The Smiths
Encyclopedia
The Smiths were an English alternative rock
band, formed in Manchester
in 1982. Based on the song writing partnership of Morrissey
(vocals) and Johnny Marr
(guitar), the band also included Andy Rourke
(bass) and Mike Joyce (drums). Critics have called them the most important alternative rock
band to emerge from the British independent music scene of the 1980s.
The group was signed to the independent record label Rough Trade Records
, for whom they released four studio albums and several compilations, as well as numerous non-LP singles. Although they had limited commercial success outside the UK while they were still together, and never released a single that charted higher than number 10 in their home country during their existence, The Smiths won a growing following, and remain cult and commercial favourites. The band broke up in 1987 and have turned down several offers to reunite since then.
, a writer who was a big fan of the New York Dolls
and briefly fronted punk rock
band The Nosebleeds
; and John Maher, a guitarist and songwriter. Maher changed his name to Johnny Marr to avoid confusion with Buzzcocks
drummer John Maher, and Morrissey performed solely under his surname. After recording several demo tapes with Simon Wolstencroft (later of The Fall) on drums, Morrissey and Marr recruited drummer Mike Joyce in the autumn of 1982. Joyce had formerly been a member of punk bands The Hoax and Victim. As well, they added bass player Dale Hibbert, who also provided the group with demo recording facilities at the studio where he worked as a recording engineer. However, after one gig, Marr's friend Andy Rourke replaced Hibbert on bass, because Marr felt that neither Hibbert's bass playing nor his personality fit in with the group.
The band picked their name in part as a reaction against names used by popular synthpop
bands of the early 1980s, such as Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
and Spandau Ballet
, because they considered these names fancy and pompous. In a 1984 interview Morrissey stated that he chose the name The Smiths "... because it was the most ordinary name" and because he thought that it was "... time that the ordinary folk of the world showed their faces." Signing to indie label Rough Trade Records
, they released their first single, "Hand in Glove
", in May 1983. The record was championed by DJ John Peel
, as were all of their later singles, but failed to chart. The follow-up singles "This Charming Man
" and "What Difference Does It Make?
" fared better when they reached numbers 25 and 12 respectively on the UK Singles Chart
.
, which reached number two on the UK Albums Chart
. Both "Reel Around the Fountain" and "The Hand That Rocks the Cradle" met with controversy, with some tabloid newspapers alleging the songs were suggestive of paedophilia
, a claim strongly denied by the group.
The album was followed the same year by the non-album singles "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now
" and "William, It Was Really Nothing
", which featured "How Soon Is Now?
" on its B-side. Securing the band's first top ten placing, "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now
" was also significant for marking the beginning of engineer and producer Stephen Street
's long-term working relationship with the band.
More controversy followed when "Suffer Little Children
", the B-side to "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now
", touched on the theme of the Moors murders
. This caused an uproar after the grandfather of one of the murdered children heard the song on a pub
jukebox
and felt the band was trying to commercialise the murders. After meeting with Morrissey, he accepted that the song was a sincere exploration of the impact of the murders. Morrissey subsequently established a friendship with Ann West, the mother of victim Lesley Ann Downey, who is mentioned by name in the song.
The year ended with the compilation album Hatful of Hollow
. This collected singles, B-sides and the versions of songs that had been recorded throughout the previous year for the Peel and Jensen shows.
. This album was more strident and political than its predecessor, including the pro-vegetarian title track (Morrissey forbade the rest of the group from being photographed eating meat), the light-hearted republicanism of "Nowhere Fast", and the anti-corporal punishment
"The Headmaster Ritual" and "Barbarism Begins at Home". The band had also grown more adventurous musically, with Marr adding rockabilly riffs to "Rusholme
Ruffians" and Rourke playing a funk bass solo on "Barbarism Begins at Home". The album was preceded by the re-release of the B-side "How Soon is Now?" as a single, and although that song was not on the original LP
, it has been added to subsequent releases. Meat Is Murder was the band's only album (barring compilations) to reach number one in the UK charts.
Morrissey brought a political stance to many of his interviews, courting further controversy. Among his targets were the Thatcher government
, the monarchy, and the famine relief project Band Aid
. Morrissey famously quipped of the last, "One can have great concern for the people of Ethiopia
, but it's another thing to inflict daily torture on the people of England" (the "torture" referring to the poor quality music that resulted from the project). The subsequent single-only release "Shakespeare's Sister" reached number 26 on the UK Singles Chart, although the only single taken from the album, "That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore
", was less successful, barely making the top 50.
. The album was released in June 1986, shortly after the single "Bigmouth Strikes Again
". The single again featured Marr's strident acoustic guitar rhythms and lead melody guitar lines with wide leaps. The Queen Is Dead reached number two in the UK charts, and consisted of a mixture of mordant bleakness (e.g. "Never Had No One Ever", which seemed to play up to stereotypes of the band), dry humour (e.g. "Frankly, Mr. Shankly", allegedly a message to Rough Trade boss Geoff Travis
disguised as a letter of resignation from a worker to his superior), and synthesis of both, such as in "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out
" and "Cemetry Gates".
However, all was not well within the group. A legal dispute with Rough Trade had delayed the album by almost seven months (it had been completed in November 1985), and Marr was beginning to feel the stress of the band's exhausting touring and recording schedule. He later told NME, "'Worse for wear' wasn't the half of it: I was extremely ill. By the time the tour actually finished it was all getting a little bit... dangerous. I was just drinking more than I could handle." Meanwhile, Rourke was fired from the band in early 1986 due to his use of heroin. He allegedly received notice of his dismissal via a Post-it note
stuck to the windshield of his car. It read, "Andy – you have left The Smiths. Goodbye and good luck, Morrissey." Morrissey himself, however, denies this. Rourke was replaced on bass by Craig Gannon
(formerly a member of Scottish New Wave
band Aztec Camera
), but was reinstated after only a fortnight. Gannon stayed in the band, switching to rhythm guitar. This five-piece recorded the singles "Panic" and "Ask
" (the latter with Kirsty MacColl
on backing vocals) which reached numbers 11 and 14 respectively on the UK Singles Chart, and toured the UK. After the tour ended in October 1986, Gannon left the band.
The group had become frustrated with Rough Trade and sought a record deal with a major label. Marr told NME in early 1987, "Every single label came to see us. It was small-talk, bribes, the whole number. I really enjoyed it." The band ultimately signed with EMI
, which drew criticism from their fanbase and from elements of the music press.
" was released and reached number 12 on the UK Singles Chart. It was followed by a second compilation, The World Won't Listen
– the title was Morrissey's comment on his frustration with the band's lack of mainstream recognition, although the album reached number two in the charts – and the single "Sheila Take a Bow
", the band's second (and last during the band's lifetime) UK top-10 hit. Another compilation, Louder Than Bombs
, was intended for the overseas market and covered much the same material as The World Won't Listen, with the addition of "Sheila Take a Bow" and material from Hatful of Hollow, as that compilation was yet to be released in the U.S.
Despite their continued success, a variety of tensions emerged within the band to threaten their split. Johnny Marr was exhausted and on the verge of alcoholism, and took a break from the band in June 1987, which he felt was negatively perceived by the other Smiths. In July 1987, Marr left the group permanently because he thought an NME article entitled "Smiths to Split" was planted by Morrissey, when in fact it was not. That article, written by Danny Kelly
, was chiefly based on rumours around some very real and some unfounded tensions between Morrissey and Johnny Marr. Specifically, it was alleged that Morrissey disliked Marr working with other musicians, and that Marr and Morrissey's personal relationship had reached breaking point. Marr then contacted the NME to clarify that his leaving the band was not due to personal tensions as much as desiring a wider musical scope in his own career. Post-Smiths interviews by both Morrissey and Marr would cite the lack of a manager and the accompanying pressure on them personally as the major cause of stress that effectively ended the band.
Former Easterhouse
guitarist Ivor Perry was brought in to replace Marr, and the band recorded some new material with him which was never completed, including an early version of "Bengali in Platforms
" that was originally intended as the B-side of "Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before
". Perry was uncomfortable with the situation, stating "it was like they wanted another Johnny Marr", and the sessions ended with (according to Perry) "Morrissey running out of the studio". By the time the group's fourth album Strangeways, Here We Come
was released in September, the band had split up. The breakdown in the relationship has been primarily attributed to Morrissey becoming annoyed by Marr's work with other artists and Marr growing frustrated by Morrissey's musical inflexibility. Marr particularly hated Morrissey's obsession with covering 1960s pop artists such as Twinkle
and Cilla Black
. Marr recalled in 1992, "That was the last straw, really. I didn't form a group to perform Cilla Black songs." In a 1989 interview, Morrissey cited the lack of a managerial figure and business problems as reasons for the band's eventual split.
Strangeways, Here We Come peaked at number two in the UK and was their most successful album in the US, reaching No.55 on the Billboard 200
. It received a lukewarm reception from critics, but both Morrissey and Marr name it as their favourite Smiths album. A couple of further singles from Strangeways were released with earlier live, session and demo tracks as B-sides, and the following year the live recording Rank
(recorded in 1986 while Gannon was in the band) repeated the UK chart success of previous albums.
's arts strand The South Bank Show
, broadcast on ITV
on 18 October 1987.
Following the group's demise, Morrissey began work on a solo recording, collaborating with Strangeways producer Stephen Street
and fellow Mancunian Vini Reilly
, guitarist for The Durutti Column
. The resulting album, Viva Hate
(a reference to the end of the Smiths), was released six months later, reaching number one in the UK charts. Morrissey continues to perform and record as a solo artist.
Johnny Marr returned to the music scene in 1989 with New Order
's Bernard Sumner
and Pet Shop Boy
Neil Tennant
in the supergroup Electronic
. Electronic released three albums over the next decade. Marr was also a member of The The
, recording two albums with the group between 1989 and 1993. He has also worked as a session musician and writing collaborator for artists including The Pretenders
, Bryan Ferry
, Pet Shop Boys, Billy Bragg
, Black Grape
, Talking Heads
, Crowded House
and Beck
. In 2000 he started another band, Johnny Marr and the Healers, with a moderate degree of success, and later worked as a guest musician on the Oasis
album Heathen Chemistry
.
