The Smiths were an English band from Manchester consisting of Morrissey (Vocals, Lyrics), Johnny Marr (Guitar), Mike Joyce (Drums) and Andy Rourke (Bass). The Smiths are oft cited as an influence by other bands.
THE BAND NAME:
The origin of the band's name is unknown. It has been said that it was a reaction to band names which they considered over the top and pompous such as Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark and Depeche Mode. The name may also be in homage to Patti Smith, one of Morrissey's idols, or The Fall's Mark E. Smith, who was held in esteem by the band's members, or Myra Hindley's brother-in-law David Smith, who informed on the Moors Murderers. Another theory to the origin of the band's name suggests that it was an ironic joke to give the band an extremely English name, when all of the band's members were of Irish descent - Morrissey, Marr (Maher), Rourke and Joyce. 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 TENURE and CATALOGUE:
The Smiths lasted all of five years from 1982 to 1987, releasing during this period four studio albums ('The Smiths', 'Meat Is Murder', 'The Queen Is Dead' and finally 'Strangeways, Here We Come') and three compilation albums ('Hatful Of Hollow', 'The World Won't Listen' and 'Louder Than Bombs'). 'Meat Is Murder' went on to enter the British charts at number one in February of 1985, and 'The Queen Is Dead' further confirmed the band's popularity with its release in spring 1986. Greeted with enthusiastic reviews and peaking at number two on the U.K. charts, the album also developed The Smiths cult following in the U.S., breaking into the Top 100.
After the band's split in 1987, a further five albums were released, bringing the total number of Smiths albums to 12. These albums consisted of another four compilation albums ('Best 1', 'Best 2', 'Singles' and 'The Very Best Of'), and one live album ('Rank') recorded before the band's split during 'The Queen Is Dead' tour. Both 'Best 1' and 'Best 2' were heavily criticised by critics and some fans; however 'The Very Best Of', although with very similar content to said 'Best' albums, sold excellently, and drew much approval from critics.
THE SMITHS and CONTEMPORARY LITERATURE:
The track The Smiths – Asleep is mentioned in a book by Stephen Chbosky called The Perks of Being a Wallflower, and the track The Smiths – There Is a Light That Never Goes Out is mentioned in Irvine Welsh's Trainspotting novel as well as in the book You'll never walk alone by Sportfreunde Stiller's drummer Florian Weber, where it plays a major role throughout the whole story. There is also an entire book written about The Smiths' Meat Is Murder album, conveniently called Meat Is Murder, written by Joe Pernice. It tells the story of Joe and how the Smiths affected his life. It is based very loosely on reality, but worth the read, as is the book How Soon Is Never? by Marc Spitz (Spin Magazine). How Soon Is Never? tells the story of how The Smiths shaped the narrator's life from his early teens into his life as an adult with a "real" job. Additionally, Douglas Coupland's novel "Girlfriend in a Coma" plays off reference to the Smiths' song and works a number of references to Smiths' lyrics into the dialogue throughout the text.
*Bass was originally played by Dale Hibbert, but he was replaced after two rehearsals.Links The Smiths, muslib.ru (рус.)Version Wed, 28 Feb 2007 11:47:27 +0300
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