THE SMITHS

Random and bite-sized facts on all things on the mythical band The Smiths. Totally random but totally fascinating if you're into it. Do you know The Smiths now?

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The Smiths’ Earliest Known Recording Was a Cover of a 1960s Girl-Group Song

In 1982, Morrissey and Johnny Marr recorded “I Want a Boy for My Birthday”, originally a B-side by American girl group the Cookies. Marr made the lo-fi recording on his TEAC cassette machine to help temporary bassist Dale Hibbert learn the song. Hibbert later preserved the tape, and the complete recording surfaced online in 2019.

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The Debut Album Was Nearly Produced by Troy Tate

In 1983, the Smiths recorded fourteen songs with former Teardrop Explodes guitarist Troy Tate at Elephant Studios in London. The sessions were abandoned after the band and label had reservations about the results. The group subsequently recorded its debut album with John Porter, although Marr later expressed admiration for Tate’s attempt to capture their live sound.

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“This Night Has Opened My Eyes” Exists as a Remarkable Peel Session Recording

The Smiths recorded the song for John Peel’s BBC Radio 1 programme in September 1983. Unlike many songs from the same sessions, this version became the only officially released recording of the track. Its lyrics draw on the story of an unwanted child, giving the song a darker narrative than its gentle musical arrangement might suggest.

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“This Charming Man” Was Written Specifically for John Peel

Johnny Marr wrote “This Charming Man” with the band’s second John Peel session in mind. He later described wanting to combine the sound of contemporary guitar pop with the melodic appeal of the Supremes’ “You Can’t Hurry Love”. The song became one of the defining recordings of the group’s early period.

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The First Album’s Recording Sessions Took Place During a London Heatwave

The original Troy Tate sessions for the debut album were made in a basement studio during the hot summer of 1983. Marr later recalled the uncomfortable conditions, which made keeping the instruments in tune difficult. The eventual replacement recordings were made with John Porter across several studios rather than in one continuous session.

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The Original Idea for “How Soon Is Now?” Was Almost Entirely Rhythmic

Marr built the track around a tremolo-heavy guitar sound, drawing inspiration from the rhythmic feel of Bo Diddley and the dramatic atmosphere of older guitar records. The recording was initially released as the B-side of “William, It Was Really Nothing” in 1984. Despite becoming one of the Smiths’ signature songs, it was not initially treated as the major single it later became.

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The String Sound on “There Is a Light That Never Goes Out” Was Synthesised

For the 1986 recording, Marr created the string arrangement using an E-mu Emulator sampler rather than hiring a conventional string section. The arrangement was credited on the album to the “Hated Salford Ensemble”. Morrissey was initially sceptical about the synthetic strings, but the finished recording became one of the best-known examples of Marr’s studio imagination.

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Jean Marais Appeared on “This Charming Man”

The sleeve of the Smiths’ October 1983 single features French actor Jean Marais in Jean Cocteau’s 1950 film Orphée. Cocteau’s surreal, mirror-filled retelling of the Orpheus myth fitted Morrissey’s fascination with European cinema and gave the single an image far removed from conventional rock-band photography.

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Terence Stamp Initially Refused the “What Difference Does It Make?” Cover

The original sleeve for the January 1984 single used a photograph of Terence Stamp taken during the filming of William Wyler’s thriller The Collector. Stamp initially withheld permission, so Morrissey recreated the pose himself, holding a glass of milk instead of the chloroform pad seen in the original photograph. Stamp later relented, allowing the original image to return.

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Morrissey Replaced the Band with Joe Dallesandro

The cover of the debut album may be more familiar, but Dallesandro also became a central figure in the Smiths’ visual identity. The American actor appeared in Paul Morrissey’s 1968 film Flesh, produced within Andy Warhol’s Factory circle. The cropped image helped establish the group’s preference for provocative film imagery over photographs of the musicians themselves.

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Viv Nicholson Was the Face of “Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now”

The May 1984 single sleeve featured Viv Nicholson, the Yorkshire woman who became famous after winning a football pools fortune in 1961. Her subsequent public life, extravagance and financial difficulties made her a distinctive choice for a band whose lyrics frequently explored disappointment and the gap between fantasy and reality.

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“William, It Was Really Nothing” Used an Advertising Photograph

The August 1984 single’s sleeve features a male model photographed for an advertisement for ADS loudspeakers. The image was not originally created for the Smiths, and the speaker visible behind the model is an easily overlooked detail. Morrissey’s selection turned an ordinary commercial photograph into part of the band’s carefully constructed visual world.

