was released as a single and reached no.1 in the UK during Christmas 2003. The single re-ignited interest in the group's earlier work and their 1992 Greatest Hits album was re-released and re-entered the UK Top 10 for several weeks, garnering its second UK platinum disc.
, in 1993. The album was unsuccessful in the UK, and was not released at all in the U.S.
Smith later claimed that he made the album purely to fulfill his record contract with Phonogram/Mercury.
. The band was mostly a live act but did release a self-titled album in 1997, which met with little success. Smith later released the album Aeroplane under his own name. In the U.S., this was a six song EP
, but in Canada and elsewhere, it was essentially the earlier Mayfield album combined with additional songs from the U.S. EP.
In October 2011, Smith announced on his website that he will re-release the Mayfield album on November 15, 2011. The new release, on his KOOK Media label, will include a bonus version of the song Trees featuring Janice Whaley.
which led to a worldwide tour, so it wasn’t until 2006 that Smith resumed work on Halfway, Pleased. The semi-autobiographical album explores Smith’s relationships with his children, parents and friends.
In April 2007, French record label XIII Bis Records released Halfway, Pleased in France. Its 14 tracks included the original version of "Who You Are" (which was recorded by Tears for Fears on Everybody Loves a Happy Ending); a live version of "Snow Hill" from the 2005 Tears for Fears UK tour; the single version of "Seven Of Sundays" (also recorded as a duet with French singer SO); and a cover of "On Ira Tous au Paradis" (also available on A Tribute to Polnareff). Two music videos were made for "Seven of Sundays" – one as a solo track, and one as the duet with SO.
All the songs except "Seven of Sundays" were co-written by Smith and Pettus. The solo version of "Seven of Sundays" was co-written by Pettus and Chesney Hawkes
; Smith and Sophie Saillet helped adapt the song for the duet version.
Smith finally released the album in the U.S. and the rest of the world in May 2008 via his own KOOK Media label. The KOOK release features a slightly different track listing, eliminating the Polnareff tribute and adding two new acoustic tracks (“Coming Out” and “Seven of Sundays”). It was released under a Creative Commons
license which allows fans to distribute, perform and use the songs so long as the uses are non-commercial and attributed to Smith.
Smith has made limited live concert appearances in the Los Angeles area to support Halfway, pleased. In January 2009, he announced that he will perform a weekly residency at The Standard Hollywood in West Hollywood, CA during the month of February 2009. He announced in mid-February that The Standard had asked him to extend through March 2009 and he agreed. He played a similar residency there in October 2008.
)," the first track in what he says will be an album-length project of collaborations with artists he meets via social media. Smith met Keating, an avant-garde cellist, via Twitter. The second track in the series, "Perfectly...Still (featuring Universal Hall Pass
)" will be released in August 2010. A fan of Smith's suggested the collaboration via Twitter; Smith contacted UHP (aka Melissa R. Kaplan) via the MySpace service. As of August 2010, Smith has not yet announced his next collaboration.
's 2011 track "Don't Give Yourself Away", inspired by the 2010 Australian film Griff the Invisible
. In May 2011, Smith tweeted
that he was working on a track with JunkieXL which has yet to be released.
.. Smith contributed an original song, "This Is Christmas," to an episode of the 5th season of the USA Network series Psych.
. Each episode is devoted to a single featured artist. The band or musician plays acoustic versions of their songs (the show is streamed live via UStream); Smith interviews them between sets, as well as taking viewer questions via Skype and the show's chat room. Smith's guests have included Hypnogaja
, Carina Round
Chris Pierce
, Peter Himmelman
, Common Rotation
, Gary Jules
, All Day Sucker, The Daylights
, Matthew Sweet
, The Fallen Stars, Nightmare & The Cat, Whiskey Saints, Fitz & The Tantrums
and Friendly Indians. As of January 2011, Smith has said that he won't do another season of the series.
Smith has also tried his hand at acting. He had a minor role as a desk clerk in The Dead Connection (1994), had a more significant role as a professor in 2000's The Private Public. Smith made a surprise appearance to open Psych's 2010 Comic Con panel, where he sang onstage with Psych co-stars James Roday
and Dule Hill
. He then appeared, as himself, in the "Psych" episode "Shawn 2.0". His single "This is Christmas" later appeared in the episode "The Polarizing Express".
