Boy Afraid

The group was formed in early 1982 by two Manchester residents. Morrissey (Steven Patrick Morrissey, though he does not use his forenames) was an unemployed writer who had formed the UK New York Dolls fan club. Johnny Marr (originally John Maher, he changed his name to avoid confusion with the Buzzcocks drummer) was already a very skillful guitarist with a talent for songwriting, and he provided the music for Morrissey's lyrics throughout the group's career. Mike Joyce was recruited as drummer after a short audition. Dale Hibbert initially played bass, and provided demo recording facilities at the studio where he worked as a sound engineer. However, after two gigs, Marr's friend Andy Rourke replaced Hibbert. Marr and Rourke had previously worked together in The Paris Valentinos along with Kevin Kennedy, who later became a household name in Britain as Curly Watts in Coronation Street.The origin of the band's name is unknown - they stated that it was a reaction against names they considered fancy and pompous such as Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark and Depeche Mode. The name may also be a homage to Patti Smith, one of Morrissey's idols, 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 a quintessentially English name "The Smiths" when all of the band 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." Signing to indie label Rough Trade Records, they released their first single "Hand in Glove" on 13 May 1983. The record, like all of their later singles, was championed by DJ John Peel, but failed to chart. The follow-ups "This Charming Man" and "What Difference Does It Make?" fared better, and aided by much praise from the music press and a series of studio sessions for Peel and David Jensen at BBC Radio 1, The Smiths began to acquire a dedicated following (and in the case of Morrissey it continues to be a cult following). 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 bands that dominated the charts. Morrissey wrote about ordinary things, social statements of life, and everything from despair, rejection, and death, to vegitarianism and the English music scene. The group had a very distinctive visual style - album and single covers were colourful images of film and pop stars, usually in duotone, designed by Morrissey and Rough Trade art coordinator Jo Slee. Single covers rarely featured any text other than the band name, and the band themselves did not appear on the outer cover of any release. The "cover stars" were an indication of Morrissey's interests - obscure or cult film stars (Jean Marais, Joe Dallesandro, Terence Stamp, James Dean), figures from sixties British culture (Viv Nicholson, Pat Phoenix, Yootha Joyce, Shelagh Delaney), or pictures of unknown models taken from old film or magazine photos. In contrast to the 1980s obsession with exotic fashion, typified by new romantic artists such as Spandau Ballet or Duran Duran and magazines such as The Face or i-D, the group dressed in ordinary clothes - jeans and plain shirts - which reflected the "back to basics" style of the music. Morrissey occasionally affected props such as a (fake) hearing aid, thick-rimmed NHS-style glasses, and most famously bunches of flowers (often stuffed casually into the back of his trousers). Despite their continued success, personal differences within the band - including the increasingly strained relationship between Morrissey and Marr - saw them on the verge of splitting and by the time Strangeways, Here We Come (named after Strangeways Prison, Manchester) was released in September 1987, the band had ceased to exist. The breakdown in the relationship has been primarily attributed to Morrissey becoming annoyed at Marr's work with other artists, and Marr becoming frustrated by Morrissey's musical inflexibility. Marr in particular hated Morrissey's obsession with covering 1960s pop artists such as Twinkle and Cilla Black. Referring to the songs recorded in the band's last session together (B-sides for the "Girlfriend in a Coma" single which preceded the album's release), Marr said, "I wrote "I Keep Mine Hidden", but "Work Is a Four Letter Word" I hated. That was the last straw, really. I didn't form a group to perform Cilla Black songs."Despite their continued success, personal differences within the band - including the increasingly strained relationship between Morrissey and Marr - saw them on the verge of splitting and by the time Strangeways, Here We Come (named after Strangeways Prison, Manchester) was released in September 1987, the band had ceased to exist. The breakdown in the relationship has been primarily attributed to Morrissey becoming annoyed at Marr's work with other artists, and Marr becoming frustrated by Morrissey's musical inflexibility. Marr in particular hated Morrissey's obsession with covering 1960s pop artists such as Twinkle and Cilla Black. Referring to the songs recorded in the band's last session together (B-sides for the "Girlfriend in a Coma" single which preceded the album's release), Marr said, "I wrote "I Keep Mine Hidden", but "Work Is a Four Letter Word" I hated. That was the last straw, really. I didn't form a group to perform Cilla Black songs."