The Smiths were an English indie pop band, formed in Manchester in 1982. Although they had limited commercial success outside the UK while they were still together, and never released a single that charted higher than number 10 in their home country, The Smiths won a growing following, and remain cult and commercial favourites. The band found good success with the singles “There is a light that never goes out” and “panic”. The iconic front man Morrissey stated that he chose the name The Smiths "... because it was the most ordinary name" and because he thought that it was "... time that the ordinary folk of the world showed their faces."
Morrissey's lyrics, while depressing, were often full of mordant humour; John Peel remarked that The Smiths were one of the few bands capable of making him laugh out loud. Influenced by his childhood interest in the working-class social Morrissey wrote about ordinary people and their experiences with despair, rejection and death. While gloomy "...songs such as 'Still Ill' sealed his role as spokesman for disaffected youth", Morrissey's "manic-depressive rants" and his "'woe-is-me' posture inspired some hostile critics to dismiss the Smiths as 'miserabilists.'" The Smiths dressed mainly in ordinary clothes – jeans and plain shirts – which reflected the "back to basics" guitar-and-drums style of the music. This contrasted with the high fashion sported by pop bands “Spandau Ballet” and “Duran Duran” that were popular at the time.
The Band released 4 albums. The group released their debut album The Smiths, which reached number two on the UK Albums Chart. Controversy followed when "Suffer Little Children" touched on the theme of the Moors murders. This caused uproar after the grandfather of one of the murdered children felt the band was trying to commercialise the murders. After meeting with Morrissey, he accepted that the song was a sincere exploration of the impact of the murders. Early in 1985 the band released their second album, Meat Is Murder. This album was more political than its previous one, including the pro-vegetarian title track (Morrissey forbid the rest of the group from being photographed eating meat), the light-hearted republicanism of "Nowhere Fast", and the anti-corporal punishment "The Headmaster Ritual" and "Barbarism Begins at Home". Meat Is Murder was the band's only album to reach number one in the UK charts.
Morrissey brought a political stance to many of his interviews, courting further controversy. Among his targets were the Thatcher government and the monarchy which continued his ambitious public messages. Morrissey launched his own solo career after the band split and is still fairly popular now.
No comments:
Post a Comment