In May 2009, Curt Smith performed at the Artist for the Arts Foundation benefit at Barnum Hall, Santa Monica High School, Santa Monica, CA. Performing live, along side Colin Hay, Fee Waybil & Venice (Crazy On You) and over 70 members of the Santa Monica High School (SaMoHi) Orchestra and Girls Choir ,the benefit helped to provide funds for the continuation of Music Education in public schools. The event was filmed and recorded by Harry Rabin of On the WAVE Productions and can be seen on the AFTA Foundation website.
.
Smith has been married twice. His first wife was Linda Altman, whom he married in 1982. They divorced in 1988, and he then began a relationship with marketing executive Laura "Frances" Pennington. They married in 1996 and now reside in Los Angeles with their two daughters, Diva and Wilder, born in 1999 and 2004, respectively.
Smith became a naturalised U.S. citizen in 2007. He now lives in Los Angeles and is neighbours with actor Zac Efron
.
Smith is a longtime football fan and supports Manchester United F.C.
He was guest commentator for the Champions Soccer Radio Network's UEFA Champions League 2008 Finals pre-game show.
Tears for Fears
Tears for Fears are an English new wave band formed in the early 1980s by Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith.Founded after the dissolution of their first band, the mod-influenced Graduate, they were initially associated with the New Wave synthesiser bands of the early 1980s but later branched out into...
, along with childhood
Childhood
Childhood is the age span ranging from birth to adolescence. In developmental psychology, childhood is divided up into the developmental stages of toddlerhood , early childhood , middle childhood , and adolescence .- Age ranges of childhood :The term childhood is non-specific and can imply a...
friend Roland Orzabal
Roland Orzabal
Roland Jaime Orzabal de la Quintana is an English musician, songwriter and record producer. He is known mainly as a co-founding member of Tears for Fears, of which he is the main songwriter and joint vocalist, but he has also achieved success as a producer of other artists.- Early career :Orzabal...
. Also a solo artist, he released his third album Halfway, Pleased in May 2008.
Graduate
Smith met Roland Orzabal when both were teenagers. They first formed a band in their teens, for which Smith taught himself to play bass guitar. They next formed the skaSka
Ska |Jamaican]] ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...
influenced band Graduate
Graduate (band)
Graduate was formed in 1979, in Bath, England. Baker and Orzabal were at school together and performed as the "Baker Brothers" in local pubs and clubs from 1977 aged 16. The name Graduate came from the fact that they used to open shows with a cover of Simon and Garfunkel's "Mrs. Robinson", which...
, who released their only album in 1980 achieving minor success in Europe.
Around this time, Smith and Orzabal also became session musicians for the band Neon. Fellow band members included Pete Byrne and Rob Fisher who went on to become the duo Naked Eyes
Naked Eyes
Naked Eyes is a British New Wave band that rose to prominence in the early 1980s. Originally a duo, the band is known largely for its singles: a cover of the Burt Bacharach/Hal David standard " Always Something There to Remind Me" , as well as the band's subsequent hits "Promises, Promises", "When...
.
Tears for Fears
After Graduate and Neon disbanded, Smith and Orzabal founded Tears for FearsTears for Fears
Tears for Fears are an English new wave band formed in the early 1980s by Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith.Founded after the dissolution of their first band, the mod-influenced Graduate, they were initially associated with the New Wave synthesiser bands of the early 1980s but later branched out into...
in 1981. Their debut album, 1983's The Hurting
The Hurting
The Hurting is the debut album by the British pop band Tears for Fears. It was released on 7 March 1983, and peaked at no. 1 on the UK Album Chart...
, reached no.1 in the UK and produced three international hit singles – "Mad World
Mad World
"Mad World" is a song by the British band Tears for Fears. Written by Roland Orzabal and sung by bassist Curt Smith, it was the band's third single release and first chart hit, reaching #3 on the UK Singles Chart in November 1982. Both "Mad World" and its B-side, "Ideas As Opiates", would turn up...
", "Change
Change (Tears for Fears song)
"Change" is a song by the British band Tears for Fears. Written by Roland Orzabal and sung by bassist Curt Smith, it was the band's fourth single release. It would eventually become the second hit from their debut LP The Hurting and second UK Top 5 chart hit, following the success of "Mad World"...
", and "Pale Shelter
Pale Shelter
"Pale Shelter" is a song by the British band Tears for Fears. Written by Roland Orzabal and sung by bassist Curt Smith, it was originally the band's second single release in early 1982 - called at that time "Pale Shelter " - but would not find chart success until a reissue the following year...
