Where did The Smiths get their name?

28 September 2022, 12:00

The Smiths in Detroit, June 1985: Johnny Marr, Morrissey, Mike Joyce and Andy Rourke. Picture: Ross Marino/Getty Images

What inspired Morrissey and Marr to pick such an unusual name for their classic indie quartet?

The Smiths - Morrissey, Johnny Marr, Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce - remain one of the most influential bands to come out of the 1980s. Their legend is assured by the fact that it seems the band are never likely to reunite due to fractious relationships between certain members of the band.

By the end of 1982, Morrissey had devised the band's now famous moniker, but according to one theory in fan folklore, he came up with three versions; The Smiths, Smiths Family, and Smithdom asking Johnny Marr to choose between them at the time, with the guitarist opting for the first.

Another theory says the frontman simply went up to Marr's house with "The Smiths" written on a piece of paper, which he held up to the guitarist.

Morrissey and Smiths bassist Andy Rourke, performing at Leicester's De Montfort Hall in 1984. Picture: Steve Orobec / Alamy Stock Photo

How exactly Morrissey delivered the news of the band name might be up for debate, but the reason why he chose it can be seen as far more simple. "Ordinary" even...

When asked about the origins of their name on kids' TV show DataRun in 1984, Marr replied: "We call ourselves The Smiths, because you decided (pointing at Morrissey) we'd call ourselves the Smiths."

Morrissey added to their audience of school children: "And I decided because it was the most ordinary name, and I thought it's time that the ordinary folk of the world showed their faces".

Kids Interviewing Morrissey & Marr (Datarun) (1984)

Marr backs up this theory on The South Bank Show in 1987 when talking about some of their contemporaries such as Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark, who they thought of as overly complicated and verbose.

He mused: "You've got all these synthesising duos, really mixing metaphors, really corny as hell metaphorical lyrics with 18 syllable names.

"And because we understood all that totally, we were involved in it to an extent and observed it, we just turned the whole thing around and called ourselves The Smiths..."

Morrissey at an early Smiths show in June 1984. Picture: Innis McAllister / Alamy Stock Photo

There is however one other theory, concerns the Moors Murders, which were carried out by Ian Brady and Myra Hindley in and around Manchester between 1963 and 1965.

The couple, often dubbed as the the most depraved serial killers to blight the United Kingdom, killed five children between the age of five and 17- a subject dealt with in The Smiths' 1984 track, Suffer Little Children.

The lyrics to the track were written by Morrissey after he had read a book on the murders - Beyond Belief: The Moors Murderers: The Story of Ian Brady and Myra Hindley by Emlyn Williams.

The original Smiths? Maureen and David Smith arrive to give evidence at the Moors Murderers trial in April 1966. A drawing based on one of these photos by the artist Raymond Pettibon later appeared on the cover of Sonic Youth's album Goo. Picture: PA Images / Alamy Stock Photo

The murder of one of Brady's victims, Edward Evans, was witnessed by Hindley's 17-year-old brother-in-law David Smith, who was married to her sister Maureen.

Though Smith initially helped hide the body, he was then urged to shop Brady to the police after recounting the story to his wife Maureen - which meant "the Smiths" were the ones that ended the couple's horrific spate of murders. After many applications for parole were denied, Hindley died in hospital in 2002 aged 60, while Brady died in 2017 aged 79, still incarcerated.

While we'll never truly know what impact these events had on the band's name, Morrissey and Marr's explanation of The Smiths being "ordinary" seems to be the the one they stuck by.