In addition to his work as a recording artist, Marr has worked as a record producer on Haven's debut album Between the Senses. In 2006 he began work with Modest Mouse
's Isaac Brock
on songs that eventually featured on the band's 2007 release, We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank
. The band subsequently announced that Marr was a fully fledged member, and the reformed line-up toured extensively throughout 2006–07. Marr also recorded with Liam Gallagher
of Oasis. In January 2008, it was reported that Marr had been adding his skill and experience to a secret songwriting session with Wakefield indie group The Cribs
. Sources revealed that they worked together for a week at Moolah Rouge recording studio in Stockport, and had penned a number of new songs. Marr left The Cribs officially in April 2011. He is now working on solo material.
Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce have continued working together, including doing session work for Morrissey (1988–89) and Sinéad O'Connor
, as well as working separately. Joyce has worked with former Sex Pistols
singer John Lydon
in PiL and Rourke has recorded and toured with Proud Mary and also formed the short-lived group called Freebass
with fellow bassists Peter Hook
(of New Order
and Joy Division
) and Mani
(of The Stone Roses
and Primal Scream
). They released one album and have since disbanded. Rourke started a radio career, hosting a show on Saturday evenings on XFM
Manchester. He now lives in Brooklyn, New York, and has a weekly radio show on the New York-based eastvillageradio.com.
The US television series Charmed
shares the theme song "How Soon Is Now?" with the 1996 Columbia Pictures feature film, The Craft
, appearing under the opening credits in a cover by Psychedelic Furs front man Richard Butler
's hiatus band, Love Spit Love
.
The song appeared on the soundtrack album TV Themes: Popular Favorites, as well as its follow-up TV Themes: Sex and the City and Other Favorites. It also appeared on Your Favorite Television Themes, released by Artemis Strategic. The song always appeared on the compilations in its full-length version of 4 minutes and 20 seconds.
In 1996, Joyce took Morrissey and Marr to court, claiming that he had never agreed to the ten percent deal and was seeking his fair share of recording and performance royalties. Composition royalties were not an issue, as Rourke and Joyce had never been credited as composers for the band. Morrissey and Marr claimed that the other two members of the band had always agreed to that split of the royalties.
Judge Weeks preferred the evidence of Joyce and Rourke that they were never told they would receive only one-tenth of the group's earnings. He described them as "straightforward and honest, unintellectual and certainly not financially sophisticated". Weeks described Morrissey as being more complicated and "didn't find giving evidence easy or a happy experience. He was devious, truculent and unreliable when his own interests were at stake". The judge said Marr was more engaging, reasonable and intelligent but became less credible as he embroidered his evidence.
After a seven-day hearing the court found in favour of Joyce and ordered that he be paid over £1 million in back pay and receive twenty-five percent henceforth. In order to pay his debts in 1989 Rourke had previously settled for a lump sum of £83,000 and ten percent of royalties giving up all further claims.
Morrissey claimed that he was "... under the scorching spotlight in the dock, being drilled ..." with questions such as " 'How dare you be successful?' 'How dare you move on?'". He stated that "The Smiths were a beautiful thing and Johnny [Marr] left it, and Mike [Joyce] has destroyed it." Morrissey described Rourke and Joyce as being lucky. "If they'd had another singer they'd never have got further than Salford shopping centre." Morrissey's own counsel, Ian Mill, admitted that his client's attitude had on occasion "betrayed a degree of arrogance." Morrissey appealed against the verdict, but was not successful.
In late November 2005, while appearing on radio station BBC 6 Music, Mike Joyce claimed to be having financial problems and said that he had resorted to selling rare band recordings on eBay. As a teaser, a few minutes of an unfinished instrumental track known as "The Click Track" was premiered on the show. Morrissey hit back at Joyce with a public statement shortly after, on the website true-to-you.net. Morrissey claimed that Joyce had not declared that Rourke was entitled to some of the assets seized by Joyce's lawyers from Morrissey.
attempted to get the band back together for a reunion on its Bands Reunited
show. The programme abandoned its attempt after host Aamer Haleem
was unsuccessful in his attempt to corner Morrissey before a show. In December 2005 it was announced that Johnny Marr and The Healers would play at Manchester v Cancer
, a benefit show for cancer research being organised by Andy Rourke and his production company, Great Northern Productions. Rumours suggested that a Smiths reunion would occur at this concert but were dispelled by Johnny Marr on his website. However, Rourke did join Marr on-stage for the first time since The Smiths broke up, performing "How Soon Is Now?".
To this day Morrissey refuses to reunite his old band, going as far as to say that he would "rather eat [his] own testicles than re-form The Smiths, and that's saying something for a vegetarian."
In March 2006, Morrissey revealed that The Smiths had been offered $5 million to reunite for a performance at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival
, which he turned down, saying, "No, because money doesn't come into it." He further explained, "It was a fantastic journey. And then it ended. I didn't feel we should have ended. I wanted to continue. [Marr] wanted to end it. And that was that."
When asked why he would not reform with The Smiths, Morrissey responded "I feel as if I've worked very hard since the demise of The Smiths and the others haven't, so why hand them attention that they haven't earned? We are not friends, we don't see each other. Why on earth would we be on a stage together?"
In August 2007, the NME reported that Morrissey had turned down a near £40 million offer to reunite with Marr for a 50-date world tour in 2008 and 2009. The condition would only be that Morrissey would have to play the dates with Marr, meaning the deal could have gone ahead without Mike Joyce and Andy Rourke. According to an anonymous press release on true-to-you.net, an unofficial fan site tacitly supported by Morrissey, Morrissey was approached in summer 2007 by a "consortium of promoters" with a $75 million offer to tour during the next two years. The offer required Morrissey to make a minimum of fifty worldwide performances with Johnny Marr, under the Smiths' name. true-to-you.net reported that the offer had been refused. Other reports say that the whole $75 million tour was a hoax.
In an October 2007 interview on BBC Radio 5 Live
, Johnny Marr hinted at a potential reformation in the future, saying that "stranger things have happened so, you know, who knows?" Marr went on to say that "It's no biggy. Maybe we will in 10 or 15 years' time when we all need to for whatever reasons, but right now Morrissey is doing his thing and I'm doing mine, so that's the answer really." This is the first potential indication of a Smiths reunion from Marr, who previously has stated that reforming the band would be a bad idea.
In October and December 2008, The Sun
reported that the Smiths would be reforming to play at the Coachella Festival
in 2009. However, Johnny Marr later stated through his management that the rumours were "rubbish".
A Smiths compilation called The Sound of The Smiths
was released on 10 November 2008. Johnny Marr supervised the remastering of all the tracks and Morrissey named the record. The album is available as either a one-disc or two-disc version.
In February 2009, following further suggestions of an imminent reunion, Morrissey once again denied the rumours. In an interview with BBC Radio 2
, he stated that "People always ask me about reunions and I can't imagine why ... the past seems like a distant place, and I'm pleased with that." In the same year, Marr mentioned that "we were offered 50 million dollars for three... possibly five shows", but said that the chances of a reunion were "nothing to do with money", and that the reasons were "really abstract".
was a repudiation of contemporary dance pop" which was popular in the early 1980s. The band's music purposefully rejected synthesisers and dance music
.
Marr's jangly Rickenbacker
guitar-playing was influenced by Roger McGuinn
of The Byrds
, Neil Young
's work with Crazy Horse
, George Harrison
and James Honeyman-Scott
of The Pretenders
. Marr often tuned his guitar up a full step to F# to accommodate Morrissey's vocal range, and also utilised open tunings. The guitarist devoted his focus to the production of the group's music. Citing producer Phil Spector
as an influence, Marr said, "I like the idea of records, even those with plenty of space, that sound 'symphonic'. I like the idea of all the players merging into one atmosphere". Marr's other favourite guitarists are James Williamson
of The Stooges
, Pete Townshend
of The Who
, Jimi Hendrix
, Marc Bolan
, Keith Richards
and John McGeoch
of Magazine
and Siouxsie and the Banshees.
Musically, Morrissey's role in the band was to create vocal melodies and lyrics. Morrissey's songwriting would be influenced by punk rock and post-punk bands such as the New York Dolls
, The Cramps
and The Cult
, along with 1960s girl group
s, and singers such as Dusty Springfield
, Sandie Shaw
, Marianne Faithfull
and Timi Yuro
. Morrissey's lyrics, while superficially depressing, were often full of mordant humour; John Peel remarked that The Smiths were one of the few bands capable of making him laugh out loud. Influenced by his childhood interest in the working-class social realism
of 1960s "kitchen sink"
television plays, Morrissey wrote about ordinary people and their experiences with despair, rejection and death. While gloomy "...songs such as 'Still Ill' sealed his role as spokesman for disaffected youth", Morrissey's "manic-depressive rants" and his "'woe-is-me' posture inspired some hostile critics to dismiss the Smiths as 'miserabilists.'"
, designed by Morrissey and Rough Trade art coordinator Jo Slee. Single covers rarely featured any text other than the band name, and the band themselves did not appear on the outer cover of their UK releases. (Morrissey did, however, appear on an alternative cover for "What Difference Does It Make?", mimicking the pose of the original subject, UK film actor Terence Stamp
, after the latter objected to his image being used.) The "cover stars" were an indication of Morrissey's personal interests in obscure or cult film stars, featuring Stamp, Alain Delon
, Jean Marais
, Warhol
protégé Joe Dallesandro
, James Dean
, figures from 1960s British culture (Viv Nicholson
, Pat Phoenix
, Yootha Joyce
, Shelagh Delaney
), or images of unknown models taken from old films or magazines.
The Smiths dressed mainly in ordinary clothes – jeans and plain shirts – which reflected the "back to basics" guitar-and-drums style of the music. This contrasted with the exotic high-fashion image cultivated by New Romantic
pop groups such as Spandau Ballet
and Duran Duran
and highlighted in magazines such as The Face
and i-D
. In 1986, when The Smiths performed on the British music program The Old Grey Whistle Test, Morrissey wore a fake hearing aid to support a hearing-impaired fan who was ashamed of using one, and also frequently wore thick-rimmed National Health Service
-style glasses. They were also known to go onstage to "Montagues and Capulets".
, who opened for the group on their spring 1985 tour".
Marr's guitar playing "was a huge building block for more Manchester legends that followed The Smiths – The Stone Roses
"; their guitarist John Squire
has stated that Marr was a major influence. Oasis
guitarist Noel Gallagher
has called The Smiths an influence, especially Marr; Gallagher stated that "when The Jam
split, The Smiths started, and I totally went for them."
Writing in Q
in 2007, Simon Goddard claimed: "... the one truly vital voice of the '80s, The Smiths were the most influential British guitar group of the decade. As the first indie outsiders to achieve mainstream success on their own terms (their second album proper, 1985's Meat Is Murder, made Number 1 in the UK), they elevated rock's standard four-piece formula to new heights of magic and poetry. Their legacy can be traced down through The Stone Roses
, Oasis
and The Libertines
to today's crop of artful young guitar bands."
