The Smiths - Did You Know?
March 29, 2018Music facts, music trivia, interesting stories and much more. Introducing the "Did You Know" page about English rock band, The Smiths.
Enjoy!
The Smiths were an English rock band that were formed in 1982 in Manchester. The Smiths consisted of Morrissey (vocals), Johnny Marr (guitar), Andy Rourke (bass) and Mike Joyce (drummer).
The Smiths are considered as one of the most important bands that emerged from the British independent music scene of the 1980s. NME also named them the "most influential artist ever" in a poll that was made in 2002. In 2003, four of the band's albums made their way to the Rolling Stone list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
So, how did they got to be The Smiths? Morrissey claimed that the band called themselves Smiths, because it was the most ordinary name that they could think of. Morrissey said that it was time that the ordinary folk of the world showed their faces.
This came at a time when there were many pretentious names in pop, like: Depeche Mode, Spandau Ballet and Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark.
The Smiths scored several singles that reached the top 20 of the UK Singles Chart and all four of their studio albums reached the top 5 of the UK Albums Chart, including the album Meat Is Murder, which topped the chart.
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The song "How Soon Is Now?" by The Smiths is about Morrissey's crippling shyness. The song has since become an anthem for the alienated and socially isolated.
The band even installed red lightbulbs in their London studio in order to create the perfect atmosphere to record this song.
The Smiths had difficulties playing the song live, as Johnny Marr actually struggled to recreate the guitar effect in concert.
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