The La's
Jangle pop
ARTIST · INDIE / POST-PUNK
The Smiths
Tweed romance and kitchen-sink opera—every intro riff feels like opening a diary aloud.
- Indie pop
- Post-punk
- Jangle pop
Updated
Biography
The Queen Is Dead sharpened literary ambition while never abandoning danceable bounce.
How Soon Is Now’s tremolo wizardry became sonic shorthand for outsider longing.
Studio discipline with Stephen Street captured room breath beneath glossy despair.
High-bitrate streams preserve spring reverb drip, melodic bass counterpoint, and vocal quiver.
Morrissey and Johnny Marr started The Smiths in Manchester with bassist Andy Rourke and drummer Mike Joyce. The Smiths (1984) was followed by Meat Is Murder (1985), a more political work, and The Queen Is Dead (1986).
Hand in Glove, This Charming Man, and Panic were hits, and Strangeways, Here We Come (1987) appeared after the group split. Marr’s jangling guitar and Morrissey’s lyrics have inspired generations. Rourke died in 2023.
The Smiths: recent news, 2020–2026
- 2023 Bassist Andy Rourke died on 19 May at the age of 59.
Interesting facts about The Smiths
- 01 English rock band formed in Manchester in 1982 featuring Morrissey and Johnny Marr.
- 02 The Queen Is Dead (1986) is widely cited among the greatest albums of the 1980s.
- 03 Released four studio albums between 1984 and 1987.
- 04 The band released four studio albums between 1984 and 1987.
- 05 Andy Rourke died in 2023.
- 06 Johnny Marr’s jangling guitar style was a defining part of the band’s sound.
For listeners
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