The Smiths

The 1980s pop superstar talks about backstage antics at the BBC, being cornered by Bob Geldof at Heathrow, and those notorious outfits.

The article is gated - so reproduced in full below:

Another one of those ridiculous lists, this time voted by BBC Radio 2 listeners.

The Queen Is Dead is #7.


Imho, Joshua Tree isn't even the best U2 album of the 80s...

THE SMITHS - STRANGEWAYS HERE WE COME - COPYMASTERS DEMO CASSETTE:
Estimate - £100-200.
Sold for: £1000

MORRISSEY - DEMO CASSETTES (ROUGH TRADE ARCHIVE):
Estimate - £100-200
Sold for: £130

THE SMITHS - WEA DEMO CASSETTES
Estimate - £100-200
Sold for: £300

THE SMITHS - EDEN STUDIOS DEMO CASSETTE (BEFORE FIRST ALBUM):
Estimate - £150-250
Sold for: £3000

THE SMITHS - SHEILA TAKE A BOW (SOLID BOND STUDIOS DEMO CASSETTE):
Estimate - £100-200
Sold for: £900

THE SMITHS - ASK REMIX - DEMO CASSETTE:
Estimate - £100-200
Sold for: £1300

THE SMITHS - 'LIVE AT KILBURN' (RANK) - DEMO CASSETTES:
Estimate - £100-200
Sold for: £700

THE SMITHS - MAYFAIR RECORDING STUDIOS DEMO CASSETTES:
Estimate - £150-250
Sold for: £3000

THE SMITHS - HOW SOON IS NOW - DEMO CASSETTE:
Estimate - £100-200
Sold for: £2100

THE SMITHS - THE SMITHS - ORIGINAL TROY TATE SESSIONS DEMO CASSETTE:
Estimate - £500-1000
Sold for: £2400

I couldn't follow this live to see if there was a clear explanation for lot...

Noel said this before playing "How Soon Is Now", "When bands try to cover other bands..Two people that you should never try to cover are Morrissey and John Lydon. Because they are so original in everything...you know Johnny was such a wizard on the guitar...the way that he plays the guitar is not derived from anything I could think about back in those days. The Smiths were on a different level, they still are. Every time I listen to The Smiths it's just lyrically and musically is just f*%&king unreachable for me."

I agree that it was the marriage of the music and lyrics that solidified the band as the best. Lot's of groups have amazing songs, but do they have both? Link for On Demand if you have Sirius

Belfast Telegraph:

"Live gigs worth all the Troubles: Concerts by bands like The Smiths helped unite Northern Ireland during dark days of the past, says Joe Lindsay" - September 29, 2020

Excerpt:

"Particularly during the bad times here, it lifted you and kept you going. It was a ray of hope that got you out and into town and mixing with people at a time when you might not otherwise have done. It was an escape big-time," he added.

"Going to my first gig to see The Smiths at the Ulster Hall when I was 13, I had never seen anything like it and it absolutely lit me up."




Regards,
FWD.

In the "Dundee Courier" 'nostalgia' section (!) a trip down memory lane to The Smiths concert at the Caird Hall 35 years ago to-morrow.

https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/nos...g-historic-smiths-gig-in-dundee-35-years-ago/

Interviews with a few fans, with the attendant legally-required footnotes and apologies du jour {í am sure these people do disagree with whatever they believe to be his 'right-wing views', but there obviously is the thought that if you go public with any sort of Moz luv now, even in the 'nostalgia' section, to avoid the risk of on-line abuse in the wonderful world of 2020, you have to deliver such as the following ~ “I’m not a supporter in any way, shape or form of Morrissey’s controversial comments, quotes and opinions over the intervening years and find them deeply offensive” }

Otherwise, a sweet piece. Would be interested in seeing the snaps of M. feeding grapes to the...

Rolling Stone has updated their 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list, and three of the Smiths albums previously listed have been dropped. Only The Queen is Dead remains, and, although it has moved up from its previous position to #113, it is shocking to see some of the albums that ranked better!

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UPDATE Sep. 23:

Posted by sfchow:

Not sure if this been mentioned, but Morrissey did submit his list of albums to RS

(scroll down; right above Stuart Murdoch!)

I wonder if any of Morrissey's votes made it into the final 500...

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Related item:

• Four Smiths albums in Rolling Stone's '500 Greatest Albums of all time' - Nov. 25, 2003