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. Barcelona: RUTA 66, 1994. Rourke had long since settled for a smaller sum to pay off debts and continues to receive 10%. Sonic Youth: I dreamed of noise. The court found in favor of Joyce, and ordered that he be paid over £1m in back pay and receive 25% henceforth. Julia, Ignacio and Jaime Gonzalo. 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. ^† Repackaged for CD by DGC with Confusion Is Sex in 1995.

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. ^* Reissued in 1988 by SST as Sonic Death -- Early Sonic 1981 - 1983. In 2002, they were voted 'most inspirational band' by NME magazine. Moore and Gordon are married and have a daughter, Coco Gordon Moore. 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. Jim Sclavunos is currently involved in The Bad Seeds with Nick Cave, in addition to his own band The Vanity Set. 8. Bert was later involved in No Wave descendants Pussy Galore and Boss Hogg, among others.

They received increased acknowledgement in the 1990s and the re-released "This Charming Man" reached No. Former personnel include Richard Edson (drums 1981-1982), Bob Bert (drums 1982-1986), Jim Sclavunos (drums 1982-1983) and Ann DeMarinis (keyboards 1981-1982) Edson left the band to appear in movies such as Platoon and Stranger Than Paradise. 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. In 1994, journalist Alec Foege published a full-length biography of the band called Confusion is Next: The Sonic Youth Story. Sonic Youth's career is also chronicled in Our Band Could Be Your Life, a study of several important American underground rock groups by Michael Azerrad. 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 band was also slated to perform in 2004's Lalapalooza tour along with acts such as The Pixies and Flaming Lips, but the concert was cancelled due to lackluster ticket sales. 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. Sonic Nurse had decent sales due to performances on TV talk shows including Late Night with Conan O"Brien and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

It too peaked at No. The band also showed their pop culture commentary and sense of humor with the track "Mariah Carey and the Arthur Conan Doyle Hand Cream", a faster-tempo song sung by Kim Gordon which spoofed the pop singer's life, including her short-lived relationship with rapper Eminem. 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 next and most recent album was 2004's Sonic Nurse, which garnered critical acclaim and was mellower and poppier than previous work, but still maintained their sense of musical experimentation with SY trademarks such as feedback-rich guitar solos and alternate tunings. This five-piece recorded the singles Panic and Ask and toured the United Kingdom; after the tour ended in October 1986, Gannon was fired. This next album would be titled Murray Street in memory of their destroyed studio. Gannon was retained and switched to rhythm guitar. A jet engine reportedly smashed into the studio, destroying it.

He was temporarily replaced on bass by Craig Gannon but reinstated after a fortnight. The band was busy working in their NYC studio, Murray Street, during the September 11, 2001 attacks. Meanwhile, Rourke was fired from the band in early 1986 due to ongoing problems with heroin. These records featured experimental artists such as Jim O'Rourke, Yoko Ono, and, on Goodbye 20th Century (1999), the works of experimental classical composers such as John Cage, Steve Reich and Christian Wolff. 2 in the UK chart, and is now usually thought of as their best work. During the late 1990s and early 2000s, the band began releasing a number of records on their own Hoboken, New Jersey-based label SYR. 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. Steve Shelley has been involved in running the Smells Like Records and SYR record labels, as well as playing in backing bands for Chan Marshall (Cat Power) and Two Dollar Guitar.

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. Lee Ranaldo and Thurston Moore have played with many experimental/noise musicians, including William Hooker, Don Dietrich, Christian Marclay and Mission of Burma, among others. Musically, the band were more adventurous, with Marr adding rockabilly riffs to "Rusholme Ruffians" and playing funk on "Barbarism Begins at Home". Kim Gordon collaborated in Free Kitten, and started an MTV-adored fashion label X-Girl, based in L.A. 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". In the meantime, members of the band diversified their talents. 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. Sonic Youth's influence as tastemakers continued with their discovery of avant skateboard video director Spike Jonze and their revival of Macaulay Culkin via a video directed by the very young Harmony Korine.

"The Hand That Rocks the Cradle" caused some controversy over its content, supposedly suggestive of pedophilia. They were particularly important in the growth of grunge: their 1991 tour with the then-unknown Nirvana being captured in the film 1991: The Year Punk Broke. 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. Managing to stay afloat in the cut-throat music industry financially while maintaining some sense of self and dignity, Sonic Youth have proved highly influential on underground rock music. Also evident was Morrissey's studied references to literature and popular culture icons. By Daydream Nation (1988), Sonic Youth had perfected this style, becoming virtuostic sculptors of guitar noise. 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. Starting with Bad Moon Rising and EVOL, the listener can hear the band beginning to craft pop songs from the raw stuff of feedback and distortion.

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. Sonic Youth have gradually incorporated more conventional elements of pop music into their work, while still maintaining an experimental quality. 2 in the UK chart. A very vocal camp maintains that Confusion is Sex in particular has never been equalled by the band; nevertheless, SY would not make records like Sonic Youth or Confusion ever again. By February 1984 this fanbase was sufficiently large to launch the band's long-awaited, self-titled debut album to No. Their first album--greatly indebted to Branca--plays very austere and reserved, consciously arty and layered, while their next two important projects, Confusion is Sex and Kill Yr Idols, are hyper-aggressive aggregates of swirling noise. 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. Sonic Youth began in extremes.

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. I thought [hardcore] was very musical and very radical" (Julia and Gonzalo 51). The record, like many of their later singles, was championed by DJ John Peel but failed to chart. "It was great," said Moore, "the whole thing with slam dancing and stage diving, that was far more exciting than pogoing and spitting.. Signing to Rough Trade records, they released their first single "Hand in Glove" on 13 May 1983. Moore and Gordon, especially, were impressed by the intensity of the musicians involved, and their ability to organize nationwide. Hibbert was replaced after two gigs, however, by Andy Rourke, a friend of Marr's. Besides Branca, Patti Smith, and the Stooges, another early influence was hardcore music of the early 1980s.

