The Smiths song Morrissey regarded as “the best days of our career”
When examining the landscape of modern indie rock, the melancholic sounds of The Smiths certainly have a lot to answer for. From their early roots in the wake of the punk movement, Morrissey and Johnny Marr managed to create a beloved sound unlike anything that had been thrust onto mainstream British audiences ever before. The Mancunian band were so groundbreaking that even the ever-miserable Morrissey cannot help but look back upon those times with a smile.
Despite only being together for five short years, The Smiths managed to produce a wealth of material during that time. In addition to their four incredible studio albums, the group also put out three compilations and even a live record. There is a Smiths song for every mood, so long as that mood is predominantly sad. As you might expect, therefore, you could ask ten different people for their favourite Smiths track and get ten different answers, speaking to the brilliance of Marr and Morrissey’s songwriting partnership.
Conflict often produces the best art, and the two songwriters at the heart of The Smiths were rarely at peace with one another. Seemingly, it was this endless rivalry that produced some of the group’s finest work, owing to Morrissey and Marr attempting to one-up each other. Nevertheless, there were some moments of calm within the band, which remain fond memories for the group’s flamboyant frontman.
During a 1997 interview with KROQ, Morrissey reflected on his time with The Smiths, selecting their 1987 single ‘Shoplifters of the World Unite’ as a notable highlight within the band’s tenure. The singer described the track as a “Very, very witty single and a great moment for The Smiths in England,” explaining, “I think it was probably the best days of our career. It was just a very funny time and a time of very sparky rebellion, and this song, more than any, I think, exemplifies that. I like it”.
The song itself is beloved by Smiths fans, imbued with the kind of glam rock influences pertinent throughout the group’s late-period material. Speaking to the endearing sense of humour held by the band, the lyrics advocated shoplifting and referenced socialist scholar Karl Marx, whose famous quote “Workers of the world, unite” is parodied by the song’s title. Speaking about the track on The Tube in 1987, Mozza attested, “It’s more or less spiritual shoplifting, cultural shoplifting, taking things and using them to your own advantage”.
Morrissey describing the track as “the best days of our career” does seem rather odd, given the high tensions within the band’s line-up at the time. In fact, The Smiths did not last all that long after the release of ‘Shoplifters of the World Unite’, splitting up only months later. The dispute over royalties that ensued seemed to cast the final days of the indie heroes in a somewhat antagonistic light, but it seems as though the material created during this time was good enough to overshadow all of that nastiness.
For Morrissey, the messy break-up of The Smiths did nothing to distract him from the brilliance of the band’s material. ‘Shoplifters of the World Unite’ remains a definite favourite for the singer, who continues to perform the track in his solo live shows – most recently at a performance in Las Vegas back in 2022.
