Brix Smith

American singer and guitarist (born 1962)

Brix Smith (born Laura Elisse Salenger; November 12, 1962) is an American singer and guitarist, best known as the lead guitarist and a major songwriter for the English post punk 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 (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, along with brothers 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 in May 2016, noting that "writing the book freed my creativity to play again." Mother and daughter moved to Chicago in 1972, when Salenger married political economist Marvin Zonis and became a powerful regional figure in the film business as head of the Illinois Film Office. Studying theatre and literature at Bennington College in Vermont, Smith formed a group, Banda Dratsing, in which she performed as bassist/vocalist; she adopted the name "Brix" after the Clash's 1979 song "The Guns of Brixton".

Smith met Mark E. Smith, vocalist of the Fall, at a gig at Metro in Chicago on 23 April 1983; she moved to his native United Kingdom, where they settled in Prestwich, Bury, England, and married on 19 July of that year. She initially played with the group on two songs for the album Perverted by Language. 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 (1996).

In 1985, Smith launched side project the Adult Net They played the Rebellion Festival 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, 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, came out on the same label.

After leaving the Fall and disbanding The Adult Net, Smith went on to tour with the Bangles. She became romantically involved with violinist Nigel Kennedy,

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. In recent years Smith has appeared as a fashion expert on British television shows, including Channel 4's Gok's Fashion Fix. She also appeared on Animal Planet UK's Top Dog, The Culture Show on BBC Two, John Peel's Record Box, LK Todays 'What's Hot and What's Not' segment and Sky 1's Angela and Friends. She appeared as a fashion expert on Sky television's coverage of the 2011 Academy Awards in February 2011, and she took part in the fashion commentary in Channel 4's coverage of Royal Ascot in June 2013. That summer she presented the first series of Ultimate Shopper, broadcast in the UK by digital channel TLC.