Debbie Smith (musician)
Encyclopedia
Debbie Smith is a British
guitar
and bass
player who has been in several bands from the 1990s to the present, including Curve
, Echobelly
, Nightnurse
, Snowpony
, Bows
, The Nuns (an all women cover band
of The Monks
which also includes two members of Mambo Taxi
), and SPC ECO
(with Dean Garcia of Curve).
Smith was interviewed for the book Never Mind the Bollocks: Women Rewrite Rock by Amy Raphael (published in the U.S. as Grrrls: Viva Rock Divas).
She was also interviewed and quoted for the book Frock Rock: Women Performing Popular Music, a sociological study of women musicians in British popular music; at the time of the interview, she was in Echobelly, and the book notes that Skin and Yolande Charles both said that Smith was the only current black British female guitarist either one of them could think of.
Frock Rock says that "women like Skin, Natacha Atlas
, Yolande Charles, [reggae bassist] Mary Genis, and Debbie Smith are now acting as crucial role models for future generations of black women."
In 1997, Debbie Smith was the subject of the third episode of a TV series with the blanket title "A Woman Called Smith" (first broadcast on BBC2, 9 April 1997).
Smith is a black lesbian
. As of 2008, she is a DJ and working in London music shop Intoxica! Records.
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
and bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
player who has been in several bands from the 1990s to the present, including Curve
Curve (band)
Curve was an English music group formed in 1990 chiefly around the collaboration of singer/songwriter Toni Halliday and bassist/guitarist/programmer Dean Garcia.-History:...
, Echobelly
Echobelly
Echobelly were a Britpop band, debuting in 1994 with their album Everyone's Got One. They were often compared to Blondie and were influenced by Morrissey, who himself was a fan of the group....
, Nightnurse
Nightnurse
Nightnurse was an indie rock band from London, UK, who had some success in the late 1990s. They released three singles, with their second "Skirt" reaching no. 11 in the UK independent singles chart in February 1998...
, Snowpony
Snowpony
Snowpony are a British indie rock supergroup initially formed in 1996 by Katharine Gifford and Debbie Googe.-History:Gifford, who at the time was in Moonshake, gave Googe a tape of songs she had been working on before Moonshake went on a US tour. Googe, who then had recently left My Bloody...
, Bows
Bows (band)
Bows are a British-based band, who have released three albums on the Too Pure label.-History:Following the dissolution of his former band Long Fin Killie, multi-instrumentalist Luke Sutherland formed Bows with the Danish singer, Signe Høirup Wille-Jørgensen...
, The Nuns (an all women cover band
Cover band
A cover band , is a band that plays mostly or exclusively cover songs. New or unknown bands often find the cover band format marketable for smaller gigs, and these bands may be known as a wedding band, party band and function band. A band whose covers consist mainly of songs that were chart hits is...
of The Monks
The Monks
Monks are a garage rock band, formed by American GIs who were based in Germany in the mid to late 1960s. They reunited in 1999 and have continued to play concerts, although no new studio recordings have been made...
which also includes two members of Mambo Taxi
Mambo Taxi
Mambo Taxi were a London based British band that were linked with Riot Grrrl, who formed in 1991 and split up in 1995.-History:Mambo Taxi were inspired by the UK garage rock scene and US punk. Their sound was a mixture of garage, punk, and pop and they also had links to British riot grrrl bands...
), and SPC ECO
SPC ECO
SPC ECO are a British-American shoegazing band, formed in 2007. The band consists of former Curve member Dean Garcia , Rose Berlin and Joey Levenson . When performing live, the band consists of Garcia on bass, Berlin on vocals, HKG on guitar, Debbie Smith on guitar and Monti on drums...
(with Dean Garcia of Curve).
Smith was interviewed for the book Never Mind the Bollocks: Women Rewrite Rock by Amy Raphael (published in the U.S. as Grrrls: Viva Rock Divas).
She was also interviewed and quoted for the book Frock Rock: Women Performing Popular Music, a sociological study of women musicians in British popular music; at the time of the interview, she was in Echobelly, and the book notes that Skin and Yolande Charles both said that Smith was the only current black British female guitarist either one of them could think of.
Frock Rock says that "women like Skin, Natacha Atlas
Natacha Atlas
Natacha Atlas is a Belgian singer known for her fusion of Arabic and Western electronic music, particularly hip-hop. She once termed her music "cha'abi moderne" . Her music has been influenced by many styles including Arabic, hip hop, drum 'n' bass and reggae.Atlas began her career as part of...
, Yolande Charles, [reggae bassist] Mary Genis, and Debbie Smith are now acting as crucial role models for future generations of black women."
In 1997, Debbie Smith was the subject of the third episode of a TV series with the blanket title "A Woman Called Smith" (first broadcast on BBC2, 9 April 1997).
Smith is a black lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
. As of 2008, she is a DJ and working in London music shop Intoxica! Records.