Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Martin Smith (26 June 1957 - 5 November 1994, Scotland, UK) was a British actor, singer, and composer who starred in many shows in London's West End. He died from complications of AIDS at the age of 37, leaving a legacy of recorded music.
He made various appearances on television and in the film Yanks (1979), but Martin Smith was best known as Micky Doyle (1985–1986) in the long-running British soap Crossroads. His early appearances in the West End in musical theatre included Che in Evita. He also appeared in a production of William Finn's March of the Falsettos at the Library Theatre in Manchester in 1987. In 1988 he starred in a new London production of Noel Coward's operetta Bitter Sweet. He played Marius and later Jean Valjean in Les Misérables, the Phantom in Phantom of the Opera and Stine in City of Angels in London, as well as creating original roles such as 'Adam' in Children of Eden.
He recorded several concerts with the BBC Concert and Radio Orchestras, and was a regular vocalist on the BBC Radio 2 shows Songs From the Shows and Friday Night is Music Night in the 1980s. He was featured in the Cole Porter revue A Swell Party - A Celebration of Cole Porter (1992) at London's Vaudeville Theatre, singing "Love For Sale" as it was originally intended to be sung - by a man.
In the 1980s Smith became a member of The Salvation Army at Regent Hall Corps in Oxford Street, London. He played several concerts for the organisation and recorded the song "I'll Make My Promises" for the soundtrack album for the Gowans/Larsson musical "The Blood of the Lamb" (released by SP&S in 1981).
As a composer Smith wrote scores for several musicals, including King and La Tosca. He recorded several songs from those shows on a solo album a year before his death.
A year after his passing, a gala tribute concert was held in his honour at the Prince Edward Theatre. The concert featured Michael Ball, Dora Bryan, Lily Savage, John Barrowman, Sally Ann Howes, Ruthie Henshall, and many other stars.
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