Mandy Smith

For the New Zealand field hockey player, see Mandy Smith (field hockey).
Mandy Smith
Birth name Amanda Louise Smith
Also known as Mandy
Born July 17, 1970 (1970-07-17) (age 41)
Genres Pop
Years active 1986-present
Labels PWL
Website kisspr.net/mandy.html

Mandy Smith (born Amanda Louise Smith, 17 July 1970) is an English dance-pop singer, former model and aspiring counsellor.

Contents

Early life

In 1983, at age 13 she started dating 47-year-old The Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman, with the consent of her mother.[1][2] In a 2010 interview with the Daily Mail Smith admitted to starting a sexual relationship with Wyman at just 14.[3]

Smith married Wyman in 1989; they divorced in 1991.[4] Her wedding dress and those of her bridesmaids and pageboy was designed by Louise Hamlin-Wright.[5][6]

Music career

The press coverage that surrounded Smith's personal life largely contributed to her career as a singer. In 1986, Smith was to be interviewed on TV's Saturday Live until RTÉ decided she should be downgraded to being a mere member of the audience. She was axed entirely when her manager disagreed, with RTÉ saying she was "not important enough" and that she might "give a bad example to young teenage girls". The story appeared in the international media.[7]

In 1986, at 16, Smith was signed to PWL by Stock Aitken Waterman. The SAW team wrote and produced her first two singles - "I Just Can't Wait" and "Positive Reaction". Collaboration with Daize Washbourne produced further singles, "Boys and Girls" (which reached No. 8 in South Africa) and "Victim of Pleasure". Despite the lack of British chart success with these singles, an album, Mandy, was released in 1988. Smith was successful in Scandinavia, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Hungary, Turkey, South Africa and Japan, where she entered the Top 10 music chart. She was about to launch her career in the United States in 1989 with her single "Victim of Pleasure" released under Atlantic Records but due to health problems, she had to cancel the promotion. The same happened with her fifth European single, a cover of The Human League hit single "Don't You Want Me Baby." These events and a difficult recovery marked the end of her short musical career though several remixes of "I Just Can't Wait" appeared in the early 1990s; her album was also re-released in Japan in 1993 and a special edition was released with bonus tracks in 2009. She also recorded the original version of "Got to Be Certain," which would later be the second international single release for fellow PWL act, Kylie Minogue. Smith's version remained unreleased until 2005 when it was premiered on PWL Radio and included on the 2005 release Stock Aitken Waterman Gold as a bonus track.

Modelling

During the 1980s and 1990s, Smith appeared in TV series and shows in the UK, all over Europe, and parts of Asia/Australia. She appeared in magazines as a model. In 1988 she was voted second most attractive female singer by the readers of German youth magazine "Popcorn". Smith was named "Rear of the Year" in Britain in 1994, award for her posterior. In 1995, she was 72nd in FHM's list of "100 Sexiest Women in the World".

Personal life

On 19 June 1993 she married footballer Pat Van Den Hauwe, but this only lasted two years.[8] She published her biography It's All Over Now in 1993.[6] In 2001, she was briefly engaged to Vanity Fair fashion model Ian Mosby with whom she had a son, Max Harrison Mosby. Smith is now resident in Manchester. Smith is now teetotal and vegan.[9]

Other interests

Having tried a career as a make-up artist, Smith is presently training to be a counsellor.[8] Smith has also set up her own business together with her sister Nicola, a Marketing company named Kiss PR.[10]

Discography

Albums

Singles/EP's

"-" denotes releases that did not chart in that country.

Year Single Peak chart positions Album Notes
UK ITA DEU CHE[11] JPN NOR SWE S AFR
1987 "I Just Can't Wait" 91 9 14 16 1 9 Mandy New Zealand #37
"Positive Reaction" - 9 39 11 - UK Indie Chart - Number 48[12]
1988 "Boys and Girls" - 12 23 4 - 8
"Victim of Pleasure" 93 11 49 28 - US Dance Chart - Number 22
"The Mandy EP" - - - - - Non-album release Released in Hong Kong only
1989 "Don't You Want Me Baby" 59 11 - - - 16
1992 "I Just Can't Wait ('92 Remixes)" - - - - - - - - Promo 12" only
1995 "I Just Can't Wait ('95 Remixes)" - - - - - - - - Promo 12" only

References

  1. ^ The curse of Hello! The Independent, 9 May 2008
  2. ^ Wyman, Bill; Ray Coleman (1990). Stone Alone. London: Viking. pp. 26. ISBN 670-828947. 
  3. ^ Mandy Smith: I DID sleep with Bill Wyman when I was 14... but now the only man in my life is God Mail Online, 17 April 2010
  4. ^ Nashawaty, Chris. "A Teen Bride for a Stone". Entertainment Weekly. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,302463,00.html. 
  5. ^ Wyman, Bill; Ray Coleman (1990). Stone Alone. London: Viking. pp. 31. ISBN 670-828947. 
  6. ^ a b Smith, Mandy (1993). My Life with Bill Wyman, It's all over now. London: Blake Publishing Ltd.. pp. 214. ISBN 1-85782-0444. 
  7. ^ "The Sex Factor". Irish Independent. 7 October 2008. http://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/relationships/the-sex-factor-1491630.html. Retrieved 16 November 2008. 
  8. ^ a b Cable, Simon (11 May 2009). "Mandy Smith, from rock chick to mother hen, 20 years after her marriage to Bill Wyman". London: Daily Mail. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1180255/Mandy-Smith-rock-chick-mother-hen-20-years-marriage-Bill-Wyman.html. Retrieved 11 May 2009. 
  9. ^ Hoyle, Antonia (3 June 2009). "'If it happened now, Bill would go to jail.' Mandy Smith on the Rolling Stone who seduced her at the age of 13". Daily Mail (London). http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1189753/If-happened-Bill-jail-Mandy-Smith-Rolling-Stone-seduced-her.html. 
  10. ^ Mandy Smith Kiss PR
  11. ^ Swiss Charts. Discography Mandy.
  12. ^ Lazell, Barry (1997). Indie Hits 1980-1999. Cherry Red Books. ISBN 0-9517206-9-4. 

External links