Understanding the break-up of The Smiths
For a band that only lasted a grand total of five years, The Smiths had a profound impact on the musical landscape. Driven by the songwriting partnership of Morrissey and Johnny Marr, the iconic indie band is responsible for some of the most recognisable and beloved tracks of the 1980s.
Forming in Manchester in 1982, The Smiths were born out of the punk rock generation. Marr and Morrissey had often attended the same gigs in the late 1970s, both appreciating the DIY quality and honesty of punk music. In fact, the pair reportedly first met at a Patti Smith concert, with one theory suggesting that the name The Smiths is derived from their mutual appreciation for the godmother of punk.
The melancholic Mancunians soon signed to legendary independent label Rough Trade, and the rest, as they say, is history. Four studio albums plus three compilations and a live record is pretty good going to say the band were only together for five years. With a sound influenced heavily by girl groups of the 1960s in addition to Marr’s love of punk and jazz guitarists, The Smiths were a distinctly unique voice in the 1980s, providing the soundtrack for the lives of outcasts and angsty teens everywhere.
In contrast to the glittery cookie-cutter pop music of the ’80s, The Smiths struck a chord by discussing the ordinary and the beauty in the sadness that comes with everyday life. Their four studio albums were all commercial hits and have since stood the test of time, sounding as fresh today as they did almost four decades ago.
Despite their success, or perhaps because of it, The Smiths broke up in 1987, shortly before the release of their final record, Strangeways, Here We Come. The split was messy, with Marr apparently disenfranchised by his group’s sound. This is evident on Strangeways, which features a lot more piano and keyboards than Marr’s usual jangly guitars.
The guitarist actually left the group in June, temporarily, leading to an infamous NME article entitled ‘The Smiths to split’, which Marr assumed had been planted by Morrissey. Reportedly, Morrissey was becoming frustrated with the guitarist’s desire to work with other musicians, whilst Marr became fed up with the singer’s inflexibility. According to Marr, the final straw came when Morrissey insisted that the group do covers of artists from the 1960s, “That was the last straw, really. I didn’t form a group to perform Cilla Black songs,” he said back in 1992. After the split, there were lengthy legal proceedings over royalties, with Mike Joyce and Andy Rourke feeling as though they had been taken advantage of during their time with The Smiths.
Although the band remains culturally relevant to this day, their enduring success has never led to any reunion. Morrissey once publicly stated: “I would rather eat my own testicles than reform the Smiths, and that’s saying something for a vegetarian”. The frontman has enjoyed a successful solo career since the break-up of his band, as has guitarist Johnny Marr. Over the years, there has been the odd bit of speculation over a Smiths reunion, but with the death of Andy Rouke in 2023, it now seems more unlikely than ever that such a thing will ever occur.
