A.S.A.P. – Silver And Gold (1989)

Hard Rock, Melodic Rock | AOR Leave a comment

FrontASAP was a progressive melodic rock band created by guitarist and vocalist Adrian Smith of Iron Maiden fame. ASAP released an album in 1989 titled Silver and Gold. A.S.A.P. stands for “Adrian Smith and Project.”

Adrian Smith formed the band shortly in 1989 when Iron Maiden was taking a year break after spending almost a year on the road for the Seventh Son of a Seventh Son album tour in 1988. The band had its origin in Urchin, a band Smith fronted in the 1970s. Andy Barnett, Dave Colwell and Richard Young played with Smith in various incarnations of Urchin, which was disbanded in 1981 when Smith joined Iron Maiden. Further foundations for the band were laid out in late 1985 when Iron Maiden were taking a break after their massive world tour in support of their album Powerslave. Bored with the lull in band’s activity as they prepared to record a new album, Adrian Smith invited his friends Colwell and Barnett, as well as other musicians they knew to play a one-off gig at London’s Marquee Club under the name of “The Entire Population of Hackney”.

[spoiler]The band performed what would later be the title track from Silver and Gold, as well as 3 of the 4 B-sides to its singles at the show. Adrian Smith left Iron Maiden in 1990 during the writing of their album No Prayer for the Dying, due largely to creative differences.When he formed A.S.A.P. in 1989, he invited his friends and former bandmates, as well as Zak Starkey, son of legendary drummer Ringo Starr. Originally, Smith wanted Nicko McBrain to join in on drums but McBrain was getting married at the time. Their first and only album was a significant departure from the sound he helped create with Iron Maiden. It was heavy on synths and keyboards, treading closer to Pop and AC than epic Heavy Metal. It also featured Smith in the role of lead singer, something most Iron Maiden fans were not accustomed to. His voice has a somewhat husky, working class feel to it, reminiscent of Bryan Adams or even Bruce Springsteen. The album was a commercial failure and the band soon evolved into another outfit called The Untouchables, which never released any records, though they did tour.[/spoiler]By 1994, they were again evolved and Smith later formed Psycho Motel which recorded two studio albums, State of Mind (1996) and Welcome to the World (1997) and toured, before rejoining Dickinson in 1997 and eventually Iron Maiden in 1999.

1 The Lion
2 Silver and Gold
3 Down the Wire
4 You Could Be a King
5 After the Storm
6 Misunderstood
7 Kid Gone Astray
8 Fallen Heroes
9 Wishing Your Life Away
10 Blood on the Ocean

Adrian Smith – Vocals, Guitars
Andy Barnetti – Guitars
Dave Colwell – Guitars
Robin Clayton – Bass
Richard Young – Keyboards
Zak Starkey – Drums

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