The Smiths

The Smiths were an English rock group active from 1982 to 1987. The group was based on the songwriting partnership of Morrissey and Johnny Marr, and were signed to the independent record label Rough Trade Records. Considered by some critics to be the most important alternative rock band to emerge from the British indie scene of the 1980s, the Smiths have had a major influence on subsequent alternative music, including the Britpop movement and bands such as The Stone Roses, Gene, Radiohead, Blur, Suede, Oasis, The Libertines, and Doves. At the time, the group was notable in particular for two things: Morrissey's unusual, witty, and controversial lyrics, and Marr's music, which helped return guitar-based music to popularity after it had fallen out of favour in the UK charts. The group released a total of four studio albums and several compilations in fewer than five years, as well as numerous singles.

Although not commercially successful outside the UK while they were still together, The Smiths won a growing following both at home and overseas in the closing years of the twentieth century, and they remain cult and commercial favourites to this day.

The group was formed in early 1982 by two Manchester residents. Morrissey (Steven Patrick Morrissey, though he does not use his forenames) was an unemployed writer who was a big fan of the New York Dolls and briefly fronted punk rock band The Nosebleeds. Johnny Marr (originally John Maher, he changed his name to avoid confusion with the Buzzcocks drummer) was already a very skilful guitarist with a talent for songwriting, and he provided the music for Morrissey's lyrics throughout the group's career. Mike Joyce was recruited as drummer after a short audition. Dale Hibbert initially played bass, and provided demo recording facilities at the studio where he worked as a sound engineer. However, after two gigs, Marr's friend Andy Rourke replaced Hibbert. Marr and Rourke had previously worked together in The Paris Valentinos along with Kevin Kennedy, who later became a household name in Britain as Curly Watts in the television show Coronation Street.

The precise origin of the band's name is unknown, although they stated that it was a reaction against names they considered fancy and pompous such as Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark. Another theory regarding the origin of the band's name suggests that it was an ironic joke to give the band a quintessentially English name when all of the band members were of Irish descent. Somewhat contrarily, in a 1984 interview Morrissey stated, "I decided [to call ourselves "The Smiths"] because it was the most ordinary name, and I think it's time that the ordinary folk of the world showed their faces.". The band also considered the names "Smiths Family" and "Smithdom" before settling on "The Smiths".

Signing to indie label Rough Trade Records, they released their first single, "Hand in Glove," on 13 May 1983. That record, like all of their later singles, was championed by DJ John Peel, but failed to chart. The follow-ups "This Charming Man" and "What Difference Does It Make?" fared better, however. Aided by much praise from the music press and a series of studio sessions for Peel and David Jensen at BBC Radio 1, The Smiths began to acquire a dedicated following--which, particularly in the case of Morrissey himself, continues to be something of a cult following. Morrissey's lyrics, while superficially depressing, were often full of mordant humour (The Smiths were "one of the few bands capable of making me laugh out loud," said Peel) and his lovelorn tales of alienation found an audience amongst a disaffected section of youth culture, bored by the ubiquitous synthesizer bands that then dominated the charts. Morrissey wrote about ordinary things, social statements of life, and everything from despair, rejection, and death, to vegetarianism and the English music scene.

The group also had a very distinctive visual style. Album and single covers featured colourful images of film and pop stars, usually in duotone, 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 any UK release. (Morrissey did, however, appear on an alternative cover for "What Difference Does It Make?", mimicking the pose of the original subject Terence Stamp, after the latter objected to his image being used.) The "cover stars" were an indication of Morrissey's personal interests--obscure or cult film stars (Stamp, Jean Marais, Joe Dallesandro, James Dean), figures from 1960s British culture (Viv Nicholson, Pat Phoenix, Yootha Joyce, Shelagh Delaney), or pictures of unknown models taken from old film or magazine photos. In contrast to the 1980s obsession with exotic fashion, typified by new romantic artists such as Spandau Ballet and Duran Duran, and highlighted in magazines such as The Face and i-D, the group dressed mainly in ordinary clothes--jeans and plain shirts--which reflected the "back to basics" style of the music. Morrissey occasionally affected props such as a (fake) hearing aid (supporting a female fan who was ashamed of using one; see Morrissey & Marr: The Severed Alliance by Johnny Rogan for more detail), thick-rimmed NHS-style eyeglasses, and most famously bunches of flowers (often stuffed casually into the back of his trousers).

Morrissey

Steven Patrick Morrissey (born May 22, 1959) is a singer and songwriter from Manchester, England.