" – each with lead vocals performed by Smith.
Their 1985 album Songs from the Big Chair
Songs from the Big Chair
Songs from the Big Chair is the second album by the British rock band Tears for Fears. It was released in 1985 on Phonogram Records, and remains their highest selling album to date. The album peaked at no.2 in the UK and reached no.1 in the US...
was even more successful, yielding hits including "Everybody Wants to Rule the World
Everybody Wants to Rule the World
"Everybody Wants to Rule the World" is a song by the British New Wave band Tears for Fears.It was the band's ninth single release in the United Kingdom and seventh UK Top 40 chart hit, peaking at number two in April 1985...
" (with Smith again on lead vocals), "Shout
Shout (Tears for Fears song)
"Shout" is a song by the British band Tears for Fears.Written by Roland Orzabal and Ian Stanley and sung by Orzabal , it was the band's eighth single release and sixth UK Top 40 hit, peaking at #4 in January 1985...
," and "Head Over Heels
Head over Heels (Tears for Fears song)
"Head over Heels" is a song by the British New Wave band Tears for Fears.It was the band's tenth single release in the United Kingdom and eighth UK Top 40 hit, peaking at #12 in July 1985...
” (which Smith co-wrote).
The duo spent the next several years recording their 1989 album The Seeds of Love
The Seeds of Love
-Bonus tracks:Note: A remix of "Johnny Panic and the Bible of Dreams" was also released as a separate single in the UK and reached #70 on the charts.-Personnel:* Drums - Manu Katché, Chris Hughes, Phil Collins, Simon Phillips* Bass - Pino Palladino, Curt Smith...
, which proved to be another international best-seller. Smith’s last single as a lead vocalist with the group (and his only lead vocal track on the album) was "Advice For The Young At Heart
Advice for the Young at Heart
"Advice for the Young at Heart" is a song released in 1990 by the British band Tears for Fears, taken from their 1989 album The Seeds of Love....
". Following another world tour, increasing tensions between himself and Orzabal prompted Smith to leave the band in 1991 and he moved to New York.
In 2000, routine legal paperwork obligations led to Orzabal and Smith's first conversation in nearly a decade. The two patched up their differences and, along with Smith's associate Charlton Pettus, began writing a new album – Everybody Loves a Happy Ending
Everybody Loves a Happy Ending
Everybody Loves a Happy Ending is the sixth studio album by the British pop rock/new wave band Tears for Fears, released on 14 September 2004 in the US, and 7 March 2005 in the UK and Europe...
– released in 2004. Prior to this, "Mad World" was covered by Michael Andrews
Michael Andrews
Michael Andrews may refer to:* Michael Andrews , British artist* Michael Andrews , US musician* Michael Andrews , Australian rugby league footballer* Michael A...
and Gary Jules
Gary Jules
Gary Jules is an American singer-songwriter, best known for his cover of Tears for Fears' third single "Mad World", which he recorded together with friend Michael Andrews for the film Donnie Darko. It became the UK Christmas Number One single of 2003...
for the soundtrack of film Donnie Darko
Donnie Darko
Donnie Darko is a 2001 American psychological thriller film written and directed by Richard Kelly and starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Drew Barrymore, Patrick Swayze, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Noah Wyle, Jena Malone, and Mary McDonnell...
. It was released as a single and reached no.1 in the UK during Christmas 2003. The single re-ignited interest in the group's earlier work and their 1992 Greatest Hits album was re-released and re-entered the UK Top 10 for several weeks, garnering its second UK platinum disc.
Soul on Board
After leaving Tears for Fears, Smith released his first solo album, Soul on BoardSoul on Board
Soul On Board was the first solo album by Curt Smith, member of the British pop band Tears for Fears. It was released on 23 August 1993.The album was Smith's first musical venture after leaving Tears For Fears in 1991. Preceded by the single "Calling Out", both the album and the single were...
, in 1993. The album was unsuccessful in the UK, and was not released at all in the U.S.
Smith later claimed that he made the album purely to fulfill his record contract with Phonogram/Mercury.
