The Smiths

Music journalists have speculated that the chance of The Smiths reforming is extremely low, as the damage in their relationship was so severe. The third single "In The Middle" went top twenty in the UK and Ireland and top 40 in Europe and Australia. Rourke had long since settled for a smaller sum to pay off debts and continues to receive 10%. The second single "Too Lost In You" went top 5 in the UK, top ten in Norway as well as going top ten on both sides of the Straits of Taiwan (Taiwan and China). The court found in favor of Joyce, and ordered that he be paid over £1m in back pay and receive 25% henceforth. It reached number two in Ireland and Norway, and was a minor American hit as well, reaching #96. The Smiths were reunited in court in 1996 to settle a royalties claim by Joyce against Morrissey and Marr, who claimed the lion's share of the Smiths earnings from recordings and delegated only 10 percent each to Joyce and Rourke. The first single "Hole In The Head" was the group's third UK number one single and went to number one in Denmark as well.

The band finally split due to a breakdown in the relationship between Morrissey and Marr with Morrissey becoming annoyed at Marr's work with other artists, and Marr becoming frustrated by Morrissey's musical inflexibility. The group's third album Three released in 2003 continued the momentum reaching number three on the UK album charts. In 2002, they were voted 'most inspirational band' by NME magazine. The fourth single "Shape" went top ten in the UK, Netherlands and Ireland in early 2003. The band released a total of four studio albums and at least as many compilations in less than five years, as well as numerous singles. The third single from the album "Stronger" went top ten in the Netherlands and Norway while a "Stronger/Angels With Dirty Faces" double A-side single went top ten in the UK and top 20 in New Zealand in late 2002. 8. On the back of these hits, Sugababes second album Angels With Dirty Faces reached number two on the UK album charts and was a hit elsewhere.

They received increased acknowledgement in the 1990s and the re-released "This Charming Man" reached No. Their second single for Island Records "Round Round" was the groups second UK number one single and went to number 2 in Ireland, the Netherlands and New Zealand. 10 in the UK chart, none charted in the US), The Smiths generated a growing cult following throughout the last two decades of the twentieth century. The second single for Island Records. Though not an international commercial success at the time (only two singles "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now" and "Sheila Take a Bow" made No. The song was also a European top ten song and reached the top 40 in New Zealand, Norway and Belgium. 2 in the UK and was only a minor US hit, although the track "Paint a Vulgar Picture" proved somewhat prophetic in foretelling how the songs would be "reissued and repackaged" in seemingly innumerable compilations. This song was a breakthrough for the group being their first UK number one in 2002 and reaching number two in Ireland.

It too peaked at No. The song featured Sugababes singing a lyric by Adina Howard over a sample of "Are 'Friends' Electric" by Tubeway Army. By 1987 personal differences within the band, and the increasingly strained relationship between Morrissey and Marr, saw them on the verge of splitting and by the time that year's Strangeways, Here We Come (named after a Manchester prison) was released, the band had ceased to exist. Their first single with the new label was "Freak Like Me", a version of a Bastard Pop song "We Don't Give a Damn About Our Friends" by Girls On Top (really Richard X). This five-piece recorded the singles Panic and Ask and toured the United Kingdom; after the tour ended in October 1986, Gannon was fired. Heidi Range (born 23 May 1983) from Liverpool replaced Donaghy in the group and the group signed with Island Records. Gannon was retained and switched to rhythm guitar. Siobhan Donaghy's solo record Revolution In Me released through London Records failed to achieve the same success as the Sugababes subsequent releases.

He was temporarily replaced on bass by Craig Gannon but reinstated after a fortnight. Siobhan Donaghy left the band mid-tour in 2001 due to depression, later deciding to pursue a career as a solo artist. Meanwhile, Rourke was fired from the band in early 1986 due to ongoing problems with heroin. Despite this, the One Touch didn't sell as well as London Records hoped leading to them dropping the band in 2001. 2 in the UK chart, and is now usually thought of as their best work. The group largely wrote the One Touch album which had three further Top 40 hits in the UK - "Soul Sound", "Run For Cover" and "New Year" - with "Run For Cover" also making the Australian Top 40. A typical mixture of the mordantly bleak ("Never Had No-one Ever", which seemed to play up to stereotypes of the band), the dryly humorous ("Frankly, Mr Shankly") and a number of songs that synthesised both of these sides ("There Is a Light That Never Goes Out" and "Cemetry Gates") the record reached No. The first single "Overload" made the UK Top 10 and was nominated for a Brit Award.

During 1985 and 1986 the band completed exhausting tours of the UK and the US while recording the next studio record, The Queen Is Dead, released in June 1986. London Records decided to offer the group a contract when the girls were 14 and brought in Cameron McVey, known for his work with the All Saints to develop an album. Musically, the band were more adventurous, with Marr adding rockabilly riffs to "Rusholme Ruffians" and playing funk on "Barbarism Begins at Home". The trio decided to form a group together soon after in 1998. This album was more strident and political than its predecessor, including the vegetarian proselytising of the title track and the light-hearted republicanism of "Nowhere Fast". Buchanan's family hails from Jamaica while Buena's comes from the Philippines. With their profile further raised by a hit version of "Hand in Glove" by Sandie Shaw (another Morrissey idol), who was supported by the band, barefoot, on the Top of the Pops show, and a critically feted album of session material (Hatful of Hollow, released in November 1984) the band returned to the studio to record their sophomore effort, Meat Is Murder. Keisha Buchanan (born 30 September 1984) and Mutya Buena (born Rosa Isabel Mutya Buena 21 May 1985) were childhood friends in London and met Siobhan Donaghy at a party when they were thirteen.

