The Smiths

Excerpt:

When ageing Smiths fans like me sing along to ‘This Charming Man’, The Smiths' second, breakthrough 1983 single - and the song that ruined our lives - we fondly imagine ourselves achieving some kind of crude approximation of his famous vocals, after all these years of study and devotion. Trying to live up to the lyrical command of that soliciting single.

But as this stunning, eerie, isolated - desolate, even - vocal track from the single recording, stripped back of all the bright, jangly cheeriness, proves, none of us, or his professional imitators, came even slightly close. Ever.

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Related thread:

• This Charming Man a...

Hanging Around Books are delighted to announce that our next release will feature Stephen Wright's iconic images of The Smiths.

We are currently taking pre-orders for the first edition of 250 copies. These will be reserved and mailed out ahead of release date and as soon as we receive copies back from the printers. You will receive an email confirming shipment

Stephen, whose "Salford Lads Club" photograph of the band was an era-defining image, has opened up his archive to us and these are gathered together for the first time in a collection that will be released on August 5th.

As Stephen states in his introduction to this release:

"Over the years some of these shots have appeared in numerous newspapers, magazines and books but, to me, they are images that bring back great memories of just some of the many musicians I shot at the start of my career as a photographer. Initially based in...

If You Get ‘Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now,’ You Get The Smiths

Excerpt:

"The Smiths are one of those rare bands that managed to build a remarkable, enduring legacy and sustain an ardent fan base despite having very little success on the singles charts. Since its debut album in 1983 and long after its break-up less than four years later, the Manchester-based guitar-pop band—comprising singer and lyricist Morrissey, guitarist and songwriter Johnny Marr, bassist Andy Rourke, and drummer Mike Joyce—has enjoyed critical acclaim and a cult following. In the early 2000s, Rolling Stone included four Smiths albums on its list of the 500 greatest in rock history. Their music has functioned as plot points in at least two films produced long after the group’s disbanding: (500) Days of Summer and The Killer... "


Read-counted gate removed:
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2024 May 24th (Fri) – June 8th (Sat) * Closed June 2nd (Sun)
★Reservation-only talk event held on May 26th (Sun) from 15:00 Exhibition
and sale of treasured photographs by photographer/musician ROMI MORI, who has been photographing The Smiths since before their album debut.
In addition, in Part.2 , all 17 12-inch singles, vinyl records of the six albums, rare items that fans must see , etc. will be sold in a bidding auction. Please enjoy them together.


PDF of event with images available above.
Some nice shots by Romi:

[ATTACH...

Morrissey mentioned


Excerpt:

In fact, Sameshima is now so at ease with his cruising self that he has a tattoo of a glory hole – openings punched in the walls of toilet cubicles, allowing the men on either side to have sex with each other. (He also did a series of photographs of them, called Erdbeermund.) The artist is more ambivalent about another tattoo that reads “How Soon is Now” in homage to the Smiths, given Morrissey’s recent politics. “Johnny Marr is still OK,” he says. “And he co-wrote How Soon Is Now. Well, that’s how I justify it.”

Louder Than Bombs is on Kevin Griffin's list of Albums he can't live without, for Spin - https://www.spin.com/2024/03/5-albums-i-cant-live-without-kevin-griffin-of-better-than-ezra/?

4. Louder Than Bombs, The Smiths
This was a compilation from one of my all-time favorite bands. Morrisey’s [sic] voice and lyrics… Johnny Marr’s sublime guitar work…oh my it’s heaven!

Couple of bits from the latest Record Collector #556 (April, 2024):

The Smiths
(Rough Trade, 1984)

"William is a massive Smiths fan. I wasn't a fan then and I'm not a fan now. It used to drive me mad because I couldn't find anyone back then who didn't like The Smiths. I don't get them at all. They leave me completely cold."



Small bit on a record shop too:

FWD.