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“What She Said” Drew on a Film Still

The sleeve for the 1985 single “What She Said”, released as a double A-side with “Barbarism Begins at Home”, continued Morrissey’s practice of selecting images from cinema rather than commissioning conventional band portraits. These choices gave individual Smiths releases the feel of fragments from a private film archive, with the image often carrying a mood distinct from the song itself.

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The Smiths’ Sleeves Were Part of Their Anti-Promo Identity

The band’s UK single covers generally avoided photographs of the group, and Morrissey played a major role in selecting the imagery with Rough Trade’s Jo Slee. Film actors, cultural figures and anonymous photographs became a recognisable visual language in their own right, making the sleeve almost as identifiable as the record’s distinctive sound.

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Morrissey Wrote About the Moors Murders Before the Smiths Existed

Morrissey was deeply affected by the Moors murders, committed near Manchester during his childhood. He later turned that disturbing local history into “Suffer Little Children”, a song on the Smiths’ debut album. Its use of the victims’ names made the track especially controversial, although some of their relatives came to appreciate its intent.

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He Published a Book About the New York Dolls

Before becoming a singer, Morrissey was a devoted fan and chronicler of the New York Dolls. In 1981, he published *The New York Dolls*, a book devoted to the group, through Babylon Books. His enthusiasm went beyond collecting records: he helped organise the band’s reunion performance at the 2004 Meltdown festival in London, which he curated.

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He Was Involved with Manchester Punk Band the Nosebleeds

Before Johnny Marr approached him in 1982, Morrissey briefly sang with the Nosebleeds, a Manchester punk group. His time with them was short, but it gave him an early taste of performing live after years spent writing lyrics and immersing himself in music and literature.

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Oscar Wilde Was More Than a Casual Literary Influence

Morrissey’s admiration for Oscar Wilde shaped both his public persona and his writing. He repeatedly returned to Wilde’s wit, outsider status and defiance of social convention, and adopted a similarly theatrical approach to interviews and performance. Wilde also became one of the cultural references that helped distinguish Morrissey from more conventional rock frontmen.

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He Had a Hearing Aid During the Smiths Era

In interviews during the 1980s, Morrissey discussed wearing a hearing aid, at times presenting it as part of his deliberately unconventional image. It was an unusual detail for a pop star whose carefully controlled appearance was so closely scrutinised by the music press.

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His Lyrics Were Often Written Before the Music Existed

When Johnny Marr first visited Morrissey in 1982, Morrissey already had lyrics written in notebooks. Marr took the words away and developed musical ideas around them. This reversed the usual pop-writing process in which a singer fits lyrics to an existing melody, and became central to the Smiths’ distinctive partnership.

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He Used His Full Name Only Rarely as a Performer

Born Steven Patrick Morrissey in Manchester in 1959, he adopted his surname as his professional name from the beginning of the Smiths. The single-name identity helped create a distinctive public figure, separate from the ordinary life he had led before meeting Marr.

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Johnny Marr Tuned His Guitar Up a Whole Tone

During the early Smiths period, Marr often tuned his guitar up a whole tone, from standard E tuning to F-sharp. He explained that his musical ideas sounded too low when played alongside Morrissey’s vocal range. The higher tuning also contributed to the bright, distinctive sound of the early recordings.

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His Gretsch Super Axe Was an Unusual Starting Point

Marr began writing early Smiths songs on a Gretsch Chet Atkins Super Axe, an unusual model with built-in electronic effects. It was relatively affordable compared with other Gretsch guitars, and its distinctive sound helped shape his approach before the Rickenbacker became closely associated with the band.

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A Rickenbacker Helped Define “Still Ill”

Marr used his black Rickenbacker 330 while writing music for “Still Ill” and “What Difference Does It Make?”. Rather than relying on conventional rock riffs, he built songs around interlocking chord shapes and melodic fragments, creating guitar parts that could function almost like arrangements for several instruments.

“Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now” Came to Him on a New Guitar

In 1984, Marr acquired a cherry-red Gibson ES-355 from New York dealer We Buy Guitars. The instrument had been obtained as part of the Smiths’ deal with Sire Records. Marr later recalled that “Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now” came together almost immediately after he began playing it, followed soon afterwards by the B-side “Girl Afraid”.

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He Used Four Amplifiers to Create “How Soon Is Now?”

For “How Soon Is Now?”, Marr experimented with the tremolo effect of four Fender Twin Reverb amplifiers. The guitar signal was re-amplified through the units, producing the pulsing, wavering sound that became the track’s defining feature. The effect was created with guitar amplifiers rather than a synthesiser.

