How The Rolling Stones influenced a classic song by The Smiths
The Rolling Stones and The Smiths are both historic British acts who pushed the musical landscape in a new direction but rarely featured in the same sentence. Despite their vast sonic differences, The Rolling Stones inspired Johnny Marr, and most notably, they influenced his creative process during the recording of ‘Bigmouth Strikes Again’.
The Stones were a pivotal influence on Marr during his early years, with the guitarist once describing their hit song ‘I Can’t Get No (Satisfaction)’ as “pretty much perfection”. Marr elaborated on the track during a discussion with The Guardian, stating: “It’s a beautiful mix of rhythm, sex and street poetry, with some of the coolest guitar ever caught on tape. Born of attitude, spirit and magic. Electric Voodoo.”
On his love of The Stones, Marr added: “When I formed The Smiths,” he said. “They were probably the biggest influence in terms of the politics and the blueprint for a band, including the dynamic between the guitarist and the singer.”
He continued: “When I was trying to get The Smiths together, I took the behaviour of Andrew Oldham and Brian Jones in their resourcefulness, desperation and ingenuity as the MO of The Stones as a working unit, as a source of inspiration – which was a pretty unusual thing to do in 1982.”
As Marr explained, The Rolling Stones were out of vogue when The Smiths emerged, but unlike most in his generation, the guitarist still held the band in the highest regard. The Stones were a source of reference while in the studio, and during the making of ‘Bigmouth Strikes Again’, Marr delved into the Rolodex of Stones material within his mind before deciding to replicate ‘Jumpin’ Jack Flash’.
During an interview with Guitar Player, Marr explained the trick he stole from The Stones and how the 1960s classic influenced one of The Smiths’ most beloved songs. “With ‘Bigmouth Strikes Again’, I was trying to write my ‘Jumpin’ Jack Flash’. I wanted something that was a rush all the way through, without a distinct middle eight as such,” he revealed.
Meanwhile, in a separate conversation with NME, Marr reiterated how The Rolling Stones inspired the Queen Is Dead track and claimed it was the closest The Smiths ever got to sounding like the group he named his “heroes”. “
He revealed: It’s a great song to play live. It’s as close as getting to the sound of my heroes as we came; the early Rolling Stones. There’s no other single like it, it’s a good example of our quirkiness”.
The track continues to be a live favourite for Marr. Since going solo, it’s remained an immovable part of his setlist, and he has performed it on almost 300 occasions. For comparison, due to their split shortly after its release, The Smiths only played ‘Bigmouth Strikes Again’ in concert 46 times.
Watch Johnny Marr perform ‘Bigmouth Strikes Again’ at Glastonbury Festival in 2019 below.