Mayfield
After moving to New York, Smith formed the band Mayfield with guitarist-producer Charlton Pettus and which also featured Russ Irwin. According to Smith, the name of the band was a play on words (Curt is Mayfield) based on the name of the legendary American soul singer Curtis MayfieldCurtis Mayfield
Curtis Lee Mayfield was an American soul, R&B, and funk singer, songwriter, and record producer.He is best known for his anthemic music with The Impressions during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960's and for composing the soundtrack to the blaxploitation film Super Fly, Mayfield is highly...
. The band was mostly a live act but did release a self-titled album in 1997, which met with little success. Smith later released the album Aeroplane under his own name. In the U.S., this was a six song EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
, but in Canada and elsewhere, it was essentially the earlier Mayfield album combined with additional songs from the U.S. EP.
In October 2011, Smith announced on his website that he will re-release the Mayfield album on November 15, 2011. The new release, on his KOOK Media label, will include a bonus version of the song Trees featuring Janice Whaley.
Halfway, Pleased
During 2000, Smith began work on what was to become Halfway, Pleased, but the project was put on hold when he re-established contact with Roland Orzabal again after almost a decade of silence. Their conversations culminated in Tears for Fears reforming for 2004’s Everybody Loves a Happy EndingEverybody Loves a Happy Ending
Everybody Loves a Happy Ending is the sixth studio album by the British pop rock/new wave band Tears for Fears, released on 14 September 2004 in the US, and 7 March 2005 in the UK and Europe...
which led to a worldwide tour, so it wasn’t until 2006 that Smith resumed work on Halfway, Pleased. The semi-autobiographical album explores Smith’s relationships with his children, parents and friends.
In April 2007, French record label XIII Bis Records released Halfway, Pleased in France. Its 14 tracks included the original version of "Who You Are" (which was recorded by Tears for Fears on Everybody Loves a Happy Ending); a live version of "Snow Hill" from the 2005 Tears for Fears UK tour; the single version of "Seven Of Sundays" (also recorded as a duet with French singer SO); and a cover of "On Ira Tous au Paradis" (also available on A Tribute to Polnareff). Two music videos were made for "Seven of Sundays" – one as a solo track, and one as the duet with SO.
All the songs except "Seven of Sundays" were co-written by Smith and Pettus. The solo version of "Seven of Sundays" was co-written by Pettus and Chesney Hawkes
Chesney Hawkes
Chesney Lee Hawkes , is an English pop singer, songwriter, and occasional actor. He is best known for his 1991 single "The One and Only", which topped the charts in the UK and reached the Top 10 in the U.S.-Life and career:...
; Smith and Sophie Saillet helped adapt the song for the duet version.
Smith finally released the album in the U.S. and the rest of the world in May 2008 via his own KOOK Media label. The KOOK release features a slightly different track listing, eliminating the Polnareff tribute and adding two new acoustic tracks (“Coming Out” and “Seven of Sundays”). It was released under a Creative Commons
Creative Commons
Creative Commons is a non-profit organization headquartered in Mountain View, California, United States devoted to expanding the range of creative works available for others to build upon legally and to share. The organization has released several copyright-licenses known as Creative Commons...
license which allows fans to distribute, perform and use the songs so long as the uses are non-commercial and attributed to Smith.
Smith has made limited live concert appearances in the Los Angeles area to support Halfway, pleased. In January 2009, he announced that he will perform a weekly residency at The Standard Hollywood in West Hollywood, CA during the month of February 2009. He announced in mid-February that The Standard had asked him to extend through March 2009 and he agreed. He played a similar residency there in October 2008.
"The Social Media Project"
In January 2010, Smith released the standalone single "All Is Love (featuring Zoë KeatingZoë Keating
Zoë Keating is a Canadian-born cellist and composer based in San Francisco, California.In her solo performances and recordings , she uses live electronic sampling and repetition in order to layer the sound of her cello, creating rhythmically dense musical structures...
)," the first track in what he says will be an album-length project of collaborations with artists he meets via social media. Smith met Keating, an avant-garde cellist, via Twitter. The second track in the series, "Perfectly...Still (featuring Universal Hall Pass
Universal Hall Pass
Universal Hall Pass is a one-person band based in Los Angeles, California which was first formed in 2001 by Melissa Kaplan, formerly of Splashdown.Universal Hall Pass' first full-length album, Mercury, was released in 2004, featuring eleven songs...
)" will be released in August 2010. A fan of Smith's suggested the collaboration via Twitter; Smith contacted UHP (aka Melissa R. Kaplan) via the MySpace service. As of August 2010, Smith has not yet announced his next collaboration.
