Iain Campbell Smith

For other people named Fred Smith, see Fred Smith (disambiguation).
Iain Campbell Smith

Photograph of Iain Campbell Smith

Smith performing at a house concert
Born Canberra, ACT, Australia
Occupation Diplomat
Singer/songwriter
Years active 1997–present
Spouse(s) Maryanne Voyazis
Parent(s) Janet and Ric Smith
Website fredsmith.com.au

Musical career

Also known as Fred Smith
Genres Folk music
Instruments Guitar, Harmonica
Associated acts Liz Frencham

Iain Campbell Smith is an Australian diplomat, singer/songwriter and comedian. He performs under the stage name Fred Smith in Australia and his full name in the United States.

Early life

Smith was one of two sons to Janet and Ric Smith. His family moved to India when he was six weeks of age.[1] Before the age of 12, when he began boarding school in Canberra, Smith had also lived in Israel and the Philippines.[2]

Diplomatic career

Smith joined the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) in 1996 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 2001. He hosted a weekly program "Saredi Nait Pati" ("Saturday Night Party") on Radio Bougainville.

Smith speaks fluent Melanesian pidgin, and regularly conducts lectures on the Bougainville peace process.

In July 2009 he was the first DFAT civilian to be posted to Uruzgan as part of the second Mentoring and Reconstruction Task Force.[3] He served most of his 18-month tour of the province living and working on the Multinational Base in Tarin Kowt,[4] and at a Forward Operating Base in the Chora Valley.

Musical career

As a sideline, Smith began performing his own songs at pubs and clubs around Canberra under the stage name Fred Smith. His first show was at age 16, covering a selection of Simon and Garfunkel songs.[5] Smith 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 female vocalist. He began a search for the right woman, and began working with the singer and double bass player Liz Frencham, forming Frencham Smith.[6]

He moved to Washington, D.C. in 2006, touring the USA presenting his songs and guest lectures in peace studies. and returned to Australia in late 2007 with an album of songs from that time entitled "Texas".

While working in Uruzgan, he travelled with his guitar and entertained Afghanis as well as the Dutch and Australian troops stationed there.[7][3] On his return to Australia from Afghanistan he released Dust of Uruzgan, an album of songs responding to the war in Afghanistan.[8] Speaking about the album with Newcastle Live in January 2016, Smith said "we made a positive difference in Uruzgan province in the time we were there and I want the Australian public to know that."[9]

Albums

As Fred Smith

As Iain Campbell Smith

As Frencham Smith (with Liz Frencham)

With The Spooky Men's Chorale

Book release

In 2016, Allen & Unwin published Smith's book The Dust of Uruzgan. The book, which Smith wrote over an eight month period between 2015 and 2016, is a memoir of detailing his experiences as a diplomat in Uruzgan, Afghanistan.[10]

Personal life

Smith is married to Maryanne Voyazis and the couple live in O'Connor, Australian Capital Territory.[11][12] Together they have a daughter, who was born in January 2014.[13]

References

  1. ↑ McFadyen, Warwick (14 July 2002). "Home, with a swag of songs from a sea of troubles". The Age. Fairfax Media. Archived from the original on 9 May 2007.
  2. ↑ Fitzpatrick, Stephen (30 July 2011). "Fred Smith: songs of war from a unique perspective". The Australian. News Corp Australia.
  3. 1 2 Department of Defence (29 June 2010), Snowy & Smithy Tribute Raises Funds for Families of Fallen, Australian Government, archived from the original on 23 November 2010
  4. ↑ Department of Defence (18 February 2010), Australian Ambassador to Afghanistan Visits the Troops, Australian Government, archived from the original on 24 February 2010
  5. ↑ Huxley, John (28 July 2011). "Songs of laughter and experience among the Diggers". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Archived from the original on 20 February 2016.
  6. ↑ Frencham Smith, archived from the original on 21 March 2012
  7. ↑ Trail, Jim (2 September 2011). "Fred Smith - Dust of Uruzgan". 666 ABC Canberra. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 6 June 2013.
  8. ↑ Sanderson, Daniel (19 September 2014). "Fred Smith's Home heralds a return to Canberra". Archived from the original on 20 February 2016.
  9. ↑ "Dust of Uruzgan: Song, humour & commentary". Newcastle Live. 19 January 2016. Archived from the original on 29 April 2016.
  10. ↑ Pryor, Sally (12 August 2016). "Canberra musician Fred Smith has turned his experience as a diplomat in Afghanistan into a book". The Canberra Times. Fairfax Media. Archived from the original on 16 August 2016.
  11. ↑ "A Sapper's Lullaby - Transcript". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 7 October 2013. Archived from the original on 16 August 2016.
  12. ↑ Musa, Helen (17 September 2014). "Arts / Fred writes from the home front". CityNews.com.au. Archived from the original on 3 July 2015.
  13. ↑ Smith, Fred (18 January 2014), "Interesting development: Maryanne gave birth to a little baby just after dawn on Thursday morning...", Facebook

External links

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