The Smiths

The Smiths were a British rock group active from 1982 to 1987. The group was based on the songwriting partnership of Morrissey and Johnny Marr, and were signed to the independent record label Rough Trade Records. The group sold many albums in the UK (although only two singles made the UK top ten), and as they were one of the most successful alternative rock bands to emerge from the British indie scene in the 1980s, they have had a major influence on subsequent "indie" music, including the Britpop movement and bands such as The Stone Roses, Gene, Radiohead, Blur, Suede, Oasis, The Libertines, Doves and many more

Links

Smiths Info.

Ask ME Smiths page: Nice page, lots of info. very cool.
Shoplifters Union: Another fanpage named after one of the most famous Smiths singles, Shoplifters Of The World Unite
Morrissey Official: An Official Website devoted to Morrissey, the lead singer of The Smiths, who's had a very successful solo career.
Morrissey Fanspace: More about the man they call the 'Moz' on this fanpage.
Smiths Interviews: Loads of interviews and press from the band during their heyday.
Bio: Extensive amount of info. on the band

More Info On Manchester, The City, The music that's come from it

Popular music
Main article: History of popular music in Manchester

The band Oasis who come from Manchester.For Mancunians, the popular musical heritage of the city has always been a source of great pride. The city's eclectic mix of music has created the sense among its inhabitants that Manchester is the most important city in world music.

Local groups have included the The Hollies, 10cc, Buzzcocks, Magazine, A Certain Ratio, Joy Division, New Order (the previous three on local label Factory Records), The Smiths, The Chemical Brothers (formerly known as The Dust Brothers), The Fall, M People, Badly Drawn Boy, Oasis, the Chameleons, Elbow, Simply Red, Take That and the "Madchester" scene bands the Happy Mondays, The Inspiral Carpets, James, The Stone Roses.

In 1965, on the U.S. Hot 100, a unique hat-trick of number 1s took place in the spring, all from Mancunian pop groups.Freddie and the Dreamers spent two weeks at the top with "I'm Telling You Now" (between April 10-24), Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders one week with "Game of Love" (April 24),and finally Herman's Hermits with "Mrs Brown, You've Got a Lovely Daughter", a further three weeks (May 1-22), a total of six weeks, an achievement never matched even in the UK Top 50.

Manchester's main popular music venue is the Manchester Evening News Arena, situated next to Manchester Victoria railway station, which seats over 21,000 and is the largest arena of its type in Europe, voted International Arena of the Year, beating New York's Madison Square Garden. Other major venues include the Manchester Apollo and the Manchester Academy. The many smaller venues throughout the city, such as the Bierkeller, the Roadhouse and Night and Day Cafe, ensure that Manchester's music scene is always vibrant and interesting.

The famous American anti-war hippie musical from the late sixties, Hair, includes a song entitled "Manchester, England" though the mention of the city in the song's title is somewhat irrelevant and merely used as punctuation in the song's lyrics.