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His Acoustic Guitar Playing Drew on English Folk Music

Marr’s guitar vocabulary was influenced not just by rock and pop, but also by traditional English folk guitarists such as Martin Carthy and Bert Jansch. He adapted intricate folk-style picking to the energy of contemporary electric guitar music, combining it with the chord changes and melodic sensibility of 1960s pop.

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He Avoided the Traditional Guitar-Hero Solo

Marr deliberately prioritised the song over instrumental showmanship. Rather than building Smiths tracks around extended solos, he developed counter-melodies, arpeggios and overlapping guitar parts. This approach allowed the guitar to remain constantly active without dominating Morrissey’s vocal.

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He Started Out Playing Guitar, Not Bass

Andy Rourke learned guitar as a child and initially thought of himself as a guitarist. Johnny Marr suggested he try bass during their early musical experiments together. Rourke was initially offended because he thought it meant being demoted, but he soon became fascinated by the instrument.

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Mick Karn Influenced His Approach to Bass

Rourke became interested in Japan’s bassist Mick Karn after beginning to play a fretless bass. Karn’s fluid, unusual playing offered an alternative to simply following the guitar chords. Although Rourke became famous for his sharp, picked bass sound with the Smiths, he was interested in a much wider range of techniques.

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He Played Slap Bass on “Barbarism Begins at Home”

The extended groove on *Meat Is Murder*’s “Barbarism Begins at Home” showcases Rourke’s funk influences. He used a pick to produce the track’s distinctive slap-like attack, rather than relying on the conventional thumb-and-finger technique associated with slap bass. He later joked that Morrissey probably didn’t think slap bass was cool.

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He Was Temporarily Replaced After a Drug Arrest

In 1986, Rourke was arrested for heroin possession and briefly dismissed from the Smiths. Guitarist Craig Gannon took over bass duties for a short period before Rourke returned. Gannon subsequently stayed with the group as a second guitarist for part of its final period.

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He Used a 1964 Fender Precision Bass for Years

Rourke’s much-loved Fender Precision Bass dated from the year he was born. In a 2016 interview, he described its battered condition, with much of the body’s lacquer missing, and said he had recently had it repaired. He regarded it as an instrument he would be heartbroken to lose.

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His Bass Parts Were Usually His Own Decisions

Rourke said he had almost complete freedom to develop his bass lines in the Smiths. Marr might occasionally signal a preference, but Rourke generally worked out the parts himself. This independence helped create the melodic counterpoint between his bass and Marr’s guitar, rather than simply providing a root note beneath the chords.

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He Continued Working with Morrissey After the Smiths

After the Smiths split, Rourke played on Morrissey’s early solo recordings and collaborated with him on songs including “November Spawned a Monster”. At the same time, Rourke was called to give evidence in the legal dispute between Morrissey and drummer Mike Joyce over the band’s royalties, putting him in an uncomfortable position between former bandmates.

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Mike Joyce Was the Last of the Classic Smiths Line-Up to Join

Joyce joined the Smiths in late 1982 after responding to an advertisement placed by the group. He had already played in Manchester punk bands, including the Hoax and Victim. His arrival completed the line-up with Morrissey, Johnny Marr and Andy Rourke.

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He Had a Punk Background Before the Smiths

Before joining the Smiths, Joyce was part of Manchester’s punk scene, playing with bands that operated far from the mainstream music industry. That background suited Marr’s interest in rhythm sections that could combine punk energy with more intricate guitar arrangements.

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His Drumming Was More Restrained Than Many Punk Drummers

Joyce’s playing often avoided the relentless crash-and-bash approach associated with punk. On tracks such as “The Boy with the Thorn in His Side”, his steady, carefully controlled drumming gives Marr’s guitar parts room to move around the beat without losing momentum.

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He Played on Morrissey’s Early Solo Recordings

After the Smiths split in 1987, Joyce continued to work with Morrissey on early solo material. He played on recordings including “Suedehead”, helping carry elements of the Smiths’ rhythmic sound into Morrissey’s first solo period.

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He Took Morrissey and Marr to Court over Royalties

In 1996, Joyce pursued legal action against Morrissey and Marr over the division of the Smiths’ earnings. The court ruled that Joyce was entitled to a quarter share, rather than the smaller share he had received. The dispute became one of the most significant legal conflicts in the group’s history.

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The Legal Dispute Continued for Years

The royalties case involved appeals and further legal proceedings after the original ruling. It exposed how differently the former members understood the financial arrangements made during the band’s brief career, despite the Smiths’ continuing commercial success long after their split.