Uncut
magazine's Simon Reynolds wrote of the band: "Once upon a time, a band from the North came with a sound so fresh and vigorous it took the nation by storm. The sound was rock, but crucially it was pop, too: concise, punchy, melodic, shiny without being "plastic". The singer was a true original, delivering a blend of sensitivity and strength, defiance and tenderness, via a regionally inflected voice. The young man's lips spilled forth words that were realistic without being dour, full of sly humour and beautifully observed detail. Most recognised their debut album as a landmark, an instant classic."
The "Britpop movement pre-empted by The Stone Roses and spearheaded by groups like Oasis, Suede
and Blur, drew heavily from Morrissey's portrayal of and nostalgia for a bleak urban England of the past." Britpop band Blur
formed as a result of seeing The Smiths on The South Bank Show in 1987. However, even though leading bands from the Britpop movement claimed to be influenced by The Smiths, the Britpop bands were at odds with the "basic anti-establishment philosophies of Morrissey and The Smiths", since Britpop "was an entirely commercial construct." In the book Saint Morrissey, the author claims that Britpop "airbrush[ed] Morrissey out of the picture ... so that the Nineties and its centrally-planned and coordinated pop economy could happen."
Playwright Shaun Duggan
's stage drama William, Alex Broun
's hit one-man show Half a Person – My life as told by The Smith, Douglas Coupland
's 1998 novel Girlfriend in a Coma, Andrew Collins
' autobiography Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now, Marc Spitz
's novel How Soon is Never?, the pop band Shakespears Sister
, the defunct art-punk group Pretty Girls Make Graves
and the Polish filmmaker Przemyslaw Wojcieszek's short fictional film about two Polish fans of The Smiths, Louder Than Bombs, are all inspired by or named after songs or albums by The Smiths. The Smiths' album, The Queen Is Dead is referenced in the Sleeper song, "Dress Like Your Mother".
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band, formed in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
in 1982. Based on the song writing partnership of Morrissey
Morrissey
Steven Patrick Morrissey , known as Morrissey, is an English singer and lyricist. He rose to prominence in the 1980s as the lyricist and vocalist of the alternative rock band The Smiths. The band was highly successful in the United Kingdom but broke up in 1987, and Morrissey began a solo career,...
(vocals) and Johnny Marr
Johnny Marr
Johnny Marr is an English musician and songwriter. Marr rose to fame in the 1980s as the guitarist in The Smiths, with whom he formed a prolific songwriting partnership with Morrissey. Marr has been a member of Electronic, The The, and Modest Mouse...
(guitar), the band also included Andy Rourke
Andy Rourke
Andy Rourke is a bass guitarist best known for being a former member of The Smiths.-Career:...
(bass) and Mike Joyce (drums). Critics have called them the most important alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band to emerge from the British independent music scene of the 1980s.
The group was signed to the independent record label Rough Trade Records
Rough Trade Records
Rough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London. It was formed in 1978 by Geoff Travis who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove...
, for whom they released four studio albums and several compilations, as well as numerous non-LP singles. Although they had limited commercial success outside the UK while they were still together, and never released a single that charted higher than number 10 in their home country during their existence, The Smiths won a growing following, and remain cult and commercial favourites. The band broke up in 1987 and have turned down several offers to reunite since then.
Formation and early singles
The Smiths were formed in early 1982 by Steven Patrick MorrisseyMorrissey
Steven Patrick Morrissey , known as Morrissey, is an English singer and lyricist. He rose to prominence in the 1980s as the lyricist and vocalist of the alternative rock band The Smiths. The band was highly successful in the United Kingdom but broke up in 1987, and Morrissey began a solo career,...
, a writer who was a big fan of the New York Dolls
New York Dolls
The New York Dolls is an American rock band, formed in New York in 1971. The band's protopunk sound prefigured much of what was to come in the punk rock era; their visual style influenced the look of many new wave and 1980s-era glam metal groups, and they began the local New York scene that later...
and briefly fronted punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band The Nosebleeds
The Nosebleeds
The Nosebleeds was a short-lived punk band formed in Wythenshawe, Manchester, England in 1976. Though the band never recorded an album and released just one single, it is well known in modern rock history for the later successes of its individual members...
; and John Maher, a guitarist and songwriter. Maher changed his name to Johnny Marr to avoid confusion with Buzzcocks
Buzzcocks
Buzzcocks are an English punk rock band formed in Bolton in 1976, led by singer–songwriter–guitarist Pete Shelley.They are regarded as an important influence on the Manchester music scene, the independent record label movement, punk rock, power pop, pop punk and indie rock. They achieved commercial...
drummer John Maher, and Morrissey performed solely under his surname. After recording several demo tapes with Simon Wolstencroft (later of The Fall) on drums, Morrissey and Marr recruited drummer Mike Joyce in the autumn of 1982. Joyce had formerly been a member of punk bands The Hoax and Victim. As well, they added bass player Dale Hibbert, who also provided the group with demo recording facilities at the studio where he worked as a recording engineer. However, after one gig, Marr's friend Andy Rourke replaced Hibbert on bass, because Marr felt that neither Hibbert's bass playing nor his personality fit in with the group.
The band picked their name in part as a reaction against names used by popular synthpop
Synthpop
Synthpop is a genre of popular music that first became prominent in the 1980s, in which the synthesizer is the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s by the use of synthesizers in progressive rock, electronic art rock, disco and particularly the "Kraut rock" of...
bands of the early 1980s, such as Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark are a synthpop group whose founding members are originally from the Wirral Peninsula, England...
and Spandau Ballet
Spandau Ballet
Spandau Ballet are a British band formed in London in the late 1970s. Initially inspired by, and an integral part of, the New Romantic fashion, their music has featured a mixture of funk, jazz, soul and synthpop. They were one of the most successful bands of the 1980s, achieving ten Top Ten singles...
, because they considered these names fancy and pompous. In a 1984 interview Morrissey stated that he chose the name The Smiths "... because it was the most ordinary name" and because he thought that it was "... time that the ordinary folk of the world showed their faces." Signing to indie label Rough Trade Records
Rough Trade Records
Rough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London. It was formed in 1978 by Geoff Travis who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove...
, they released their first single, "Hand in Glove
Hand in Glove
"Hand in Glove" is a song by the British alternative rock band The Smiths, written by singer Morrissey and guitarist Johnny Marr. It was released as the band's first single in May 1983 on independent record label Rough Trade Records. "Hand in Glove" peaked at number three on the UK Indie Chart,...
", in May 1983. The record was championed by DJ John Peel
John Peel
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...
, as were all of their later singles, but failed to chart. The follow-up singles "This Charming Man
This Charming Man
"This Charming Man" is a song by the English band The Smiths, written by guitarist Johnny Marr and singer/lyricist Morrissey. It was released as the group's second single in October 1983 on the independent record label Rough Trade...
" and "What Difference Does It Make?
What Difference Does It Make?
"What Difference Does It Make?" is a 1984 single by British band The Smiths. The single version can be found on the band's self-titled debut album The Smiths...
" fared better when they reached numbers 25 and 12 respectively on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
.
The Smiths
In February 1984, the group released their debut album The SmithsThe Smiths (album)
Before their debut album, single "What Difference Does It Make?" was released in January 1984. The track peaked at number 12 on the UK Singles Chart. Released in February 1984, The Smiths debuted at number two on the UK Albums Chart....
, which reached number two on the UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
. Both "Reel Around the Fountain" and "The Hand That Rocks the Cradle" met with controversy, with some tabloid newspapers alleging the songs were suggestive of paedophilia
Pedophilia
As a medical diagnosis, pedophilia is defined as a psychiatric disorder in adults or late adolescents typically characterized by a primary or exclusive sexual interest in prepubescent children...
, a claim strongly denied by the group.
The album was followed the same year by the non-album singles "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now
Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now
"Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now" is a single by The Smiths that reached #10 on the UK Singles Chart in June 1984 before its inclusion on the compilation album, Hatful of Hollow...
" and "William, It Was Really Nothing
William, It Was Really Nothing
"William, It Was Really Nothing" is a song by British band The Smiths. It was released as a single on 24 August 1984, featuring the B-sides "Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want" and "How Soon Is Now?", and reached number 17 in the UK Singles Chart...
", which featured "How Soon Is Now?
How Soon Is Now?
"How Soon Is Now?" is a song by the British alternative rock band The Smiths. Written by Smiths singer Morrissey and guitarist Johnny Marr, it was originally a B-side of the 1984 single "William, It Was Really Nothing"...
" on its B-side. Securing the band's first top ten placing, "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now
Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now
"Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now" is a single by The Smiths that reached #10 on the UK Singles Chart in June 1984 before its inclusion on the compilation album, Hatful of Hollow...
" was also significant for marking the beginning of engineer and producer Stephen Street
Stephen Street
Stephen Street is an English music producer best known for his work with The Smiths in the 1980s, as well as Blur and The Cranberries in the 1990s. Street also collaborated with Morrissey on some of his most popular work after The Smiths broke up, playing instruments and co-writing songs...
's long-term working relationship with the band.
More controversy followed when "Suffer Little Children
Suffer Little Children
"Suffer Little Children" is a song by the Manchester band, The Smiths, that was included on their eponymous debut album in 1984. The song is about the Moors murders that took place on Saddleworth Moor in the West Riding of Yorkshire between 1963 and 1965...
", the B-side to "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now
Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now
"Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now" is a single by The Smiths that reached #10 on the UK Singles Chart in June 1984 before its inclusion on the compilation album, Hatful of Hollow...
", touched on the theme of the Moors murders
Moors murders
The Moors murders were carried out by Ian Brady and Myra Hindley between July 1963 and October 1965, in and around what is now Greater Manchester, England. The victims were five children aged between 10 and 17—Pauline Reade, John Kilbride, Keith Bennett, Lesley Ann Downey and Edward Evans—at least...
. This caused an uproar after the grandfather of one of the murdered children heard the song on a pub
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
jukebox
Jukebox
A jukebox is a partially automated music-playing device, usually a coin-operated machine, that will play a patron's selection from self-contained media...
and felt the band was trying to commercialise the murders. After meeting with Morrissey, he accepted that the song was a sincere exploration of the impact of the murders. Morrissey subsequently established a friendship with Ann West, the mother of victim Lesley Ann Downey, who is mentioned by name in the song.