Collaborations
Smith occasionally collaborates with other artists. He worked with the French singer So (Sophie Saillet) providing vocals on her track "Les Autres", and the pair worked together again on Smith's track "Seven of Sundays" (Saillet also appeared in both videos for the song). Smith is also featured on The Shadow BureauThe Shadow Bureau
The Shadow Bureau is a musical collaboration between Nitzer Ebb’s Bon Harris and Jeehun Hwang, an award-winning songwriter and video game, film, and TV composer. The duo is the main force behind the group with a rotating cast of guest collaborators to serve the project as needed by Harris and Hwang...
's 2011 track "Don't Give Yourself Away", inspired by the 2010 Australian film Griff the Invisible
Griff the Invisible
Griff the Invisible is an Australian romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Leon Ford.The story is about Griff a socially awkward office worker who spends his days being bullied by his workmates. At night he is Griff the Invisible, a superhero who roams the streets of his local...
. In May 2011, Smith tweeted
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
that he was working on a track with JunkieXL which has yet to be released.
Soundtracks
Smith and longtime collaborator Charlton Pettus composed and recorded the score for the 2011 film "Meth Head," starring Lukas HaasLukas Haas
Lukas Daniel Haas is an American actor, known for roles both as a child and as an adult. His career has spanned more than 25 years during which time he has appeared in more than 36 feature films, as well as a number of television shows and theater productions.-Early life and career:Haas was born...
.. Smith contributed an original song, "This Is Christmas," to an episode of the 5th season of the USA Network series Psych.
Stripped Down Live With Curt Smith
In August 2010, Smith debuted a live music web series, "Stripped Down Live With Curt Smith", which he produces along with his manager Arlene Wszalek and Streamin' Garage CEO Mike RotmanMichael Rotman
Michael "Mike" Rotman was born in Windsor, Connecticut. He is a writer, producer, and director for film, television, and web. He is an Emmy Award-nominated writer for his work on Politically Incorrect. He has produced hundreds of hours of television during his career including The Simple Life,...
. Each episode is devoted to a single featured artist. The band or musician plays acoustic versions of their songs (the show is streamed live via UStream); Smith interviews them between sets, as well as taking viewer questions via Skype and the show's chat room. Smith's guests have included Hypnogaja
Hypnogaja
Hypnogaja is an American rock band from Los Angeles, CA. The group is composed of vocalist Jason "ShyBoy" Arnold, keyboardist Mark Nubar Donikian, drummer Adrian Barnardo and guitarists Bryan Farrar and Abe Parker.-Formation:...
, Carina Round
Carina Round
Carina Round is a British singer/songwriter from Wolverhampton in the West Midlands of England.Comparisons are frequently drawn to PJ Harvey, though Round would contend that she is more directly influenced by Patti Smith.- Background :...
Chris Pierce
Chris Pierce
-Early life:Chris Pierce is a soul singer and songwriter born in California. As a boy, he pursued acting and singing in local theater presentations, and appearing on notable television shows....
, Peter Himmelman
Peter Himmelman
Peter Himmelman is a singer-songwriter from Minnesota, who formerly played in the band Sussman Lawrence.-Family life:He is Bob Dylan's son-in-law, being married to his daughter Maria Dylan...
, Common Rotation
Common Rotation
Common Rotation is an American indie rock band consisting of Eric Kufs, , Adam Busch , and Jordan Katz...
, Gary Jules
Gary Jules
Gary Jules is an American singer-songwriter, best known for his cover of Tears for Fears' third single "Mad World", which he recorded together with friend Michael Andrews for the film Donnie Darko. It became the UK Christmas Number One single of 2003...
, All Day Sucker, The Daylights
The Daylights
The Daylights is a pop rock band from Los Angeles, California that formed in 2004. The trio is fronted by brothers Ran Jackson and Ricky Jackson, with Svend Lerche on Drums....
, Matthew Sweet
Matthew Sweet
Sidney Matthew Sweet is an American alternative rock/power pop musician. He was part of the burgeoning Athens, Georgia music scene in the early and mid-1980s before gaining commercial success during the early 1990s...
, The Fallen Stars, Nightmare & The Cat, Whiskey Saints, Fitz & The Tantrums
Fitz & the Tantrums
Fitz and The Tantrums are an American soul/indie pop band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 2008. Their debut studio album, Pickin' Up the Pieces, released in August 2010, has received critical acclaim and reached #1 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart. They were heralded as a "band to watch"...
and Friendly Indians. As of January 2011, Smith has said that he won't do another season of the series.
