It was during his time at Liverpool John Moores University when Aidan scraped enough cash together to obtain a four-track recorder and proceeded to get as many ideas down on tape as possible. Fast forward a couple of years, (sorry!) and it was time for the rest of the world to hear his unique, homegrown brand of music - sending out a mixture of poems, stories & songs here there and everywhere. The best of these recordings were eventually released on two 7 track mini-albums, 'At Home With Aidan Smith ' and its follow up 'At Home With Aidan Smith 2 ' which were received with great critical acclaim from the press. A number of gigs followed, the first of which was supporting Badly Drawn Boy at the Comedy Store, Manchester; a standing ovation ensued.

There followed a live TV appearance on Made in the Northwest in March 2003, (hosted by Mike "Squeaky" McClean) and a tour with King Creosote and the Hokum Clones.

The rest of 2003 became very busy with live appearances at various venues around Manchester - the Urbis Centre, Manchester Academy and an open air gig at the Europa Festival in Exchange Square. He also performed as part of the Eden Sessions (held at the Eden Project in Cornwall) and the Bridgewater Hall, alongside Badly Drawn Boy.

Jetting out to the US, Aidan played his debut American dates in New York as part of Transatlantic Express and CMJ Music Festival. During December, Aidan topped BBC Manchester's best newcomer poll with over 60% of the vote, marking a perfect end to a very eventful year.

Sadly, not rumored to be a backup stage double.

Throughout most of 2004 Aidan toured the UK, which included a support slot with Turin Brakes, Joy Zipper and I Am Kloot before another Bridgewater Hall appearance in support of Arizona’s finest export — Calexico. He also made appearances at some of Manchester's finest music festivals, most notably D-Percussion and Blowout.

Late 2004 and early 2005 were a little quieter gig-wise, which allowed for another session of home recording. It was during this time that the move to a new record label took place, his home now being the venerable Analogue Catalogue. A handful of gigs ensued over the sweaty summer months, including a fine performance at D-Percussion '05 with full band in tow. With the recording side also back on track, the release of his third mini album in August Early As The Trees proved to be the perfect 7-track taster for Aidan's excellent debut Fancy Barrel. With rave reviews of Fancy Barrel popping up all over the place, and a host of gigs around the UK, Aidan's future is looking very bright indeed.

You can keep up to date with Mr Smith's antics by signing up to the mailing list, or eavesdrop on some album tracks living on our very own Myspace page.