About Us

NEW DEMO EP AVAILABLE NOW

The Smile started to take shape in 2005, when Gary French (drums) and Dave Barrett (guitar) agreed that music was never better than in the 60s and 70s, and also that 60s and 70s music is never more exciting than when pumped out live.

Being too young (really!) to have seen bands like the Small Faces, The Who and The Kinks perform in their 60s heyday, Gary and Dave decided to take matters into their own hands, and set about finding like-minded and talented individuals to come together to recreate the energy and fun of their favourite music. Trevor (The Mighty) Quinn and Chrissie Barrett came in on vocals, followed by Neil Valentine on lead guitar, and more recently Martin Bennett completed the six-piece on bass.

Over time, The Smile have spent a lot of time in Dave's professional-grade studio constructing an exciting repertoire of classic songs, centred around the great British mod and rock bands of the 60s. It doesn't stop there though, as we briefly tip our hats back to the 50s for some rock 'n' roll, sideways to Motown, and forward through the following decades, right up to the present day. We give appreciative nods to bands like The Jam, The Buzzcocks and The Zutons, who all kept true to the inspirational spirit of live music as the decades rolled on. The Smile pay tribute to their favourite music and bands over the years, but we are definitely not a costume-wearing tribute band. We prefer to bring this classic music to you with our own individual style firmly stamped on it, and invite you to join in the passion of the music and enjoy it as much as we do.

Rockin' in Heaven - we fondly remember our first and much loved bass player, Larry Townsend, a seasoned rock'n'roller. Sadly Larry passed away on the 6th October 2007 shortly after crashing his Harley Davidson. We know he's listening to us up there; rock on, dude!!

Read on through our site for more information on the band, download our sample tracks (recorded AS LIVE), and please get in touch for details of gigs and bookings for a great night of LIVE music!

Alternatively, you can download our tracks from our Myspace page: Click here