Thirty years ago two men from Manchester, Steven Morrissey and John Maher formed what is considered today by many as the most influential Indi rock bands of the ‘80s.  Rough Trade Records signed The Smiths at a time when acts like Culture club and Kajagoogoo dominated the British charts. Hearing aide wearing Morrisey added his unique vocal style to the guitar melodies of Johnny Marr, (as he was now known). While most were rehashing oldies or churning out meaningless drivel, the anti-establishment quartet released four albums in as many years containing thought provoking lyrics about the royal family, vegetarianism and working class northern life.

While Adam Ant and Duran Duran experimented with make up and big hair, and Boy George took it a step further to almost full blown cross dressing, Morrissey looked like he had fallen in his mother’s wardrobe. With unbuttoned shirts and flowers hanging out of his pockets, he looked nothing like a typical pop star. Die-hard fans would claim the appeal of the Smiths had nothing to do with style and everything to do with substance. Many of Manchester’s most successful music acts such as the Stone Roses and Oasis name The Smiths as an influence.  It has been said by others that Morrissey was an arrogant pretentious player, cleverly exploiting a hole in the market while looking down his nose at the people he claimed to represent.

It is still difficult to pinpoint the reason for the success of the band. Titles such as Heaven knows I’m miserable now and Shoplifters of the world unite, did little to attract positive attention and yet a generation of students adored the band and their music and people who were not even born at the height of The Smiths success can still be seen wearing tee shirts featuring logos such as meat is murder and the queen is dead. Despite the longevity of their legacy, the band split in 1987 and unlike many bands have resisted reforming with Morrissey reportedly commenting that he would rather eat his own testicles.

The band have mainly managed to remain aloof and a bit of an enigma. Morrissey’s autobiography, due out next week, has just been shelved due to a “content disagreement” between the publishers and Morrissey. Whether this is a publicity stunt or not we will have to wait and see but if and when it hits the shelves it will make very interesting reading for millions of fans.