Dan Smith My arts Hero Louise Wainwright

Daniel Campbell Smith Daniel Campbell Smith was born 14 th July 1986 is a English lead singer, songwriter and producer in a band named Bastille. At the age of 15 Dan started writing songs in his room. He didn’t intend to be a professional musician and just did it for fun while keeping it secrete from family and friends. This was until a friend of Dan’s found out and entered him into a local singing contest. Dan taught himself how to play piano and keyboard and some basic producing stuff.

BΔSTILLE After writing a few songs and putting them onto YouTube but never became successful. One day a flyer for drumming lessons came through Dan’s mum’s door from a man named Chris ‘Woody’ Wood. Dan went to find a student to make a band with but in the end Woody joined himself. They then realized that they needed a bassist and keyboard player. William Farquarson really wanted to be in the band so he auditioned. He was asked if he also knew how to sing and play the keyboard, which he didn't, but he said yes so he could join the band and be the bassist. Kyle Simmons met Smith at a party and when Dan found out he could play the keyboard he constantly asked Simmons if he would join the band. After multiple attempts, Simmons agreed and is now enjoying being the keyboard player in Bastille. The band was named Bastille because Dan Smith’s birthday is on Bastille Day.

Influences Smith grew up listening to his sister's Lauryn Hill and Jurassic 5 albums, and his South African parents' collection of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and Simon & Garfunkel which inspired his first attempts at writing songs. Smith is a massive fan of the television TV series Twin Peaks and one of its creator David Lynch. The show inspired one of his first recorded songs Laura Palmer and Bastille's first Virgin Records single Overjoyed. Dan has said that his earlier songs was heavily influenced by artists such as Regina Spektor.

Music Bastille has released one debut album called ‘ Bad Blood’ and an extended version called ‘ All This Bad Blood’. They have released 11 singles- Overjoyed,Bad Blood,Flaws,Pompeii,Laura Palmer,Things We Lost in the Fire,Of the Night, Oblivion, Torn Apart, Weapon, Bad_news. Bastille have also released 2 mixtapes named ‘ Other Peoples Heartache part 1&2’ and another mixtape called ‘vs’ is being released 8 th December They also won a brit award for ‘ British break through act’ 2014.

Dan inspires me because he taught himself how to play keyboard and made a career in music from scratch. Also he was very shy and not confident but still managed to become successful.