The Smiths were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1982.
Consisting of vocalist Morrissey, guitarist Johnny Marr, bassist Andy Rourke, and drummer Mike Joyce, critics consider the band one of the most important to emerge from the British independent music scene of the 1980s.
Internal tensions led to their break up in 1987 and subsequent offers to reunite have been refused.
In 2012, all four Smiths’ studio albums (and a compilation) appeared on Rolling Stone’s list of the “500 Greatest Albums of All Time”, while “William, It Was Really Nothing” and “How Soon Is Now?” were included in the “500 Greatest Songs of All Time” list.
Based on the songwriting partnership of Morrissey and Marr, the Smiths’ focus on a guitar, bass, and drum sound, and fusion of 1960s rock and post-punk, were a rejection of the synthesiser-based dance-pop of the time.
Marr’s Rickenbacker guitar work was reminiscent of the jangle pop sound of Roger McGuinn from the Byrds.
Morrissey’s complex, literate lyrics combined themes of ordinary lives with mordant humor.
The Smiths were signed to the independent label Rough Trade Records.
Several Smiths singles reached the top 20 of the UK Singles Chart and all of their studio albums reached the top five of the UK Albums Chart, including the number-one album Meat Is Murder (1985).
They achieved mainstream success in Europe with The Queen Is Dead (1986) and Strangeways, Here We Come (1987), both of which entered the top twenty of the European Albums Chart.
Their live album Rank (1988) reached the top 10 in Europe.
Tracklist
A1 The Hand That Rocks The Cradle 4:43
A2 Reel Around The Fountain 6:09
A3 Rusholme Ruffians 6:47
B1 The Queen Is Dead 7:35
B2 Sheila Take A Bow 2:42
B3 This Night Has Opened My Eyes 3:12
B4 Untitled One (Marr Instrumental) 3:03
C1 Ask 3:29
C2 There Is A Light That Never Goes Out 4:30
C3 Is It Really So Strange? 3:06
C4 Frankly, Mr. Shankly 2:18
C5 Shoplifters Of The World Unite (Reprise) 3:06
D1 Girlfriend In A Coma 2:04
D2 Death Of A Disco Dancer 6:38
D3 Paint A Vulgar Picture 5:35
D4 Untitled Two (Marr Instrumental) 2:03
Principal members
Morrissey – lead vocals (1982–1987)
Johnny Marr – guitars, piano, harmonica, keyboards (1982–1987); backing vocals (1982–1983)
Andy Rourke – bass (1982–1986, 1986–1987)
Mike Joyce – drums (1982–1987)
Other members
Steven Pomfret – guitars (1982)
Dale Hibbert – bass (1982)
Craig Gannon – bass (1986); guitars (1986)
Ivor Perry – guitars (1987)
Discography (The Smiths discography and List of songs recorded by the Smiths)
The Smiths (1984)
Meat Is Murder (1985)
The Queen Is Dead (1986)
Strange-ways, Here We Come (1987)
Steven Patrick Morrissey (born 22 May 1959), known mononymously as Morrissey, is an English singer, songwriter, and author.
He came to prominence as the frontman of the rock band the Smiths, which was active from 1982 to 1987.
Since then, he has pursued a successful solo career.
Morrissey’s music is characterised by his baritone voice and distinctive lyrics with recurring themes of emotional isolation, sexual longing, self-deprecating and black humour, and anti-establishment stances.
Born to working-class Irish immigrants in Davyhulme, Lancashire, Morrissey grew up in nearby Manchester.
As a child, he developed a love of literature, kitchen sink realism, and pop music.
In the late 1970s, he fronted punk rock band the Nosebleeds with little success before beginning a career in music journalism and writing several books on music and film in the early 1980s.
He formed the Smiths with Johnny Marr in 1982 and the band soon attracted national recognition for their eponymous debut album.
As the band’s frontman, Morrissey attracted attention for his trademark quiff and witty and sardonic lyrics.
Deliberately avoiding rock machismo, he cultivated the image of a sexually ambiguous social outsider who embraced celibacy.
The Smiths released three further studio albums—Meat Is Murder, The Queen Is Dead, and Strangeways, Here We Come—and had a string of hit singles.
The band were critically acclaimed and attracted a cult following.
Personal differences between Morrissey and Marr resulted in the separation of the Smiths in 1987.
In 1988 Morrissey launched his solo career with Viva Hate.
This album and its follow-ups—Kill Uncle, Your Arsenal, and Vauxhall and I—all did well on the UK Albums Chart and spawned multiple hit singles.
Replacing Marr, he took on Alain Whyte and Boz Boorer as his main co-writers.
During this time, his image began to shift into that of a burlier figure who toyed with patriotic imagery and working-class masculinity.
In the mid-to-late 1990s, his albums Southpaw Grammar and Maladjusted also charted but were less well received.
Relocating to Los Angeles, he took a musical hiatus from 1998 to 2003 before releasing a successful comeback album, You Are the Quarry, in 2004.
Ensuing years saw the release of albums Ringleader of the Tormentors, Years of Refusal, World Peace Is None of Your Business, Low in High School, California Son, and I Am Not a Dog on a Chain, as well as his autobiography and his debut novel, List of the Lost.
Highly influential, Morrissey has been credited as a seminal figure in the emergence of indie rock and Britpop.
He is regarded as one of the greatest lyricists in British history and his work has been the subject of academic study.
He has been a controversial figure throughout his music career due to his forthright opinions and outspoken nature—endorsing vegetarianism and animal rights, criticising royalty and prominent politicians, and defending a particular vision of English national identity while critiquing the impact of immigration on the UK.
In a 2006 poll for the BBC’s Culture Show, Morrissey was voted the second-greatest living British cultural icon.
Morrissey discography (Solo):
Viva Hate (1988)
Kill Uncle (1991)
Your Arsenal (1992)
Vauxhall and I (1994)
Southpaw Grammar (1995)
Maladjusted (1997)
You Are the Quarry (2004)
Ringleader of the Tormentors (2006)
Years of Refusal (2009)
World Peace Is None of Your Business (2014)
Low in High School (2017)
California Son (2019)
I Am Not a Dog on a Chain (2020)
