Brix Smith

Brix Smith is an American musician and author who first gained recognition as the lead guitarist and a major songwriter for the English post-punk band the Fall. She played with the band during two separate stints, from 1983 to 1989 and again from 1994 to 1996. During that time she was married to the Fall's turbulent leader, Mark E. Smith. Some critics have even divided the band's career into the pre-Brix years, the Brix years, and the post-Brix years, acknowledging her importance and her co-writing on the widely acclaimed album This Nation's Saving Grace (1985).

Beyond the Fall, Brix led the band Adult Net, which fell in the crack between C86 and Britpop. She is currently the lead vocalist and guitarist with Brix & the Extricated, a group that includes brothers Steve and Paul Hanley, both of whom were longtime musicians in the Fall. In May 2016, her memoir The Rise, the Fall, and the Rise was published by Faber & Faber. She has said that writing the book freed her creativity to play again. This combination of roles makes her a business woman as well, though her musical and literary work remain central to her career.