The year ended with the compilation album Hatful of Hollow
Hatful of Hollow
-The Smiths:* Morrissey – vocals* Johnny Marr – guitars, harmonica, mandolin* Andy Rourke – bass guitar* Mike Joyce – drums-Technical staff:* John Porter – producer* The Smiths – producers* Roger Pusey – producer* Dale "Buffin" Griffin – producer...
. This collected singles, B-sides and the versions of songs that had been recorded throughout the previous year for the Peel and Jensen shows.
Meat Is Murder
Early in 1985 the band released their second album, Meat Is MurderMeat Is Murder
Meat Is Murder is the second studio album by the English alternative rock band The Smiths. It was released in February 1985 and became the band's sole number one album in the UK charts during the band's lifetime, staying on the chart for 13 weeks. It reached number 110 in the US...
. This album was more strident and political than its predecessor, including the pro-vegetarian title track (Morrissey forbade the rest of the group from being photographed eating meat), the light-hearted republicanism of "Nowhere Fast", and the anti-corporal punishment
Corporal punishment
Corporal punishment is a form of physical punishment that involves the deliberate infliction of pain as retribution for an offence, or for the purpose of disciplining or reforming a wrongdoer, or to deter attitudes or behaviour deemed unacceptable...
"The Headmaster Ritual" and "Barbarism Begins at Home". The band had also grown more adventurous musically, with Marr adding rockabilly riffs to "Rusholme
Rusholme
-Etymology:Rusholme, unlike other areas of Manchester which have '-holme' in the place name is not a true '-holme'. Its name came from ryscum, which is the dative plural of Old English rysc "rush": "[at the] rushes"...
Ruffians" and Rourke playing a funk bass solo on "Barbarism Begins at Home". The album was preceded by the re-release of the B-side "How Soon is Now?" as a single, and although that song was not on the original LP
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
, it has been added to subsequent releases. Meat Is Murder was the band's only album (barring compilations) to reach number one in the UK charts.
Morrissey brought a political stance to many of his interviews, courting further controversy. Among his targets were the Thatcher government
Thatcher ministry
Margaret Thatcher was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom between 4 May 1979 and 28 November 1990, during which time she led a Conservative government. She was the first woman to hold that office...
, the monarchy, and the famine relief project Band Aid
Band Aid (band)
Band Aid was a charity supergroup featuring British and Irish musicians and recording artists. It was founded in 1984 by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise money for famine relief in Ethiopia by releasing the song "Do They Know It's Christmas?" for the Christmas market that year. The single...
. Morrissey famously quipped of the last, "One can have great concern for the people of Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
, but it's another thing to inflict daily torture on the people of England" (the "torture" referring to the poor quality music that resulted from the project). The subsequent single-only release "Shakespeare's Sister" reached number 26 on the UK Singles Chart, although the only single taken from the album, "That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore
That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore
-Etchings on vinyl:UK 7":OUR SOULS, OUR SOULS, OUR SOULS / OUR SOULS, OUR SOULS, OUR SOULSUK 12":OUR SOULS, OUR SOULS, OUR SOULS / noneCanada 12": HELEN WHEELS / none...
", was less successful, barely making the top 50.
The Queen Is Dead
During 1985 the band completed lengthy tours of the UK and the US while recording their next studio record, The Queen Is DeadThe Queen Is Dead
The Queen Is Dead is the third studio album by the English alternative rock band The Smiths. It was released on 16 June 1986 in the United Kingdom by Rough Trade Records and released in the United States on 23 June 1986 through Sire Records. The album reached #2 on the UK Albums Chart, maintaining...
. The album was released in June 1986, shortly after the single "Bigmouth Strikes Again
Bigmouth Strikes Again
"Bigmouth Strikes Again" is a song by The Smiths. It appears on their third album The Queen Is Dead and was the lead single from the album, reaching #26 in the UK Singles Chart in 1986...
". The single again featured Marr's strident acoustic guitar rhythms and lead melody guitar lines with wide leaps. The Queen Is Dead reached number two in the UK charts, and consisted of a mixture of mordant bleakness (e.g. "Never Had No One Ever", which seemed to play up to stereotypes of the band), dry humour (e.g. "Frankly, Mr. Shankly", allegedly a message to Rough Trade boss Geoff Travis
Geoff Travis
Geoff Travis is the founder of both Rough Trade Records and the Rough Trade chain of record shops. A former drama teacher and owner of a punk record shop, Travis founded the Rough Trade label in 1978.-Biography:...
disguised as a letter of resignation from a worker to his superior), and synthesis of both, such as in "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out
There Is a Light That Never Goes Out
"There Is a Light That Never Goes Out" is a song by the British alternative rock group The Smiths, written by singer Morrissey and guitarist Johnny Marr. It was originally featured on their third album The Queen Is Dead , and was released as a single in 1992, five years after The Smiths split up...
" and "Cemetry Gates".
However, all was not well within the group. A legal dispute with Rough Trade had delayed the album by almost seven months (it had been completed in November 1985), and Marr was beginning to feel the stress of the band's exhausting touring and recording schedule. He later told NME, "'Worse for wear' wasn't the half of it: I was extremely ill. By the time the tour actually finished it was all getting a little bit... dangerous. I was just drinking more than I could handle." Meanwhile, Rourke was fired from the band in early 1986 due to his use of heroin. He allegedly received notice of his dismissal via a Post-it note
Post-it note
A Post-it note is a piece of stationery with a re-adherable strip of adhesive on the back, designed for temporarily attaching notes to documents and other surfaces. Although now available in a wide range of colours, shapes, and sizes, Post-it notes are most commonly a square, canary yellow in colour...
stuck to the windshield of his car. It read, "Andy – you have left The Smiths. Goodbye and good luck, Morrissey." Morrissey himself, however, denies this. Rourke was replaced on bass by Craig Gannon
Craig Gannon
Craig Gannon , is an English guitar player. Previously best known for being the second guitarist in The Smiths, he is now a composer for film and television.-Career:...
(formerly a member of Scottish New Wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
band Aztec Camera
Aztec Camera
Aztec Camera were a Scottish New Wave band from the Glasgow suburb of East Kilbride, formed in 1980 and centered around teenage singer-songwriter, Roddy Frame. Their album Love was among the nominations for Best British Album at the 1989 BRIT Awards....
), but was reinstated after only a fortnight. Gannon stayed in the band, switching to rhythm guitar. This five-piece recorded the singles "Panic" and "Ask
Ask (song)
Later re-releases of the "Ask" single would include the album version, which runs for 3:15, instead of the single version included on the original pressings.-Etchings on vinyl:UK 7" and 12":ARE YOU LOATHESOME TONIGHT? / TOMB IT MAY CONCERNGerman 12":...
" (the latter with Kirsty MacColl
Kirsty MacColl
Kirsty Anna MacColl was an English singer-songwriter.MacColl scored several pop hits from the early 1980s to the early 1990s...
on backing vocals) which reached numbers 11 and 14 respectively on the UK Singles Chart, and toured the UK. After the tour ended in October 1986, Gannon left the band.
The group had become frustrated with Rough Trade and sought a record deal with a major label. Marr told NME in early 1987, "Every single label came to see us. It was small-talk, bribes, the whole number. I really enjoyed it." The band ultimately signed with EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
, which drew criticism from their fanbase and from elements of the music press.
Strangeways, Here We Come and break-up
In early 1987 the single "Shoplifters of the World UniteShoplifters of the World Unite
"Shoplifters of the World Unite" is a song by The Smiths. It was released as a single in January 1987, reaching #12 in the UK Singles Chart. As was often the case with Smiths singles, it did not appear on an original studio album...
" was released and reached number 12 on the UK Singles Chart. It was followed by a second compilation, The World Won't Listen
The World Won't Listen
-Band:* Morrissey – vocals* Johnny Marr – guitars, keyboard instruments, bass guitar on "Golden Lights"* Andy Rourke – bass guitar, cello on "Shakespeare's Sister" and "Oscillate Wildly"* Mike Joyce – drums...
– the title was Morrissey's comment on his frustration with the band's lack of mainstream recognition, although the album reached number two in the charts – and the single "Sheila Take a Bow
Sheila Take a Bow
"Sheila Take a Bow" is a song by The Smiths. It was released as a single in April 1987, reaching #10 in the UK Singles Chart, their highest chart placing in their career....
", the band's second (and last during the band's lifetime) UK top-10 hit. Another compilation, Louder Than Bombs
Louder Than Bombs
Louder Than Bombs is a compilation album by the English rock band The Smiths. It was released as a double album in March 1987 by their American record company, Sire Records. Its highest chart position was number 63. Popular demand prompted their British record company, Rough Trade, to issue the...
, was intended for the overseas market and covered much the same material as The World Won't Listen, with the addition of "Sheila Take a Bow" and material from Hatful of Hollow, as that compilation was yet to be released in the U.S.
Despite their continued success, a variety of tensions emerged within the band to threaten their split. Johnny Marr was exhausted and on the verge of alcoholism, and took a break from the band in June 1987, which he felt was negatively perceived by the other Smiths. In July 1987, Marr left the group permanently because he thought an NME article entitled "Smiths to Split" was planted by Morrissey, when in fact it was not. That article, written by Danny Kelly
Danny Kelly (journalist)
Danny Kelly is a music journalist, sports presenter and internet publisher. He is the former editor of the music weekly New Musical Express....
, was chiefly based on rumours around some very real and some unfounded tensions between Morrissey and Johnny Marr. Specifically, it was alleged that Morrissey disliked Marr working with other musicians, and that Marr and Morrissey's personal relationship had reached breaking point. Marr then contacted the NME to clarify that his leaving the band was not due to personal tensions as much as desiring a wider musical scope in his own career. Post-Smiths interviews by both Morrissey and Marr would cite the lack of a manager and the accompanying pressure on them personally as the major cause of stress that effectively ended the band.
Former Easterhouse
Easterhouse (band)
Easterhouse was a British rock group from the mid- to late-1980s known for jangly guitars and leftist political leaning.- Original line-up :* Andy Perry - vocals, harmonica* Ivor Perry - guitar* Peter Vanden - bass guitar* Gary Rostock - drums...
guitarist Ivor Perry was brought in to replace Marr, and the band recorded some new material with him which was never completed, including an early version of "Bengali in Platforms
Bengali in Platforms
"Bengali in Platforms" is a Morrissey song from his debut album Viva Hate. It refers to a Bengali boy who is living in the UK, and trying, but failing, to fit in...