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He Later Became a Radio Presenter and DJ

Joyce went on to work as a DJ and radio presenter, including programmes for Manchester radio station Xfm. His later career kept him connected to the city’s music culture, even as the Smiths’ former members followed separate musical and professional paths.

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The Smiths’ Debut Album Had a Different Working Title

The band’s first album was temporarily known as The Hand That Rocks the Cradle before being released simply as The Smiths in February 1984. The eventual title was deliberately plain, putting the group’s name rather than a song or concept at the centre of the record.

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“This Charming Man” Had More Than One Studio Version

The Smiths recorded different versions of “This Charming Man” at Matrix Studios in London and Strawberry Studios in Stockport. The Stockport recording became the familiar UK single, while a François Kevorkian remix, associated with New York, was also released. The differences show how much the band’s sound could change through recording and mixing decisions.

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Their Debut Album Was Recorded on a Very Small Budget

The Smiths’ first album was recorded at Pluto Studios in Manchester with producer John Porter, with the main recording work completed remarkably quickly. Reports put the total cost at around £6,000, a modest sum even by the standards of independent releases at the time.

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“Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want” Was Only a B-Side

The song appeared on the B-side of “William, It Was Really Nothing” in August 1984. Lasting barely more than a minute, it became one of the band’s most enduring recordings despite its original secondary position on the single. Its brevity and understated arrangement were very different from the more elaborate guitar work on many Smiths tracks.

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“The Queen Is Dead” Opens with a Recording of a Film

The title track of the 1986 album begins with a spoken extract from the 1962 film The L-Shaped Room, starring Leslie Caron. The sample creates a strange, theatrical introduction before the band launches into the song, reflecting Morrissey’s longstanding interest in British and European cinema.

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“Rubber Ring” Includes a Voice from an Earlier Recording

The song, released as the B-side of “The Boy with the Thorn in His Side”, features a spoken passage drawn from an earlier Smiths recording session. The voice reflects on the way music can remain meaningful to listeners even when the people who made it are no longer around, turning the track into a meditation on records and memory.

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The Band’s BBC Sessions Became Essential Listening

The Smiths’ sessions for John Peel and other BBC radio programmes captured songs in versions that sometimes differed markedly from their commercial releases. Several recordings later appeared on Hatful of Hollow, released in November 1984, which combined radio sessions with singles and B-sides rather than functioning as a conventional studio album.

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“Hand in Glove” Took Months to Find Its Audience

The Smiths released their debut single, “Hand in Glove”, in May 1983 on Rough Trade. Although it failed to enter the UK Top 40, it gradually built a following through independent record shops, music-paper coverage and radio exposure. Its slow rise helped establish the band before “This Charming Man” brought them wider attention.

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“How Soon Is Now?” Began Life as a B-Side

The track first appeared on the B-side of “William, It Was Really Nothing” in August 1984. Its long, tremolo-driven guitar introduction made it unlike the Smiths’ usual compact pop singles, and it was later promoted as a single in its own right in the UK in 1985.

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“Shakespeare’s Sister” Was Named After Virginia Woolf

The title of the 1985 single came from Virginia Woolf’s 1929 essay *A Room of One’s Own*. Woolf imagined a talented fictional sister of William Shakespeare whose opportunities would have been restricted by the society of her time. Morrissey transformed that literary reference into a short, dramatic pop song.

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The Smiths Released Three Major Compilations While Still Together

Alongside their four studio albums, the band released *Hatful of Hollow* in 1984, *The World Won’t Listen* in 1987 and *Louder Than Bombs* in 1987. These collections were particularly important because the Smiths regularly issued standalone singles and B-sides that did not appear on their studio albums.

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“Golden Lights” Was a Cover of a 1960s Pop Single

The Smiths recorded a version of “Golden Lights”, originally released by the Twinkle in 1965. Their interpretation appeared as the B-side of “Ask” in 1986. The choice was unusual for a band better known for drawing on guitar pop and older rock influences, and Morrissey’s vocal gave the song a markedly different atmosphere from the original.

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Their Final Studio Album Was Recorded After Marr Had Decided to Leave

*Strangeways, Here We Come* was recorded in 1987 as the band’s internal relationships were deteriorating. Johnny Marr later said he had decided to leave the group before the album was released. Its polished production and use of instruments such as keyboards gave the record a different texture from the earlier albums.

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The Smiths’ Final Concert Took Place in London

The band’s last live performance took place at the Brixton Academy in London on 12 December 1986. They continued recording afterwards, but never played another concert together. The performance came months before Marr’s departure became public and the group’s eventual split in 1987.

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