Other Activities
Smith is an avid user and advocate of social media. Since 2008, he has been asked to speak at a variety of social media, technology and creative conferences, including 140TC, the Creative Commons Los Angeles Salon, the 2010 ITV Fest, TEDxHollywood, and TEDxSF. He has also guest-lectured at the USC Annenberg School's graduate Online Communities program.Smith has also tried his hand at acting. He had a minor role as a desk clerk in The Dead Connection (1994), had a more significant role as a professor in 2000's The Private Public. Smith made a surprise appearance to open Psych's 2010 Comic Con panel, where he sang onstage with Psych co-stars James Roday
James Roday
James Roday is an American actor and screenwriter. He currently stars on the USA Network series Psych as hyper-observant consultant detective and fake psychic Shawn Spencer.-Personal life:...
and Dule Hill
Dulé Hill
Karim Dulé Hill is an American actor and tap dancer. He is best known for his roles as personal presidential aide Charlie Young on the NBC drama television series The West Wing, and as pharmaceutical salesman-private detective Burton "Gus" Guster on the USA Network television comedy-drama Psych...
. He then appeared, as himself, in the "Psych" episode "Shawn 2.0". His single "This is Christmas" later appeared in the episode "The Polarizing Express".
In May 2009, Curt Smith performed at the Artist for the Arts Foundation benefit at Barnum Hall, Santa Monica High School, Santa Monica, CA. Performing live, along side Colin Hay, Fee Waybil & Venice (Crazy On You) and over 70 members of the Santa Monica High School (SaMoHi) Orchestra and Girls Choir ,the benefit helped to provide funds for the continuation of Music Education in public schools. The event was filmed and recorded by Harry Rabin of On the WAVE Productions and can be seen on the AFTA Foundation website.
Personal life
Smith grew up in Bath, England, and lived on the Snow Hill council estate (subject of the track “Snow Hill”). He attended the Beechen Cliff SchoolBeechen Cliff School
Beechen Cliff School is a boys' secondary school in Bath, Somerset, England. Founded in 1896, it has 1,145 students aged 11 to 18.There are around 830 boys in years 7 to 11 and a co-educational sixth form of over 200 students...
.
Smith has been married twice. His first wife was Linda Altman, whom he married in 1982. They divorced in 1988, and he then began a relationship with marketing executive Laura "Frances" Pennington. They married in 1996 and now reside in Los Angeles with their two daughters, Diva and Wilder, born in 1999 and 2004, respectively.
Smith became a naturalised U.S. citizen in 2007. He now lives in Los Angeles and is neighbours with actor Zac Efron
Zac Efron
Zachary David Alexander "Zac" Efron is an American actor. He began acting professionally in the early 2000s and became known with his lead roles in the Disney Channel Original Movie High School Musical, the WB series Summerland, and the 2007 film version of the Broadway musical Hairspray...
.
Smith is a longtime football fan and supports Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
He was guest commentator for the Champions Soccer Radio Network's UEFA Champions League 2008 Finals pre-game show.
See also
- Tears for FearsTears for FearsTears for Fears are an English new wave band formed in the early 1980s by Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith.Founded after the dissolution of their first band, the mod-influenced Graduate, they were initially associated with the New Wave synthesiser bands of the early 1980s but later branched out into...
- Roland OrzabalRoland OrzabalRoland Jaime Orzabal de la Quintana is an English musician, songwriter and record producer. He is known mainly as a co-founding member of Tears for Fears, of which he is the main songwriter and joint vocalist, but he has also achieved success as a producer of other artists.- Early career :Orzabal...
- Ian StanleyIan StanleyIan Stanley is an English musician, songwriter and record producer...
- Manny EliasManny EliasManny Elias is an English drummer, notable for being the original drummer with Tears for Fears during the 1980s.Originally a member of the rock band Interview from Bath, Somerset. Elias began working with Tears For Fears in 1982 and drummed on the albums The Hurting and Songs From The Big Chair,...
- Will GregoryWill GregoryWilliam Owen Gregory is best known as a songwriter, and the lead keyboards/synthesizer player & producer of the electronic music group Goldfrapp. Originally a classical music student at the University of York, Gregory is the son of an actress and an opera chorus-line singer...