The Smiths

The Smiths were an English band from Manchester, built around the partnership of singer and lyricist Morrissey and guitarist Johnny Marr. The partnership began in May 1982, when Marr visited Morrissey at his home in Stretford to propose forming a band^[1]. They took the name by late 1982, recorded a first demo in August 1982, and made their live debut at Manchester's Ritz in October 1982^[1].

Signed to the independent label Rough Trade, the band had its first major breakthrough with the single "This Charming Man" in 1983, which brought a Top of the Pops appearance^[2]. Their self-titled debut album followed on 20 February 1984 and reached number two on the UK chart^[1]. Marr's bright, layered guitar work and Morrissey's wry, literate and often ambiguous lyrics made them one of the most influential British bands of the decade^[2].

Marr bought a house in Bowdon in 1985, and it became a songwriting base where the pair worked in long sessions that produced much of The Queen Is Dead^[4]. That 1986 album reached number two in the UK, and the band's final concert took place in December 1986, with Marr leaving in the summer of 1987^[4]. Among their best-loved songs is "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out", completed at Jacobs Studio in Farnham with orchestral strings that Marr built himself on a sampling keyboard^[3].

In 1984 the band released "How Soon Is Now?" as an extra track on the 12-inch single of "William, It Was Really Nothing"^[5]. Its pulsing tremolo guitar, built by Marr from several amplifiers, and its exposed portrait of social anxiety made it one of their defining recordings, and it was gathered on the compilation Hatful of Hollow, released by Rough Trade in November 1984^[6][7].