Margot Smith

Margot Smith
Birth nameMargot Josephine Smith
Born(1966-09-19)19 September 1966
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Died17 April 2011(2011-04-17) (aged 44)
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
GenresRock
OccupationSinger-songwriter
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • keyboards
Years active1985–2011
Labels
  • EMI
  • Immersion/Phantom
  • Independent

Margot Josephine Smith (19 September 1966 – 17 April 2011) was an Australian singer-songwriter and keyboardist. Her debut album, Sleeping with the Lion, was produced by Eddie Rayner and Steve Kilbey and was released in October 1993. That album was nominated for the 1994 ARIA Award for Best New Talent. She issued her second album, Taste, in February 1998. After Smith died Kilbey, and fellow members of his band the Church, organised a tribute concert in her honour in September 2011. A posthumous album, Inhumaninane, appeared in the following year.

Biography

Margot Josephine Smith was born on 19 September 1966.[1] She began her music career in Brisbane, where she performed in clubs as the lead singer of the Willie May Trio.[2] By the early 1990s she had relocated to Melbourne where she recorded demos and was consequently signed to EMI Music Australia.[2]

Her debut album, Sleeping with the Lion, appeared in October 1993.[3] Smith provided lead vocals and keyboards, it was co-produced by Steve Kilbey of the Church and Eddie Rayner (ex-Split Enz): both also performed on the album.[4] Nicole Leedham of The Canberra Times saw her performance in October 1993 and observed, "about 70 people listened enthralled to the half-hour of Margot's 'showcase'. Expect more from this lady."[3] At the ARIA Music Awards of 1994 Smith was nominated for Best New Talent for Sleeping with the Lion.[5]

After residing in the United States Smith relocated to Sydney where Kilbey and fellow members of the Church worked on her second album, Taste (February 1998), via Immersion Music/Phantom Records.[2][6] In mid-1999 she toured with her backing band, Lodestar, comprising Mark Tobin on guitar, Wayne Tritton on rhythm guitar, Simon Wale on drums and Steve Waters on bass guitar and backing vocals.[2] Smith provided guest vocals on the Church's Peter Koppes' fifth solo album, Simple Intent, in August 2002 via Immersion Music.[7]

Smith died on 17 April 2011 in Bondi, aged 44.[1] A tribute concert organised by Kilbey, Koppes and Tim Powles (all from the Church), was held in her honour in September 2011.[8][9] According to Kilbey, "one of the most brilliant singer/songwriters I have ever heard... She had a gift for composing on the spot."[8] The concert included material from her two albums as well as previously unreleased works.[9] Her third album, Inhumaninane, appeared posthumously in 2012.

Discography

Albums

Title Details
Sleeping with the Lion
  • Released: October 1993
  • Label: EMI (8270062)
  • Format: CD
Taste
  • Released: 1998[10]
  • Label: Immersion Music/Phantom Records (IMM002CD)
  • Format: CD
Inhumaninane (with The 9 Lonely Spirits)
  • Released: 2012
  • Label: Margot Smith
  • Format: CD

Singles

Year Title Album
1993 "Fall Down" Sleeping with the Lion
"Adored"
1998 "Bleedmore" Taste

Awards

ARIA Music Awards

The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music. Margot Smith was nominated for one awards.[11]

Year Nominee / work Award Result
1994 Sleeping with the Lion Best New Talent Nominated

References

  1. ^ a b "Funeral service details of Margot Josephine Smith (1966 – 2011) by Eastern Suburbs Memorial Park – Matraville". HeavenAddress. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d "Margot Smith". The Gypsy Bar. June 1999. Archived from the original on 24 October 2000. Retrieved 2 February 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. ^ a b Leedham, Nicole (21 October 1993). "Curtain Calls: EMI's 'next Big Thing' launched". The Canberra Times. Good Times. Vol. 68, no. 21, 373. p. 8. Retrieved 26 September 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. ^ McFarlane, Ian (1999). "Encyclopedia entry for 'Steve Kilbey'". Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop. St Leonards, NSW: Allen & Unwin. p. 346. ISBN 1-86508-072-1. Archived from the original on 30 September 2004.
  5. ^ "Winners by Year 1994". Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Archived from the original on 9 January 2012.
  6. ^ Scatena, Dino (13 August 1998), "Personal Taste", Daily Telegraph
  7. ^ Eliezer, Christie (20 August 2002). "Kopping It". Music & Media Business News. Archived from the original on 16 September 2004. Retrieved 5 February 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. ^ a b Whyte, Sarah (11 September 2011). "Band's tribute to a songbird". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  9. ^ a b "Tribute to Margot Smith | Event | AVHub". Australian Guitar. 16 September 2011. Archived from the original on 23 February 2017. Retrieved 5 February 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  10. ^ Crawford, Michael (13 August 1998), "Spins from the soundtrack", Daily Telegraph
  11. ^ "ARIA Awards Search Results - Margot Smith". ARIA Awards. ARIA Awards. Retrieved 1 August 2020.