The Smiths’ Mike Joyce discusses his favourite modern band
Emerging in 1982 during the height of synth-pop mania, The Smiths distinguished themselves from the crowd, hence the ironically commonplace name, with a trailblazing brand of guitar rock later branded as jangle pop. The four-piece gained traction with early singles like ‘This Charming Man’ and ‘What Difference Does It Make?’, gaining nationwide attention for Morrissey’s absorbing lyricism and Johnny Marr’s innovative guitar compositions.
All the while, bassist Andy Rourke and drummer Mike Joyce supported Marr and Morrissey as the band’s masterful and often overlooked rhythm section. Back in 2022, we were lucky enough to speak to Joyce about his early influences, his time playing The Smiths and his current tastes and musical exploits.
Joyce had been intrigued by the drums from a young age, but realised his vocation after watching his hometown punk legends, Buzzcocks. “I went to see Buzzcocks play in Manchester when I was about 14-15, and that was it,” he said. “I fell in love with the whole thing because it was the first gig that I’d seen that I was absolutely blown away by. And it was the first gig that I’d seen where I was completely transfixed by [drummer] John Maher and his playing.”
In the run-up to and during his time playing for The Smiths, which surprisingly only took up five years of his life, Joyce found several other musical idols, including the Salford-based punk poet John Cooper Clarke and Donald Johnson, “one of Manchester’s finest drummers, from A Certain Ratio.”
Following the Smiths’ disbandment in 1987, Marr and Morrissey went their separate ways, leaving Rourke and Joyce to perform with Sinéad O’Connor for a term in the late 1980s. He subsequently collaborated with Suede, Buzzcocks, Public Image Ltd, Julian Cope and Morrissey on a couple of solo singles.
Joyce revealed that, in the present day, he likes to keep his music taste up to date but usually sticks to his alt-rock domain. As far as he’s concerned, one modern band stands proud of all competition. “Fontaines DC. Absolutely in love with them,” Joyce asserted. “I went to see them live a number of years ago and just fell in love. It was the first time that I’ve had that experience since the Buzzcocks. There are a lot of great bands, but this was the one that really got me in the heart. Absolutely stunning records, stunning live… faultless, as far as I’m concerned.”
“There aren’t any bad Fontaines DC tracks; it’s just that I prefer some more than others,” he continued. “As far as I’m concerned, they can do no wrong. I’ve become a bit obsessed with them. I was quite nervous when I went to see them live because I just thought, ‘Are they going to be able to come up to my expectations after listening to the album?’ And they certainly did more than that. So Fontaines DC are right at the top of the pile.”
“The best thing to come out of Ireland since my mam and dad,” Joyce jovially concluded.
Earlier in 2022, Fontaines DC had released their highly-acclaimed third studio album, Skinty Fia. Listen to ‘Roman Holiday’ from that album below.
