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Martin Smith (drummer)’s biography, net worth, fact, career, awards and life story

Author

Emily Baldwin

Published Jan 06, 2026

IntroMusician
WasMusician 
FromUnited Kingdom 
TypeMusic 
Gendermale
Birth17 December 1946, Southampton
Death2 March 1997
(aged 50 years)

Martin Smith (born 17 December 1946 – 2 March 1997), was a drummer for Gentle Giant and Simon Dupree and the Big Sound. He played on the first two Gentle Giant albums, Gentle Giant and Acquiring the Taste, before being replaced by Malcolm Mortimore. Smith was a versatile drummer who specialised in playing jazz and blues styles.
Smith died on 2 March 1997, at the age of 50, of internal haemorrhaging; apparently he had been very ill with a blood disorder for five years. He continued to drum until two months before his death. 150 people went to his funeral, including many fellow musicians, and Gordon Haskell (of early King Crimson fame) wrote the eulogy.