The English rock band the Smiths recorded 74 songs during their five-year career, which included 70 originals and 4 covers. The band was formed in Manchester in 1982 and signed a one-off recording contract with independent record label Rough Trade Records, releasing their debut single, "Hand in Glove" in May 1983.[1] The single found success in the UK, earning the group a full contract.[2] Their follow-up singles, "This Charming Man" and "What Difference Does It Make?" fared better on the UK charts and helped increase the band's popularity. The next year saw the release of their self-titled debut album, several non-album singles, and Hatful of Hollow, a collection of B-sides, live recordings, and numerous non-album singles.[3] [4] The band's popularity increased with Meat Is Murder (1985), their only UK number one studio album, and The Queen Is Dead (1986), which reached number two on the UK charts and peaked in the US Top 100. Several non-album singles after Hatful of Hollow saw release on the compilations The World Won't Listen and Louder Than Bombs in early 1987.[5] [6] Despite their chart success, tensions began growing in the band, mainly between Marr and Morrissey and the band's label; the band announced their break-up shortly before the release of their final album, Strangeways, Here We Come.[7] The live album Rank followed in 1988.[8]
The majority of the Smiths' songs were written by the songwriting partnership of Morrissey and Johnny Marr. Throughout their career, their songs differed from the predominant synth-pop British sound of the early 1980s, instead fusing together 1960s rock and post-punk.[9] In their early years, the band purposely rejected synthesisers and dance music,[10] until Meat Is Murder, which contained keyboards as well as rockabilly and funk influences.[11] The Queen Is Dead was notable for featuring harder-rocking songs with witty, satirical lyrics of British social mores, intellectualism and class.[12] Throughout their career, Morrissey drew attention during interviews and live performances for his provocative statements, such as criticising the Thatcher administration and being pro-vegetarian, as shown in the title track of Meat Is Murder.[13] The Smiths often addressed controversial topics in their lyrics, including homosexuality ("Hand in Glove"), the Moors murders ("Suffer Little Children"), as well as burning "the disco" and hanging "the DJ" ("Panic").[14] Since their breakup, the Smiths have been considered one of the most influential bands of the 1980s, with Ian Youngs of BBC News describing them as "the band that inspired deeper devotion than any British group since the Beatles."[15]
| Song released as a single | |
| Song not written by Johnny Marr and Morrissey | |
| Song originally released as a B-side | |
| Writer(s) | Original release | Year | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Accept Yourself" | Johnny Marr Morrissey | Hatful of Hollow (B-side to "This Charming Man") | 1984 | [16] |
| "Ask" | Johnny Marr Morrissey | (Non-album single) | 1986 | [17] |
| "Asleep" | Johnny Marr Morrissey | (B-side to "The Boy with the Thorn in His Side") | 1985 | [18] |
| "Back to the Old House" | Johnny Marr Morrissey | Hatful of Hollow (B-side to "What Difference Does It Make?") | 1984 | [19] |
| "Barbarism Begins at Home" | Johnny Marr Morrissey | Meat Is Murder | 1985 | [20] |
| "Bigmouth Strikes Again" | Johnny Marr Morrissey | 1986 | [21] | |
| "" | Johnny Marr Morrissey | 1986 | ||
| "Cemetry Gates" | Johnny Marr Morrissey | 1986 | ||
| "Death at One's Elbow" | Johnny Marr Morrissey | Strangeways, Here We Come | 1987 | [22] |
| "Death of a Disco Dancer" | Johnny Marr Morrissey | Strangeways, Here We Come | 1987 | |
| "" | Johnny Marr | 1986 | [23] | |
| "Frankly, Mr. Shankly" | Johnny Marr Morrissey | 1986 | ||
| "Girl Afraid" | Johnny Marr Morrissey | Hatful of Hollow (B-side to "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now") | 1984 | [24] |
| "Girlfriend in a Coma" | Johnny Marr Morrissey | Strangeways, Here We Come | 1987 | |
| "Golden Lights" | Louder Than Bombs (B-side to "Ask") | 1987 | [25] | |
| "Half a Person" | Johnny Marr Morrissey | (B-side to "Shoplifters of the World Unite") | 1987 | [26] |
| "Hand in Glove" | Johnny Marr Morrissey | 1984 | [27] | |
| "" | Johnny Marr Morrissey | 1984 | ||
| "Handsome Devil" | Johnny Marr Morrissey | Hatful of Hollow (B-side to "Hand in Glove") | 1984 | |
| "" | Johnny Marr Morrissey | Meat Is Murder | 1985 | |
