Iain Campbell Smith
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| Iain Campbell Smith | |
|---|---|
 Iain performing at a house concert
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| Background information | |
| Also known as | Fred Smith/ Frencham Smith |
| Origin | Canberra, ACT, Australia |
| Genre(s) | Folk music |
| Instrument(s) | Guitar, Harmonica |
| Years active | 1997 - present |
| Website | http://www.iaincampbellsmith.com |
Iain Campbell Smith is a former Australian diplomat, singer/songwriter and comedian. He performs under the stage name Fred Smith in Australia and his full name in the United States.
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[edit] Diplomatic career
Smith joined the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in 1997 and worked in the Indonesia, South Asia, and Human Rights sections. Postings included the Australian High Commission in Port Moresby and international peace monitoring missions in Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. He served as a civilian peace monitor in Bougainville Province between 1999 and 2003. He hosted a weekly program "Saredi Nait Pati" ("Saturday Night Party") on Radio Bougainville.
Smith speaks fluent Melanesian pidgin.
Smith regularly conducts lectures on the Bougainville peace process.
[edit] Musical career
As a sideline, Smith began performing his own songs at pubs and clubs around Canberra under the stage name Fred Smith. He released his first album Soapbox in 1997. He has appeared at numerous Australian and international folk festivals.
While in Bougainville Province, Smith talked extensively in pidgin with the locals about the peace process and set some of their ideas to music. The songs, performed by Smith with local musicians, were compiled on a cassette titled Songs of Peace and 20,000 copies were distributed around the province. The albums Bagarap Empires and Independence Park, and the documentary film Bougainville Sky are responses to his work with the peace monitoring mission.
Around 2002 Smith wrote a number of songs for a woman's voice. He began a search for the right woman, and began working with the singer and double bass player Liz Frencham, forming Frencham Smith.
He moved to Washington, D.C. in 2006. He moved back to Australia in late 2007. He now resides in Canberra, working part time for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
He toured Australia as part of Frencham Smith in April-May 2007 on a string of dates including the National to launch the Love Thongs album. In mid-2008 he will tour Texas throughout Australia.
[edit] Albums
As Fred Smith
- Soapbox (1997)
- Songs of Peace (1999)
- Bagarap Empires (2001)
- Party Pieces (2002)
- Independence Park (2005)
- Texas (2007)
As Iain Campbell Smith
- Ballads and Barsongs (2006)
- Bagarap Empires (2005 reissue to coincide with the release of Bougainville Sky)
As Frencham Smith (with Liz Frencham)
- Into My Room (2003)
- lovethongs (2007)
[edit] External links
- Fred Smith Refugee Voices: Building Bridges, ABC Radio National, November 27, 2001
- Interview on Stateline Canberra, April 8, 2005
- Australian Official Site
- US Official Site
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