The Smiths were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1982. The band consisted of vocalist Morrissey, guitarist Johnny Marr, bassist Andy Rourke and drummer Mike Joyce. Critics have called them the most important alternative rock band to emerge from the British independent music scene of the 1980s. The band's focus on a guitar, bass, and drum sound, and their fusion of 1960s rock and post-punk, were a repudiation of synthesizer-based contemporary dance-pop – the style popular in the early 1980s. Marr's guitar-playing on his Rickenbacker often had a jangly sound reminiscent of Roger McGuinn of the Byrds and influenced later Manchester bands, including the Stone Roses and Oasis. Morrissey and Marr's songs combined themes about ordinary people with complex, literate lyrics delivered by Morrissey with a mordant sense of humour.
The Smiths had several singles reach the UK top twenty and all four of their studio albums reached the UK top five, including one which topped the charts. They won a significant following and remain cult favourites, although they had limited commercial success outside the UK while they were still together. The band broke up in 1987 and have turned down several offers to reunite. In 2014 and 2015, they were nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Morrissey and Johnny Marr dictated the musical direction of the Smiths. Marr said in 1990 that it "was a 50/50 thing between Morrissey and me. We were completely in sync about which way we should go for each record". The band's "non-rhythm-and-blues, whiter-than-white fusion of 1960s rock and post-punk was a repudiation of contemporary dance pop" – the style popular in the early 1980s. The band purposely rejected synthesisers and dance music. They sometimes used Sergei Prokofiev's Montagues and Capulets as entrance music at live shows.
Early image of The Smiths on a shoot in 1983 on the outskirts of Manchester
Morrissey and Johnny Marr of The Smiths photographed just after they first signed to the legendary Rough Trade Records.
Morrissey wields a protestor’s placard bearing the title of The Smiths anarchic ‘Queen is Dead’ tour and album in Manchester,1986
The image of The Smiths outside Salford Lads' Club that graces the inner sleeve of their classic album The Queen is Dead
Iconic Strangeways Road sign from the back of the ‘Strangeways, Here We Come’ album shot in 1987.
Johnny Marr playing his Rickenbacker guitar at the 'Jobs for A Change' Festival at Jubilee Gardens, London in June 1984
Johnny Marr onstage with The Smiths at the GLC's Jobs For Change free music festival in the summer of 1984.
This iconic 'Umbrella' image was taken in Scotland in 1964 on the banks of Loch Earn.
Terry Pastor's photograph of David Bowie from the 'Hunky Dory' album cover photo session.
The Clash on stage at the the first large scale Rock Against Racism/Anti Nazi League carnival at Victoria Park, April 1978.
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