" that was originally intended as the B-side of "Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before
Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before
-Smiths original:The Smiths' song, written by the usual combination of Morrissey and Johnny Marr, came out on the group's 1987 album Strangeways, Here We Come....
". Perry was uncomfortable with the situation, stating "it was like they wanted another Johnny Marr", and the sessions ended with (according to Perry) "Morrissey running out of the studio". By the time the group's fourth album Strangeways, Here We Come
Strangeways, Here We Come
-Band:* Morrissey – vocals, piano on "Death of a Disco Dancer"* Johnny Marr – guitar, keyboards, harmonica, autoharp , synthesized strings and saxophone arrangements* Andy Rourke – bass guitar* Mike Joyce – drums-Additional musicians:...
was released in September, the band had split up. The breakdown in the relationship has been primarily attributed to Morrissey becoming annoyed by Marr's work with other artists and Marr growing frustrated by Morrissey's musical inflexibility. Marr particularly hated Morrissey's obsession with covering 1960s pop artists such as Twinkle
Twinkle (singer)
Twinkle is an English singer-songwriter, primarily in the 1960s. Twinkle's most famous songs were "Terry" and "Golden Lights".-Career:...
and Cilla Black
Cilla Black
Cilla Black OBE is an English singer, actress, entertainer and media personality, who has been consistently popular as a light entertainment figure since 1963. She is most famous for her singles Anyone Who Had A Heart, You're My World, and Alfie...
. Marr recalled in 1992, "That was the last straw, really. I didn't form a group to perform Cilla Black songs." In a 1989 interview, Morrissey cited the lack of a managerial figure and business problems as reasons for the band's eventual split.
Strangeways, Here We Come peaked at number two in the UK and was their most successful album in the US, reaching No.55 on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
. It received a lukewarm reception from critics, but both Morrissey and Marr name it as their favourite Smiths album. A couple of further singles from Strangeways were released with earlier live, session and demo tracks as B-sides, and the following year the live recording Rank
Rank (album)
Rank is a live album by the English rock band The Smiths. It was released in September 1988 by their British record company, Rough Trade, and reached No. 2 in the British charts. In the United States, the album was released on Sire Records and made No. 77.-About the album:Rank was released as a...
(recorded in 1986 while Gannon was in the band) repeated the UK chart success of previous albums.
Post-Smiths careers
Shortly after the release of Strangeways, the band was the subject of a documentary in LWTLondon Weekend Television
London Weekend Television was the name of the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties including south Suffolk, middle and east Hampshire, Oxfordshire, south Bedfordshire, south Northamptonshire, parts of Herefordshire & Worcestershire, Warwickshire, east Dorset and...
's arts strand The South Bank Show
The South Bank Show
The South Bank Show was a television arts magazine show, originally made by London Weekend Television , presented by Melvyn Bragg, broadcast on ITV and seen in over 60 countries worldwide — including Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United States...
, broadcast on ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
on 18 October 1987.
Following the group's demise, Morrissey began work on a solo recording, collaborating with Strangeways producer Stephen Street
Stephen Street
Stephen Street is an English music producer best known for his work with The Smiths in the 1980s, as well as Blur and The Cranberries in the 1990s. Street also collaborated with Morrissey on some of his most popular work after The Smiths broke up, playing instruments and co-writing songs...
and fellow Mancunian Vini Reilly
Vini Reilly
Vincent "Vini" Gerard Reilly is an English musician and leader of the post-punk group The Durutti Column.-Biography:...
, guitarist for The Durutti Column
The Durutti Column
The Durutti Column are an English post-punk band formed in 1978 in Manchester, England. The band is an ongoing project of guitarist Vini Reilly who is often accompanied by drummer Bruce Mitchell. Other current members are Keir Stewart and Reilly's girlfriend Poppy Morgan...
. The resulting album, Viva Hate
Viva Hate
Viva Hate is Morrissey's debut solo album, released on 14 March 1988 by HMV Records. The album was considered a very strong foray into Morrissey's solo career, as he utilised his traditional lyrical style and retained the basic sound that The Smiths had developed by the time they broke up. It...
(a reference to the end of the Smiths), was released six months later, reaching number one in the UK charts. Morrissey continues to perform and record as a solo artist.
Johnny Marr returned to the music scene in 1989 with New Order
New Order
New Order are an English rock band formed in 1980 by Bernard Sumner , Peter Hook and Stephen Morris...
's Bernard Sumner
Bernard Sumner
Bernard Sumner , also known as Bernard Dickin, Bernard Dicken and Bernard Albrecht is an English singer-songwriter, guitarist, keyboard player and producer....
and Pet Shop Boy
Pet Shop Boys
Pet Shop Boys are an English electronic dance music duo, consisting of Neil Tennant, who provides main vocals, keyboards and occasional guitar, and Chris Lowe on keyboards....
Neil Tennant
Neil Tennant
Neil Francis Tennant is an English musician, singer and songwriter, who, with bandmate Chris Lowe, makes up the successful electronic dance music duo Pet Shop Boys.-Childhood:...
in the supergroup Electronic
Electronic (band)
-Albums:-Singles:-Music videos:-External links:* *...
. Electronic released three albums over the next decade. Marr was also a member of The The
The The
The The are an English musical and multimedia group that have been active in various forms since 1979, with singer/songwriter Matt Johnson being the only constant band member.-Early years :...
, recording two albums with the group between 1989 and 1993. He has also worked as a session musician and writing collaborator for artists including The Pretenders
The Pretenders
The Pretenders are an English rock band formed in Hereford, England in March 1978. The original band consisted of initiator and main songwriter Chrissie Hynde , James Honeyman-Scott , Pete Farndon , and Martin Chambers...
, Bryan Ferry
Bryan Ferry
Bryan Ferry, CBE is an English singer, musician, and songwriter. Ferry came to public prominence in the early 1970s as lead vocalist and principal songwriter with the band Roxy Music, who enjoyed a highly successful career with three number one albums and ten singles entering the top ten charts in...
, Pet Shop Boys, Billy Bragg
Billy Bragg
Stephen William Bragg , better known as Billy Bragg, is an English alternative rock musician and left-wing activist. His music blends elements of folk music, punk rock and protest songs, and his lyrics mostly deal with political or romantic themes...
, Black Grape
Black Grape
Black Grape were a 1990s rock band from England, featuring former members of Happy Mondays. The group's music was funky and eclectic, using varied instrumentation and samples.-History:...
, Talking Heads
Talking Heads
Talking Heads were an American New Wave and avant-garde band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991. The band comprised David Byrne, Chris Frantz, Tina Weymouth and Jerry Harrison...
, Crowded House
Crowded House
Crowded House are a rock band, formed in Melbourne, Australia and led by New Zealand singer-songwriter Neil Finn. Finn is the primary songwriter and creative director of the band, having led it through several incarnations, drawing members from New Zealand , Australia and the United States...
and Beck
Beck
Beck Hansen is an American musician, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, known by the stage name Beck...
. In 2000 he started another band, Johnny Marr and the Healers, with a moderate degree of success, and later worked as a guest musician on the Oasis
Oasis (band)
Oasis were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1991. Originally known as The Rain, the group was formed by Liam Gallagher , Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs , Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan and Tony McCarroll , who were soon joined by Liam's older brother Noel Gallagher...
album Heathen Chemistry
Heathen Chemistry
Heathen Chemistry is the fifth studio album by the English rock band Oasis, released in 2002.The album was written and recorded with a back-to-basics sound with a more rock feel to it; the more crude and simple sound differs from the musical grandiosity of their previous records, Be Here Now and...
.
In addition to his work as a recording artist, Marr has worked as a record producer on Haven's debut album Between the Senses. In 2006 he began work with Modest Mouse
Modest Mouse
Modest Mouse is an American indie rock band formed in 1993 in Issaquah, Washington, by singer/lyricist/guitarist Isaac Brock, drummer Jeremiah Green, and bassist Eric Judy. They are based in Portland, Oregon. Since their 1996 debut album, This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think...
's Isaac Brock
Isaac Brock (musician)
Isaac Brock is the lead singer, guitarist, banjoist, and songwriter for the American indie rock band Modest Mouse, as well as his side project band, Ugly Casanova...
on songs that eventually featured on the band's 2007 release, We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank
We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank
We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank is the fifth studio album by American indie rock band Modest Mouse, released in 2007. The album is the first studio album by the band since their 2004 album, Good News for People Who Love Bad News and is also the first album with former Smiths guitarist Johnny...
. The band subsequently announced that Marr was a fully fledged member, and the reformed line-up toured extensively throughout 2006–07. Marr also recorded with Liam Gallagher
Liam Gallagher
William John Paul "Liam" Gallagher is an English musician and singer-songwriter, the former frontman of the English rock band Oasis and currently of the band Beady Eye. Gallagher's erratic behaviour, distinctive singing style, and abrasive attitude have been the subject of commentary in the press...
of Oasis. In January 2008, it was reported that Marr had been adding his skill and experience to a secret songwriting session with Wakefield indie group The Cribs
The Cribs
The Cribs are an English three-piece indie rock band from Wakefield, West Yorkshire. The band consists of twins Gary and Ryan Jarman and their younger brother Ross Jarman. They were subsequently joined by ex-The Smiths and Modest Mouse guitarist Johnny Marr who was made a formal member of the group...
. Sources revealed that they worked together for a week at Moolah Rouge recording studio in Stockport, and had penned a number of new songs. Marr left The Cribs officially in April 2011. He is now working on solo material.
Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce have continued working together, including doing session work for Morrissey (1988–89) and Sinéad O'Connor
Sinéad O'Connor
Sinéad Marie Bernadette O'Connor is an Irish singer-songwriter. She rose to fame in the late 1980s with her debut album The Lion and the Cobra and achieved worldwide success in 1990 with a cover of the song "Nothing Compares 2 U"....
, as well as working separately. Joyce has worked with former Sex Pistols
Sex Pistols
The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band that formed in London in 1975. They were responsible for initiating the punk movement in the United Kingdom and inspiring many later punk and alternative rock musicians...
singer John Lydon
John Lydon
John Joseph Lydon , also known by the former stage name Johnny Rotten, is a singer-songwriter and television presenter, best known as the lead singer of punk rock band the Sex Pistols from 1975 until 1978, and again for various revivals during the 1990s and 2000s...
in PiL and Rourke has recorded and toured with Proud Mary and also formed the short-lived group called Freebass
Freebass
Freebass were an English band consisting of, originally, three bassists Andy Rourke , Peter Hook and Gary "Mani" Mounfield and singer Gary Briggs...
with fellow bassists Peter Hook
Peter Hook
Peter Hook is an English bass player, musician and author.He was a co-founder of the post-punk band Joy Division along with Bernard Sumner in the mid-1970s. Following the death of lead singer Ian Curtis, the band reformed as New Order, and Hook played bass with them throughout their career until...
