The Smiths

Formed: Manchester, England, 1982

Members: Morrissey, Johnny Marr, Andy Rourke, Mike Joyce.

First single: Hand In Glove (May 1983)

Album discography: The Smiths (February 1984); Meat Is Murder (February 1985); The Queen Is Dead (June 1986); Strangeways Here We Come (September 1987).

The mystery soldier whose photo was used on the cover of Meat Is Murder by The Smiths in 1985

Who is on the cover of Meat Is Murder by The Smiths?

More on The Smiths

Shortest Songs Ever from the likes of The Smiths, Nirvana and The White Stripes

The best songs under 2 minutes

Morrissey of The Smiths performs on stage at Brixton Academy in 1986

This is what The Smiths played at their last ever live show

The Smiths' Morrissey And Johnny Marr in 1985

Morrissey on why he wanted The Smiths reunion tour: "We’ve all begun to grow old"

Morrissey

Morrissey in 1984 and the Coronation Street set

When Morrissey wrote a script for Coronation Street

Great TV appearances: Queen on Top Of The Pops; The Stone Roses on The Other Side Of Midnight; The Smiths on The Tube; and David Bowie trying to get into the BBC Television Centre in 1964.

The 10 greatest debut TV appearances

Classic album titles... but what do they mean?

What’s the meaning behind these classic album titles?

Ian Brown with The Stone Roses in June 1989... and performing solo at the O2 Academy in Edinburgh, September 2022.

Manchester music legends now and then

Classic LIVE albums from Queen, U2, David Bowie, The Smiths, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, Oasis, The Who, Arctic Monkeys and The Cure

The 20 best live albums

The Smiths tracks

TRENDING ON RADIO X

Radio X has launched three new stations: Radio X 90s, Radio X 00s and Radio X Chilled

Get into even more Radio X music with three new stations!

Glastonbury Festival ticket sales tips and tricks

Glastonbury 2025 ticket sale guide: tips, tricks & how to buy tickets

Music has been a form of protest for hundreds of years

The 50 greatest protest songs

Some of the biggest rock albums of 1985: Misplaced Childhood, Afterburner, Brothers In Arms and Love.

The 25 best Classic Rock albums of 1985

Heading out and about in 2025: Oasis, Linkin Park, Fontaines D.C. and Sam Fender

The biggest gigs and tours to come in 2025