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. Drummer Steve Shelley played drums for the hardcore band the Crucifucks before joining Sonic Youth. 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. They were associated with the "No Wave" art/music scene in New York City, but have outlasted most associated bands. The pair began to write songs based around Marr's guitar playing and lyrics by Morrissey, an occasional and none-too-successful music journalist. Supposedly their name mocks the preponderance of bands with the name 'youth' in the title in NYC in the early 1980s. John Martin Maher, October 31, 1963).
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Steven Patrick Morrissey May 22, 1959) and Johnny Marr (b. Their most recent release, Sonic Nurse was released on June 7, 2004. The group was formed in early 1982 by Manchester residents Morrissey (b. The band currently consists of Kim Gordon (bass guitar, guitar, vocals), Thurston Moore (guitar, vocals), Lee Ranaldo (guitar, synthesizer, vocals), Steve Shelley (drums 1986- present) and Jim O'Rourke (guitar, bass guitar, synthesizer, laptop) (2000-present). The band existed from 1982 to 1987.
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The Smiths were a hugely influential British rock group and "indie music" pioneers. Initially inspired by the noise experimentation of Glenn Branca—with whom most of the band have performed—as well as the heavy garage rock-acid-rock of The Stooges, they were known for using a variety of unorthodox guitar tunings, and for applying screwdrivers or other preparations to guitars to alter the instruments' timbre.

Morrissey and Marr: The Severed Alliance (Omnibus 1992, 1993²; ISBN 0-7119-3000-7). Sonic Youth are an experimental rock group formed in 1981. Johnny Rogan. Download sample of "Teenage Riot" from Daydream Nation. The Smiths: The Complete Story (Omnibus 1985, 1988²). 1996 - "Little Trouble Girl". Mick Middles. 1993 - "Whores Moaning - Oz '93 Tour Edition".

The Smiths: Songs That Saved Your Life (Reynolds and Hearn 2002, 2004²; ISBN 1-903111-47-1). 1993 - "Sugar Kane". Simon Goddard. 1992 - "Youth Against Fascism". Morrissey: Scandal and Passion (Robson 2004; ISBN 1-86105-787-3; covers both Smiths and Morrissey's solo career). 1992 - "100%". David Bret. 1990 - "Disappearer".

The Very Best of The Smiths (compilation, 2001: UK – 31). 1990 - "Kool Thing". Singles (compilation, 1995: UK – 5). 1989 - "Candle". ...Best II (compilation, 1992: UK – 29). 1988 - "Teenage Riot". Best...I (compilation, 1992: UK – 1; US – 139). 1986 - "Starpower".

Rank (live, 1988 [1986]: UK – 2; US – 77). 1986 - "Into the Groove(y)" (as Ciccone Youth). Strangeways, Here We Come (1987: UK – 2; US – 55). 1986 - "Halloween II". Louder Than Bombs (compilation, 1987: UK – 38; US – 62). 1986 - "Flower/Satan is Boring". The World Won't Listen (compilation, 1987: UK – 2). 1985 - "Flower/Halloween".

The Queen Is Dead (1986: UK – 2; US – 71). SYR3: Invito Al Celo (SYR, 1998). Meat Is Murder (1985: UK – 1; US – 110). Silver Session (For Jason Knuth) (Sonic Knuth Records, 1998). Hatful of Hollow (compilation, 1984: UK – 7). SYR2: Slaapkamers Met Slagroom (SYR, 1997). The Smiths (1984: UK – 2; US – 150). SYR1: Anagrama (SYR, 1997).

"Ask" (1995 re-issue [1986]: 62). Kill Yr Idols (Zensor, 1983) ^†. "There Is a Light that Never Goes Out" (1992 [1986]: 25). Sonic Nurse (DGC, 2004). "How Soon Is Now?" (1992 re-issue [1984]: 16). Murray Street (DGC, 2002). "This Charming Man" (1992 re-issue [1983]: 8). NYC Ghosts & Flowers (DGC, 2000).

"Last Night I Dreamt that Somebody Loved Me" (1987: 30). SYR4: Goodbye 20th Century (SYR, 1999). "I Started Something I Couldn't Finish" (1987: 23). A Thousand Leaves (DGC, 1998). "Girlfriend in a Coma" (1987: 13). Made in USA (Rhino, 1995). "Sheila Take a Bow" (1987: 10). Washing Machine (DGC, 1995).

"Shoplifters of the World Unite" (1987: 12). Screaming Fields of Sonic Love (DGC, 1994). "Ask" (1986: 14). Experimental Jet Set, Trash and No Star (DGC, 1994). "Panic" (1986: 11). Dirty (DGC, 1992). "Bigmouth Strikes Again" (1986: 26). Goo (DGC, 1990).

"The Boy with the Thorn in His Side" (1985: 23). Daydream Nation (Enigma/Blast First, 1988). "That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore" (1985: 49). "The White(y) Album" (Enigma/Blast First, 1988, as Ciccone Youth,
with Suzanne Sasic, J Mascis and Mike Watt). "Shakespeare's Sister" (1985: 26). Sister (SST, 1987). "How Soon Is Now?" (1985: 24). EVOL (SST, 1986).

"William, It Was Really Nothing" (1984: 17). Bad Moon Rising (Homestead, 1985). "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now" (1984: 10). Sonic Death^* (Ecstatic Peace, 1983). "What Difference Does It Make?" (1984: 12). Confusion Is Sex (Neutral, 1983). "This Charming Man" (1983: 25). Sonic Youth (Neutral, 1982).

"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.