(of New Order
New Order
New Order are an English rock band formed in 1980 by Bernard Sumner , Peter Hook and Stephen Morris...
and Joy Division
Joy Division
Joy Division were an English rock band formed in 1976 in Salford, Greater Manchester. Originally named Warsaw, the band primarily consisted of Ian Curtis , Bernard Sumner , Peter Hook and Stephen Morris .Joy Division rapidly evolved from their initial punk rock influences...
) and Mani
Gary Mounfield
Gary Manny "Mani" Mounfield , is an English rock bassist of The Stone Roses and Primal Scream. He has a distinctive playing style that combines a fast moving rock style with a dance rhythm or dub groove...
(of The Stone Roses
The Stone Roses
The Stone Roses are an English alternative rock band formed in Manchester in 1983. They were one of the pioneering groups of the Madchester movement that was active during the late 1980s and early 1990s...
and Primal Scream
Primal Scream
Primal Scream are a Scottish alternative rock band originally formed in 1982 in Glasgow by Bobby Gillespie and Jim Beattie and now based in London. The current lineup consists of Gillespie, Andrew Innes , Martin Duffy , and Darrin Mooney...
). They released one album and have since disbanded. Rourke started a radio career, hosting a show on Saturday evenings on XFM
Xfm
Xfm is a brand of two commercial radio stations focused on alternative music, primarily indie pop, and owned by Global Radio.-History:Xfm was created in London in 1992 by Sammy Jacob, who later co-founded NME Radio in 2008. Xfm subsequently expanded to a network of four stations; there are...
Manchester. He now lives in Brooklyn, New York, and has a weekly radio show on the New York-based eastvillageradio.com.
The US television series Charmed
Charmed
Charmed is an American television series that originally aired from October 7, 1998, until May 21, 2006, on the now defunct The WB Television Network. The series was created in 1998 by writer Constance M...
shares the theme song "How Soon Is Now?" with the 1996 Columbia Pictures feature film, The Craft
The Craft (film)
The Craft is a 1996 American supernatural teen horror film directed by Andrew Fleming and starring Robin Tunney, Rachel True, Fairuza Balk and Neve Campbell. The film's plot centers on a group of four teenage girls who pursue witchcraft and use it for their own gain...
, appearing under the opening credits in a cover by Psychedelic Furs front man Richard Butler
Richard Butler (singer)
Richard Lofthouse Butler is the lead singer of the Psychedelic Furs. He is also the founder and vocalist for the disbanded Love Spit Love.-Musical career:...
's hiatus band, Love Spit Love
Love Spit Love
Love Spit Love was a musical group founded in 1992 by singer Richard Butler following the initial disbanding of the Psychedelic Furs.-History:...
.
The song appeared on the soundtrack album TV Themes: Popular Favorites, as well as its follow-up TV Themes: Sex and the City and Other Favorites. It also appeared on Your Favorite Television Themes, released by Artemis Strategic. The song always appeared on the compilations in its full-length version of 4 minutes and 20 seconds.
Court case
None of the members of the band had any business experience having all left school by 16 and Morrissey, the more assertive and oldest by four years, made all the financial decisions. Morrissey and Marr took the lion's share of The Smiths' recording and performance royalties and allowed ten percent each to Joyce and Rourke.In 1996, Joyce took Morrissey and Marr to court, claiming that he had never agreed to the ten percent deal and was seeking his fair share of recording and performance royalties. Composition royalties were not an issue, as Rourke and Joyce had never been credited as composers for the band. Morrissey and Marr claimed that the other two members of the band had always agreed to that split of the royalties.
Judge Weeks preferred the evidence of Joyce and Rourke that they were never told they would receive only one-tenth of the group's earnings. He described them as "straightforward and honest, unintellectual and certainly not financially sophisticated". Weeks described Morrissey as being more complicated and "didn't find giving evidence easy or a happy experience. He was devious, truculent and unreliable when his own interests were at stake". The judge said Marr was more engaging, reasonable and intelligent but became less credible as he embroidered his evidence.
After a seven-day hearing the court found in favour of Joyce and ordered that he be paid over £1 million in back pay and receive twenty-five percent henceforth. In order to pay his debts in 1989 Rourke had previously settled for a lump sum of £83,000 and ten percent of royalties giving up all further claims.
Morrissey claimed that he was "... under the scorching spotlight in the dock, being drilled ..." with questions such as " 'How dare you be successful?' 'How dare you move on?'". He stated that "The Smiths were a beautiful thing and Johnny [Marr] left it, and Mike [Joyce] has destroyed it." Morrissey described Rourke and Joyce as being lucky. "If they'd had another singer they'd never have got further than Salford shopping centre." Morrissey's own counsel, Ian Mill, admitted that his client's attitude had on occasion "betrayed a degree of arrogance." Morrissey appealed against the verdict, but was not successful.
In late November 2005, while appearing on radio station BBC 6 Music, Mike Joyce claimed to be having financial problems and said that he had resorted to selling rare band recordings on eBay. As a teaser, a few minutes of an unfinished instrumental track known as "The Click Track" was premiered on the show. Morrissey hit back at Joyce with a public statement shortly after, on the website true-to-you.net. Morrissey claimed that Joyce had not declared that Rourke was entitled to some of the assets seized by Joyce's lawyers from Morrissey.
2000s
Both Johnny Marr and Morrissey have repeatedly said in interviews that they will not reunite the band. In 2005, VH1VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
attempted to get the band back together for a reunion on its Bands Reunited
Bands Reunited
Bands Reunited is a television program produced by VH1 in 2004. Hosted by Aamer Haleem, the show documented the attempted reuniting of a formerly popular musical ensemble for a special concert in either London or Los Angeles....
show. The programme abandoned its attempt after host Aamer Haleem
Aamer Haleem
Aamer Haleem is a Canadian radio and television personality, who hosted the weekday afternoon current affairs program The Point on CBC Radio One. until it was canceled on June 26, 2009....
was unsuccessful in his attempt to corner Morrissey before a show. In December 2005 it was announced that Johnny Marr and The Healers would play at Manchester v Cancer
Manchester v Cancer
Manchester v Cancer was a benefit concert that was held on January 28, 2006, at Manchester's MEN Arena, in aid of cancer research at the Christie Hospital in Manchester, Europe's largest cancer research and treatment centre....
, a benefit show for cancer research being organised by Andy Rourke and his production company, Great Northern Productions. Rumours suggested that a Smiths reunion would occur at this concert but were dispelled by Johnny Marr on his website. However, Rourke did join Marr on-stage for the first time since The Smiths broke up, performing "How Soon Is Now?".
To this day Morrissey refuses to reunite his old band, going as far as to say that he would "rather eat [his] own testicles than re-form The Smiths, and that's saying something for a vegetarian."
In March 2006, Morrissey revealed that The Smiths had been offered $5 million to reunite for a performance at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival
Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival
The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival is a three-day annual music and arts festival, organized by Goldenvoice and held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Inland Empire's Coachella Valley...
, which he turned down, saying, "No, because money doesn't come into it." He further explained, "It was a fantastic journey. And then it ended. I didn't feel we should have ended. I wanted to continue. [Marr] wanted to end it. And that was that."
When asked why he would not reform with The Smiths, Morrissey responded "I feel as if I've worked very hard since the demise of The Smiths and the others haven't, so why hand them attention that they haven't earned? We are not friends, we don't see each other. Why on earth would we be on a stage together?"
In August 2007, the NME reported that Morrissey had turned down a near £40 million offer to reunite with Marr for a 50-date world tour in 2008 and 2009. The condition would only be that Morrissey would have to play the dates with Marr, meaning the deal could have gone ahead without Mike Joyce and Andy Rourke. According to an anonymous press release on true-to-you.net, an unofficial fan site tacitly supported by Morrissey, Morrissey was approached in summer 2007 by a "consortium of promoters" with a $75 million offer to tour during the next two years. The offer required Morrissey to make a minimum of fifty worldwide performances with Johnny Marr, under the Smiths' name. true-to-you.net reported that the offer had been refused. Other reports say that the whole $75 million tour was a hoax.
In an October 2007 interview on BBC Radio 5 Live
BBC Radio 5 Live
BBC Radio 5 Live is the BBC's national radio service that specialises in live BBC News, phone-ins, and sports commentaries...
, Johnny Marr hinted at a potential reformation in the future, saying that "stranger things have happened so, you know, who knows?" Marr went on to say that "It's no biggy. Maybe we will in 10 or 15 years' time when we all need to for whatever reasons, but right now Morrissey is doing his thing and I'm doing mine, so that's the answer really." This is the first potential indication of a Smiths reunion from Marr, who previously has stated that reforming the band would be a bad idea.
In October and December 2008, The Sun
The Sun (newspaper)
The Sun is a daily national tabloid newspaper published in the United Kingdom and owned by News Corporation. Sister editions are published in Glasgow and Dublin...
reported that the Smiths would be reforming to play at the Coachella Festival
Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival
The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival is a three-day annual music and arts festival, organized by Goldenvoice and held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Inland Empire's Coachella Valley...
in 2009. However, Johnny Marr later stated through his management that the rumours were "rubbish".
A Smiths compilation called The Sound of The Smiths
The Sound of The Smiths
The Sound of The Smiths is a Smiths compilation released on 10 November 2008. It is available as both single and double disc editions. Morrissey is credited with having coined the compilation's title, while Johnny Marr was involved in the project's mastering...
was released on 10 November 2008. Johnny Marr supervised the remastering of all the tracks and Morrissey named the record. The album is available as either a one-disc or two-disc version.
In February 2009, following further suggestions of an imminent reunion, Morrissey once again denied the rumours. In an interview with BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio stations and the most popular station in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult Contemporary or AOR, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres...
, he stated that "People always ask me about reunions and I can't imagine why ... the past seems like a distant place, and I'm pleased with that." In the same year, Marr mentioned that "we were offered 50 million dollars for three... possibly five shows", but said that the chances of a reunion were "nothing to do with money", and that the reasons were "really abstract".