He rose to prominence in the 1980s as the vocalist of the English band The Smiths. When the band broke up in 1987, Morrissey began a successful solo career, having racked up ten Top 10 singles in the UK.

He does not shy from controversy in his songs, with themes including; child murder, gang violence, domestic violence, prostitution, racism, homosexuality, drug use, assassination, political protest, suicide and terrorism.

The BBC is currently in the final stages of talks with him to represent the UK at the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 in Helsinki, Finland.

Morrissey was born in the Park Hospital in Davyhulme, on 22 May 1959 , to Irish Catholic immigrants Peter Morrissey, a hospital porter, and Elizabeth Dwyer, a librarian. His parents had moved to England just before Morrissey's birth and brought him up, with his elder sister Jackie, in Harper Street in Hulme, Manchester. In 1965 the family moved to Queens Square in Hulme near Moss side where they moved to 384 Kings Road in the more salubrious suburb of Stretford in 1969, when many of the old terraced streets were being demolished. Morrissey has maintained a strong attachment to his mother throughout his life. However, his relationship with his father suffered much strain over the years and was, eventually, largely nonexistent.

As a child, Morrissey developed a number of interests and role models that marked him out among his peers, including '60s girl groups, and female singers such as Sandie Shaw, Marianne Faithfull, Cilla Black, and Timi Yuro. He was also interested in the kitchen sink dramas of the late 1950s and early 1960s, Coronation Street's Elsie Tanner, as well as the playwright, novelist, and poet Oscar Wilde. The Moors Murders of the early 1960s had a large impact on him as a child, and he later responded with the controversially received debut album track "Suffer Little Children".

In adolescence, Morrissey's athletic ability saved him to a large degree from bullying. Nevertheless, he has described this period as a time when he was often lonely and depressed. As a teenager, he began taking prescription drugs to help combat a depression that would follow him throughout his life. He left school early after passing only a few of his O levels, and worked briefly for the Inland Revenue, but ultimately decided to "go on the dole," sequestering himself in his room in his mother's home to concentrate on writing, reading, and listening to music. Around this time Morrissey wrote novella-like publications concerning two of his greatest heroes: James Dean and The New York Dolls.

An early convert to punk rock, Morrissey briefly fronted The Nosebleeds, writing several songs and garnering a New Musical Express review before the band broke up less than a year later. In 1978 Morrissey briefly replaced Slaughter & the Dogs singer Wayne Barrett, recording four songs with the band before moving on (MOJO Classic Magazine, Volume 1 Issue 13, Page 22).

Following The Smiths' split, Morrissey's first solo album came in 1988 in the form of Viva Hate. To create the album, Morrissey teamed up with former Smiths producer Stephen Street as well as Vini Reilly of Durutti Column. The prevailing sound of the album is jangle pop, similar to that of the Smiths, though Reilly's guitar work adds more abrasive and atmospheric elements to the work. Viva Hate struck number one upon release, supported by such strong singles as "Suedehead" and "Everyday Is Like Sunday". Bona Drag (1990) collected these early singles along with further non-album cuts such as "November Spawned A Monster" and "Ouija Board, Ouija Board." Along with the b-sides "Hairdresser On Fire" and "Sister I'm A Poet." Mark Nevin's songwriting services were employed for the studio follow-up to Viva Hate, titled Kill Uncle. The album continued in a similar musical vein.

The band Morrissey assembled in 1991 for his Kill Uncle tour went on to record 1992's hit album Your Arsenal. This band sharply renewed his sound and sales success with a fresh, American rockabilly sound. Composition duties were split between guitarists Boz Boorer and Alain Whyte, who have been the core of Morrissey's band ever since. Your Arsenal was produced by former David Bowie guitarist Mick Ronson, and earned a Grammy nomination for best alternative album.

1994 brought Morrissey back to number one in the UK, with Vauxhall and I. One of the album's highlights, "The More You Ignore Me, The Closer I Get," enjoyed chart success as a single, reaching number eight in the UK and number 46 in the US. Further albums Southpaw Grammar and Maladjusted, which contained prog-rock elements, were less well received both critically and commercially. These albums including the songs "Reader Meet Author" and "Trouble Loves Me," both of which are still occasionally included in live set lists.

Morrissey relocated from his Dublin home to Los Angeles in the late 1990s, partially to escape the attention of the British music press. He enjoyed a surprise connection with the Hispanic community there, and supposedly cut himself off from the British Isles as he built a new life for himself in California. However, his 1931-built mansion (formerly owned by Clark Gable) is now on the market. He currently resides in Romeafter forging an extremely close friendship with Louise Malpas

Edited January 17, 200718 yr by This Charming Man