| "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now" | Johnny Marr Morrissey | Hatful of Hollow (Non-album single) | 1984 | [28] |
| "" (live) | Rank | 1988 | [29] | |
| "How Soon Is Now?" | Johnny Marr Morrissey | Hatful of Hollow (B-side to "William, It Was Really Nothing") | 1984 | [30] |
| "I Don't Owe You Anything" | Johnny Marr Morrissey | 1984 | ||
| "I Keep Mine Hidden" | Johnny Marr Morrissey | 1987 | [31] | |
| "I Know It's Over" | Johnny Marr Morrissey | 1986 | ||
| "I Started Something I Couldn't Finish" | Johnny Marr Morrissey | Strangeways, Here We Come | 1987 | |
| "I Want the One I Can't Have" | Johnny Marr Morrissey | Meat Is Murder | 1985 | |
| "I Won't Share You" | Johnny Marr Morrissey | Strangeways, Here We Come | 1987 | |
| "Is It Really So Strange?" | Johnny Marr Morrissey | Louder Than Bombs (B-side to "Sheila Take a Bow") | 1987 | [32] [33] |
| "Jeane" | Johnny Marr Morrissey | 1983 | [34] | |
| "Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me" | Johnny Marr Morrissey | Strangeways, Here We Come | 1987 | |
| "London" | Johnny Marr Morrissey | (B-side to "Shoplifters of the World Unite") | 1987 | |
| "Meat Is Murder" | Johnny Marr Morrissey | Meat Is Murder | 1985 | |
| "Miserable Lie" | Johnny Marr Morrissey | 1984 | ||
| "Money Changes Everything" | Johnny Marr | (B-side to "Bigmouth Strikes Again") | 1986 | [35] |
| "Never Had No One Ever" | Johnny Marr Morrissey | 1986 | ||
| "Nowhere Fast" | Johnny Marr Morrissey | Meat Is Murder | 1985 | |
| "Oscillate Wildly" | Johnny Marr | (B-side to "How Soon Is Now?") | 1985 | [36] |
| "Paint a Vulgar Picture" | Johnny Marr Morrissey | Strangeways, Here We Come | 1987 | |
| "Panic" | Johnny Marr Morrissey | (Non-album single) | 1986 | [37] |
| "Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want" | Johnny Marr Morrissey | Hatful of Hollow (B-side to "William, It Was Really Nothing") | 1984 | |
| "Pretty Girls Make Graves" | Johnny Marr Morrissey | 1984 | ||
| "" | Johnny Marr Morrissey | 1986 | ||
| "Reel Around the Fountain" | Johnny Marr Morrissey | 1984 | ||
| "Rubber Ring" | Johnny Marr Morrissey | (B-side to "The Boy with the Thorn in His Side") | 1985 | |
| "" | Johnny Marr Morrissey | Strangeways, Here We Come | 1987 | |
| "Rusholme Ruffians" | Johnny Marr Morrissey | Meat Is Murder | 1985 | |
| "Shakespeare's Sister" | Johnny Marr Morrissey | (Non-album single) | 1985 | [38] |
| "Sheila Take a Bow" | Johnny Marr Morrissey | Louder Than Bombs (Non-album single) | 1987 | [39] |
| "Shoplifters of the World Unite" | Johnny Marr Morrissey | (Non-album single) | 1986 | [40] |
| "Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others" | Johnny Marr Morrissey | 1986 | ||
| "Still Ill" | Johnny Marr Morrissey | 1984 | ||
| "Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before" | Johnny Marr Morrissey | Strangeways, Here We Come | 1987 | |
| "Stretch Out and Wait" | Johnny Marr Morrissey | (B-side to "Shakespeare's Sister") | 1985 | [41] |
| "Suffer Little Children" | Johnny Marr Morrissey | 1984 | ||
| "Sweet and Tender Hooligan" | Johnny Marr Morrissey | Louder Than Bombs (B-side to "Sheila Take a Bow") | 1987 | |
| "That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore" | Johnny Marr Morrissey | Meat Is Murder | 1985 | |
| "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out" | Johnny Marr Morrissey | 1986 | ||
| "These Things Take Time" | Johnny Marr Morrissey | Hatful of Hollow (B-side to "What Difference Does It Make?") | 1984 | |
| "This Charming Man" | Johnny Marr Morrissey | Hatful of Hollow (Non-album single) | 1983 | [42] |
| "This Night Has Opened My Eyes" | Johnny Marr Morrissey | Hatful of Hollow | 1984 | |
| "Unhappy Birthday" | Johnny Marr Morrissey | Strangeways, Here We Come | 1987 | |
| "Unloveable" | Johnny Marr Morrissey | (B-side to "Bigmouth Strikes Again") | 1987 | |
| "Vicar in a Tutu" | Johnny Marr Morrissey | 1986 | ||
| "Well I Wonder" | Johnny Marr Morrissey | Meat Is Murder | 1985 | |
| "What Difference Does It Make?" | Johnny Marr Morrissey | 1984 | ||
| "What She Said" | Johnny Marr Morrissey | Meat Is Murder | 1985 | |
| "What's the World" (live) | 1987 | [43] | ||
| "William, It Was Really Nothing" | Johnny Marr Morrissey | Hatful of Hollow (Non-album single) | 1984 | [44] |
| "Wonderful Woman" | Johnny Marr Morrissey | 1983 | [45] | |
| "Work is a Four Letter Word" | 1987 | |||
| "You Just Haven't Earned It Yet, Baby" | Johnny Marr Morrissey | 1987 | [46] | |
| "You've Got Everything Now" | Johnny Marr Morrissey | 1984 | ||