Musical style
Throughout the group's existence, Morrissey and Johnny Marr dictated the musical direction of The Smiths. Marr said in 1990, "[I]t was a 50/50 thing between Morrissey and me. We were completely in sync about which way we should go for each record". Encyclopædia Britannica comments that the band's "non-rhythm-and-blues, whiter-than-white fusion of 1960s rock and post-punkPost-punk
Post-punk is a rock music movement with its roots in the late 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the mid-1970s. The genre retains its roots in the punk movement but is more introverted, complex and experimental...
was a repudiation of contemporary dance pop" which was popular in the early 1980s. The band's music purposefully rejected synthesisers and dance music
Dance music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...
.
Marr's jangly Rickenbacker
Rickenbacker
Rickenbacker International Corporation, also known as Rickenbacker, is an electric and bass guitar manufacturer based in Santa Ana, California...
guitar-playing was influenced by Roger McGuinn
Roger McGuinn
James Roger McGuinn is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He is best known for being the lead singer and lead guitarist on many of The Byrds' records...
of The Byrds
The Byrds
The Byrds were an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California in 1964. The band underwent multiple line-up changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn remaining the sole consistent member until the group disbanded in 1973...
, Neil Young
Neil Young
Neil Percival Young, OC, OM is a Canadian singer-songwriter who is widely regarded as one of the most influential musicians of his generation...
's work with Crazy Horse
Crazy Horse (band)
Crazy Horse is an American rock band best known for its association with Neil Young. It has been co-credited on a number of albums throughout Young's career and has released five albums of its own.-Early years:...
, George Harrison
George Harrison
George Harrison, MBE was an English musician, guitarist, singer-songwriter, actor and film producer who achieved international fame as lead guitarist of The Beatles. Often referred to as "the quiet Beatle", Harrison became over time an admirer of Indian mysticism, and introduced it to the other...
and James Honeyman-Scott
James Honeyman-Scott
James Honeyman-Scott , commonly referred to as "Jimmy", was an English rock guitarist, songwriter and founding member of the band The Pretenders....
of The Pretenders
The Pretenders
The Pretenders are an English rock band formed in Hereford, England in March 1978. The original band consisted of initiator and main songwriter Chrissie Hynde , James Honeyman-Scott , Pete Farndon , and Martin Chambers...
. Marr often tuned his guitar up a full step to F# to accommodate Morrissey's vocal range, and also utilised open tunings. The guitarist devoted his focus to the production of the group's music. Citing producer Phil Spector
Phil Spector
Phillip Harvey "Phil" Spector is an American record producer and songwriter, later known for his conviction in the murder of actress Lana Clarkson....
as an influence, Marr said, "I like the idea of records, even those with plenty of space, that sound 'symphonic'. I like the idea of all the players merging into one atmosphere". Marr's other favourite guitarists are James Williamson
James Williamson
James Robert Williamson is an American guitarist, songwriter, record producer and electronics engineer who is best known for his contribution to the protopunk rock band Iggy & The Stooges.-Early years:...
of The Stooges
The Stooges
The Stooges are an American rock band from Ann Arbor, Michigan first active from 1967 to 1974, and later reformed in 2003...
, Pete Townshend
Pete Townshend
Peter Dennis Blandford "Pete" Townshend is an English rock guitarist, vocalist, songwriter and author, known principally as the guitarist and songwriter for the rock group The Who, as well as for his own solo career...
of The Who
The Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
, Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
, Marc Bolan
Marc Bolan
Marc Bolan was an English singer-songwriter, guitarist and poet. He is best known as the founder, frontman, lead singer & guitarist for T. Rex, but also a successful solo artist...
, Keith Richards
Keith Richards
Keith Richards is an English musician, songwriter, and founding member of the Rolling Stones. Rolling Stone magazine said Richards had created "rock's greatest single body of riffs", and placed him as the "10th greatest guitarist of all time." Fourteen songs written by Richards and songwriting...
and John McGeoch
John McGeoch
John Alexander McGeoch, , was a Scottish guitarist who played with a number of bands of the post-punk era, including Magazine, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Visage and Public Image Ltd....
of Magazine
Magazine (band)
Magazine are an English post-punk group active from 1977 to 1981, then reformed in 2009. Their debut single, "Shot by Both Sides", is now acknowledged as a classic and their debut album, Real Life, is still widely admired as one of the greatest albums of all time...
and Siouxsie and the Banshees.
Musically, Morrissey's role in the band was to create vocal melodies and lyrics. Morrissey's songwriting would be influenced by punk rock and post-punk bands such as the New York Dolls
New York Dolls
The New York Dolls is an American rock band, formed in New York in 1971. The band's protopunk sound prefigured much of what was to come in the punk rock era; their visual style influenced the look of many new wave and 1980s-era glam metal groups, and they began the local New York scene that later...
, The Cramps
The Cramps
The Cramps were an American rock band, formed in 1976 and active until 2009. The band split after the death of lead singer Lux Interior. Their line-up rotated much over their existence, with the husband and wife duo of Interior and lead guitarist Poison Ivy the only permanent members...
and The Cult
The Cult
The Cult are a British rock band that was formed in 1983. They gained a dedicated following in Britain in the mid 1980s as a post-punk band with singles such as "She Sells Sanctuary", before breaking mainstream in the United States in the late 1980s as a hard rock band with singles such as "Love...
, along with 1960s girl group
Girl group
A girl group is a popular music act featuring several young female singers who generally harmonise together.Girl groups emerged in the late 1950s as groups of young singers teamed up with behind-the-scenes songwriters and music producers to create hit singles, often featuring glossy production...
s, and singers such as Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield
Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'BrienSources use both Isabel and Isobel as the spelling of her second name. OBE , known professionally as Dusty Springfield and dubbed The White Queen of Soul, was a British pop singer whose career extended from the late 1950s to the 1990s...
, Sandie Shaw
Sandie Shaw
Sandie Shaw is an English pop singer, who was one of the most successful British female singers of the 1960s. In 1967 she was the first UK act to win the Eurovision Song Contest...
, Marianne Faithfull
Marianne Faithfull
Marianne Evelyn Faithfull is an award-winning English singer, songwriter and actress whose career has spanned five decades....
and Timi Yuro
Timi Yuro
Timi Yuro was an American soul and R&B singer. She is considered to be one of the first blue-eyed soul stylists of the rock era.-Early years:...
. Morrissey's lyrics, while superficially depressing, were often full of mordant humour; John Peel remarked that The Smiths were one of the few bands capable of making him laugh out loud. Influenced by his childhood interest in the working-class social realism
Social realism
Social Realism, also known as Socio-Realism, is an artistic movement, expressed in the visual and other realist arts, which depicts social and racial injustice, economic hardship, through unvarnished pictures of life's struggles; often depicting working class activities as heroic...
of 1960s "kitchen sink"
Kitchen sink realism
Kitchen sink realism is a term coined to describe a British cultural movement which developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s in theatre, art, novels, film and television plays, whose 'heroes' usually could be described as angry young men...
television plays, Morrissey wrote about ordinary people and their experiences with despair, rejection and death. While gloomy "...songs such as 'Still Ill' sealed his role as spokesman for disaffected youth", Morrissey's "manic-depressive rants" and his "'woe-is-me' posture inspired some hostile critics to dismiss the Smiths as 'miserabilists.'"
Imagery
The group had a distinctive visual style on their album and single covers, which often featured colourful images of film and pop stars, usually in duotoneDuotone
Duotone is a halftone reproduction of an image using the superimposition of one contrasting color halftone over another color halftone. This is most often used to bring out middle tones and highlights of an image...
, designed by Morrissey and Rough Trade art coordinator Jo Slee. Single covers rarely featured any text other than the band name, and the band themselves did not appear on the outer cover of their UK releases. (Morrissey did, however, appear on an alternative cover for "What Difference Does It Make?", mimicking the pose of the original subject, UK film actor Terence Stamp
Terence Stamp
Terence Henry Stamp is an English actor. Since starting his career in 1962 he has appeared in over 60 films. His title role as Billy Budd in his film debut earned Stamp an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor and a BAFTA nomination for Best Newcomer.His other major roles include...
, after the latter objected to his image being used.) The "cover stars" were an indication of Morrissey's personal interests in obscure or cult film stars, featuring Stamp, Alain Delon
Alain Delon
Alain Fabien Maurice Marcel Delon is a French actor. He rose quickly to stardom, and by the age of 23 was already being compared to French actors such as Gérard Philipe and Jean Marais, as well as American actor James Dean. He was even called the male Brigitte Bardot...
, Jean Marais
Jean Marais
-Biography:A native of Cherbourg, France, Marais starred in several movies directed by Jean Cocteau, for a time his lover, most famously Beauty and the Beast and Orphée ....
, Warhol
Andy Warhol
Andrew Warhola , known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art...
protégé Joe Dallesandro
Joe Dallesandro
Joseph Angelo D'Allesandro , better known as Joe Dallesandro, is an American actor, and Warhol superstar. Although he never became a mainstream film star, Dallesandro is generally considered to be the most famous male sex symbol of American underground films of the 20th century, as well as a sex...
, James Dean
James Dean
James Byron Dean was an American film actor. He is a cultural icon, best embodied in the title of his most celebrated film, Rebel Without a Cause , in which he starred as troubled Los Angeles teenager Jim Stark...
, figures from 1960s British culture (Viv Nicholson
Viv Nicholson
Vivian Nicholson became publicly known overnight within Great Britain in 1961 when she received £152,319 in a football-pools win and announced to the press that she was going to "spend, spend, spend"...
, Pat Phoenix
Pat Phoenix
Patricia "Pat" Frederica Phoenix was an English actress who became one of the first sex symbols of British television through her role of Elsie Tanner in Coronation Street.-Early life and career:Born in Ireland to Anna Maria Josephine Noonan and Tom Manfield, but moved to Manchester before...
, Yootha Joyce
Yootha Joyce
Yootha Joyce was an English actress, best known for playing Mildred Roper in Man About the House and George and Mildred.-Early life:...
, Shelagh Delaney
Shelagh Delaney
Shelagh Delaney, FRSL was an English dramatist and screenwriter, best-known for her debut work, A Taste of Honey ....
), or images of unknown models taken from old films or magazines.