"The Hand That Rocks the Cradle" caused some controversy over its content, supposedly suggestive of pedophilia. The band has also won at the Brit Awards for "Best British Dance Act". His frequent acknowledgement of his many idols (James Dean and Oscar Wilde particularly) in interviews, along with some more subtle reference (the song-title "Pretty Girls Make Graves", for example, is taken from Hubert Selby) encouraged a literary bent amongst fans, who already had a tendency towards bookishness. They have also had two UK top five albums in Angels With Dirty Faces in 2002 and Three in 2003. Also evident was Morrissey's studied references to literature and popular culture icons. Sugababes are a UK girl group formed in 1998 and have so far have released 12 songs that have made top 40 charts around the world including three UK number one singles. Its mood was also unremittingly bleak, exemplified by such track titles as "Still Ill" and "Suffer Little Children"; the latter referring to the Moors Murders that had stunned Manchester in the 1960s. Three (2003).

Despite its strong chart performance, The Smiths lacked some of the pop energy of the earlier singles, and suffered from being a little one-paced. Angels With Dirty Faces (2002). 2 in the UK chart. One Touch (2000). By February 1984 this fanbase was sufficiently large to launch the band's long-awaited, self-titled debut album to No. Morrissey's lyrics, superficially depressing, were often full of mordant humour ("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 new romantic bands that dominated the charts.

The follow-ups, "This Charming Man" and "What Difference Does It Make", fared better and, aided by much praise from the music press, began to pick up a fanatical following. The record, like many of their later singles, was championed by DJ John Peel but failed to chart. Signing to Rough Trade records, they released their first single "Hand in Glove" on 13 May 1983. Hibbert was replaced after two gigs, however, by Andy Rourke, a friend of Marr's.

Mike Joyce was recruited as drummer after a short audition; the sound engineer of the studio where they recorded their first demos, Dale Hibbert, played bass. When they formed the band, Morrissey dropped his first name and Maher changed his surname to Marr to avoid confusion with the Buzzcocks drummer of the same name. The pair began to write songs based around Marr's guitar playing and lyrics by Morrissey, an occasional and none-too-successful music journalist. John Martin Maher, October 31, 1963).

Steven Patrick Morrissey May 22, 1959) and Johnny Marr (b. The group was formed in early 1982 by Manchester residents Morrissey (b. The band existed from 1982 to 1987.
The Smiths were a hugely influential British rock group and "indie music" pioneers.

Morrissey and Marr: The Severed Alliance (Omnibus 1992, 1993²; ISBN 0-7119-3000-7). Johnny Rogan. The Smiths: The Complete Story (Omnibus 1985, 1988²). Mick Middles.

The Smiths: Songs That Saved Your Life (Reynolds and Hearn 2002, 2004²; ISBN 1-903111-47-1). Simon Goddard. Morrissey: Scandal and Passion (Robson 2004; ISBN 1-86105-787-3; covers both Smiths and Morrissey's solo career). David Bret.

The Very Best of The Smiths (compilation, 2001: UK – 31). Singles (compilation, 1995: UK – 5). ...Best II (compilation, 1992: UK – 29). Best...I (compilation, 1992: UK – 1; US – 139).

Rank (live, 1988 [1986]: UK – 2; US – 77). Strangeways, Here We Come (1987: UK – 2; US – 55). Louder Than Bombs (compilation, 1987: UK – 38; US – 62). The World Won't Listen (compilation, 1987: UK – 2).

The Queen Is Dead (1986: UK – 2; US – 71). Meat Is Murder (1985: UK – 1; US – 110). Hatful of Hollow (compilation, 1984: UK – 7). The Smiths (1984: UK – 2; US – 150).

"Ask" (1995 re-issue [1986]: 62). "There Is a Light that Never Goes Out" (1992 [1986]: 25). "How Soon Is Now?" (1992 re-issue [1984]: 16). "This Charming Man" (1992 re-issue [1983]: 8).

"Last Night I Dreamt that Somebody Loved Me" (1987: 30). "I Started Something I Couldn't Finish" (1987: 23). "Girlfriend in a Coma" (1987: 13). "Sheila Take a Bow" (1987: 10).

"Shoplifters of the World Unite" (1987: 12). "Ask" (1986: 14). "Panic" (1986: 11). "Bigmouth Strikes Again" (1986: 26).

"The Boy with the Thorn in His Side" (1985: 23). "That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore" (1985: 49). "Shakespeare's Sister" (1985: 26). "How Soon Is Now?" (1985: 24).

"William, It Was Really Nothing" (1984: 17). "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now" (1984: 10). "What Difference Does It Make?" (1984: 12). "This Charming Man" (1983: 25).

"Hand in Glove" (1983: 124). Craig Gannon – rhythm guitar (1986). Dale Hibbert – bass guitar (1982). Mike Joyce – drums, backing vocals.

Andy Rourke – bass guitar, cello. Johnny Marr – guitars, keyboards, mandolin, bass guitar, harmonica. Morrissey – vocals, piano.