The Smiths dressed mainly in ordinary clothes – jeans and plain shirts – which reflected the "back to basics" guitar-and-drums style of the music. This contrasted with the exotic high-fashion image cultivated by New Romantic
New Romantic
New Romanticism , was a pop culture movement in the United Kingdom that began around 1979 and peaked around 1981. Developing in London nightclubs such as Billy's and The Blitz and spreading to other major cities in the UK, it was based around flamboyant, eccentric fashion and new wave music...
pop groups such as Spandau Ballet
Spandau Ballet
Spandau Ballet are a British band formed in London in the late 1970s. Initially inspired by, and an integral part of, the New Romantic fashion, their music has featured a mixture of funk, jazz, soul and synthpop. They were one of the most successful bands of the 1980s, achieving ten Top Ten singles...
and Duran Duran
Duran Duran
Duran Duran are an English band, formed in Birmingham in 1978. They were one of the most successful bands of the 1980s and a leading band in the MTV-driven "Second British Invasion" of the United States...
and highlighted in magazines such as The Face
The Face (magazine)
The Face was a British music, fashion and culture monthly magazine started in May 1980 by Nick Logan.-1980s:Logan had previously created the teen pop magazine Smash Hits, and had been an editor at the New Musical Express in the 1970s before launching The Face in 1980.The magazine was influential in...
and i-D
I-D
i-D is a British magazine dedicated to fashion, music, art and youth culture. i-D was founded by designer and former Vogue art director Terry Jones in 1980. The first issue was published in the form of a hand-stapled fanzine with text produced on a typewriter...
. In 1986, when The Smiths performed on the British music program The Old Grey Whistle Test, Morrissey wore a fake hearing aid to support a hearing-impaired fan who was ashamed of using one, and also frequently wore thick-rimmed National Health Service
National Health Service
The National Health Service is the shared name of three of the four publicly funded healthcare systems in the United Kingdom. They provide a comprehensive range of health services, the vast majority of which are free at the point of use to residents of the United Kingdom...
-style glasses. They were also known to go onstage to "Montagues and Capulets".
Legacy
The Smiths have influenced a number of alternative rock bands through their career. Even as early as 1985, the "band had spawned a rash of soundalike bands, including JamesJames (band)
James are a British rock band from Manchester, England. They formed in 1982 and were active throughout the 1980s, but most successful during the 1990s. Their hit singles include "Come Home", "Sit Down", and "She's a Star" as well as their American College Radio hit "Laid"...
, who opened for the group on their spring 1985 tour".
Marr's guitar playing "was a huge building block for more Manchester legends that followed The Smiths – The Stone Roses
The Stone Roses
The Stone Roses are an English alternative rock band formed in Manchester in 1983. They were one of the pioneering groups of the Madchester movement that was active during the late 1980s and early 1990s...
"; their guitarist John Squire
John Squire
John Thomas Squire is an English musician, songwriter and artist.Squire is best known as the guitarist for The Stone Roses, a rock band in which he formed a songwriting partnership with lead singer Ian Brown. After leaving The Stone Roses he went on to found The Seahorses and has since released...
has stated that Marr was a major influence. Oasis
Oasis (band)
Oasis were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1991. Originally known as The Rain, the group was formed by Liam Gallagher , Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs , Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan and Tony McCarroll , who were soon joined by Liam's older brother Noel Gallagher...
guitarist Noel Gallagher
Noel Gallagher
Noel Thomas David Gallagher is an English musician and singer-songwriter, formerly the lead guitarist, backing vocalist and principal songwriter of the English rock band Oasis. He is currently fronting his solo project, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds.Raised in Burnage, Manchester with his...
has called The Smiths an influence, especially Marr; Gallagher stated that "when The Jam
The Jam
The Jam were an English punk rock/New Wave/mod revival band active during the late 1970s and early 1980s. They were formed in Woking, Surrey. While they shared the "angry young men" outlook and fast tempos of their punk rock contemporaries, The Jam wore smartly tailored suits rather than ripped...
split, The Smiths started, and I totally went for them."
Writing in Q
Q (magazine)
Q is a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom.Founders Mark Ellen and David Hepworth were dismayed by the music press of the time, which they felt was ignoring a generation of older music buyers who were buying CDs — then still a new technology...
in 2007, Simon Goddard claimed: "... the one truly vital voice of the '80s, The Smiths were the most influential British guitar group of the decade. As the first indie outsiders to achieve mainstream success on their own terms (their second album proper, 1985's Meat Is Murder, made Number 1 in the UK), they elevated rock's standard four-piece formula to new heights of magic and poetry. Their legacy can be traced down through The Stone Roses
The Stone Roses
The Stone Roses are an English alternative rock band formed in Manchester in 1983. They were one of the pioneering groups of the Madchester movement that was active during the late 1980s and early 1990s...
, Oasis
Oasis (band)
Oasis were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1991. Originally known as The Rain, the group was formed by Liam Gallagher , Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs , Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan and Tony McCarroll , who were soon joined by Liam's older brother Noel Gallagher...
and The Libertines
The Libertines
The Libertines were an English rock band, formed in London in 1997 by frontmen Carl Barât and Pete Doherty . The band, centred on the song-writing partnership of Barat and Doherty, also included John Hassall and Gary Powell for most of its recording career...
to today's crop of artful young guitar bands."
Uncut
UNCUT (magazine)
Uncut magazine, trademarked as UNCUT, is a monthly publication based in London. It is available across the English-speaking world, and focuses on music, but also includes film and books sections...
magazine's Simon Reynolds wrote of the band: "Once upon a time, a band from the North came with a sound so fresh and vigorous it took the nation by storm. The sound was rock, but crucially it was pop, too: concise, punchy, melodic, shiny without being "plastic". The singer was a true original, delivering a blend of sensitivity and strength, defiance and tenderness, via a regionally inflected voice. The young man's lips spilled forth words that were realistic without being dour, full of sly humour and beautifully observed detail. Most recognised their debut album as a landmark, an instant classic."
The "Britpop movement pre-empted by The Stone Roses and spearheaded by groups like Oasis, Suede
Suede (band)
Suede are an English alternative rock band from London, formed in 1989. The group's most prominent early line-up featured singer Brett Anderson, guitarist Bernard Butler, bass player Mat Osman and drummer Simon Gilbert. By 1992, Suede were hailed as "The Best New Band in Britain", and attracted...
and Blur, drew heavily from Morrissey's portrayal of and nostalgia for a bleak urban England of the past." Britpop band Blur
Blur (band)
Blur is an English alternative rock band. Formed in London in 1989 as Seymour, the group consists of singer Damon Albarn, guitarist Graham Coxon, bassist Alex James and drummer Dave Rowntree. Blur's debut album Leisure incorporated the sounds of Madchester and shoegazing...
formed as a result of seeing The Smiths on The South Bank Show in 1987. However, even though leading bands from the Britpop movement claimed to be influenced by The Smiths, the Britpop bands were at odds with the "basic anti-establishment philosophies of Morrissey and The Smiths", since Britpop "was an entirely commercial construct." In the book Saint Morrissey, the author claims that Britpop "airbrush[ed] Morrissey out of the picture ... so that the Nineties and its centrally-planned and coordinated pop economy could happen."
Playwright Shaun Duggan
Shaun Duggan
Shaun Duggan is a playwright/TV writer, based in the UK, who has written for Channel 4's Brookside and the BBC's EastEnders. He has also written an episode for the BBC television drama Waterloo Road, in 2006....
's stage drama William, Alex Broun
Alex Broun
Alex Broun is an award-winning playwright, screenwriter and Rugby journalist who has worked extensively with Short+Sweet , the world's largest ten minute theatre festival...
's hit one-man show Half a Person – My life as told by The Smith, Douglas Coupland
Douglas Coupland
Douglas Coupland is a Canadian novelist. His fiction is complemented by recognized works in design and visual art arising from his early formal training. His first novel, the 1991 international bestseller Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture, popularized terms such as McJob and...
's 1998 novel Girlfriend in a Coma, Andrew Collins
Andrew Collins (broadcaster)
Andrew Collins is the creator and writer of Radio 4 sitcom Mr Blue Sky. His TV writing work includes EastEnders and the sitcoms Grass and Not Going Out .-Personal life:Collins was a member of the Labour Party between the late 1980s and early 1990s, leaving after Labour's...
' autobiography Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now, Marc Spitz
Marc spitz
Marc Spitz is a music journalist, author and playwright. Spitz's writings on rock n' roll and popular culture have appeared in Spin as well as The New York Times, Maxim, Blender, Harp, Nylon and the New York Post...
's novel How Soon is Never?, the pop band Shakespears Sister
Shakespears Sister
Shakespears Sister/Shakespear's Sister is a British-based synth-pop-rock band formed by Irish-born singer–songwriter Siobhan Fahey in 1988, with plaudits including a BRIT Award and Ivor Novello Award. It was Fahey's first musical outing since leaving Bananarama, and initially a solo project...
, the defunct art-punk group Pretty Girls Make Graves
Pretty Girls Make Graves
Pretty Girls Make Graves was an art punk band, formed in Seattle in 2001, named after The Smiths song of the same name...
and the Polish filmmaker Przemyslaw Wojcieszek's short fictional film about two Polish fans of The Smiths, Louder Than Bombs, are all inspired by or named after songs or albums by The Smiths. The Smiths' album, The Queen Is Dead is referenced in the Sleeper song, "Dress Like Your Mother".
Discography
Studio albums- The SmithsThe Smiths (album)Before their debut album, single "What Difference Does It Make?" was released in January 1984. The track peaked at number 12 on the UK Singles Chart. Released in February 1984, The Smiths debuted at number two on the UK Albums Chart....
(1984) - Meat Is MurderMeat Is MurderMeat Is Murder is the second studio album by the English alternative rock band The Smiths. It was released in February 1985 and became the band's sole number one album in the UK charts during the band's lifetime, staying on the chart for 13 weeks. It reached number 110 in the US...
(1985) - The Queen Is DeadThe Queen Is DeadThe Queen Is Dead is the third studio album by the English alternative rock band The Smiths. It was released on 16 June 1986 in the United Kingdom by Rough Trade Records and released in the United States on 23 June 1986 through Sire Records. The album reached #2 on the UK Albums Chart, maintaining...
(1986) - Strangeways, Here We ComeStrangeways, Here We Come-Band:* Morrissey – vocals, piano on "Death of a Disco Dancer"* Johnny Marr – guitar, keyboards, harmonica, autoharp , synthesized strings and saxophone arrangements* Andy Rourke – bass guitar* Mike Joyce – drums-Additional musicians:...
(1987)
External links
- The Smiths Home – The Smiths Home
- Plundering Desire – chronologically relive the history of the Smiths through articles, release reviews, news items and live reviews
- Morrissey-solo – up to date Morrissey and Smiths news
- Passions Just Like Mine – a fansite with a very complete discography
- Vulgar Picture – Illustrated discography of the Smiths and Morrissey
- The Music Collector Site – includes a page and discography looking at UK releases pre and post split