“For the first time in too long a time, this is real music played by real people. The Smiths are absolutely real faces instead of the frills and the gloss and the pantomime popular music has become immersed in, as a matter of course. There is no human element in anything any more. And I think The Smiths reintroduce that quite firmly. There’s no facade, and we’re very open and we’re simple there to be seen as real people.” – March 1984
“Oscar Wilde and James Dean were the only two companions I had as a distraught teenager. Every line that Wilde ever wrote affected me so enormously.” – June 1984
“As I became a Smith, I used flowers because Oscar Wilde always used flowers.” – June 1984
“I’ve never made any secret of the fact that at least 50 percent of my writing can be blamed on Shelagh Delaney who wrote A Taste of Honey.” – June 1986
“Billy Fury is virtually the same as James Dean. He was entirely doomed too, and I find that quite affectionate.” – June 1984
“Pat Phoenix was simply a blizzard of professionalism – of goodwill, of warmth. She was like a hurricane.” – August 1985
“Albert Finney was the Northern boy made good which is why I can relate to him. I find that mood of a Northern person going to London and then returning home very poignant. The beauty of Finney was his natural quality as an actor. Even when I’m asleep I can’t look natural.” – June 1986
“I saw Rebel Without a Cause quite by accident when I was about six. I was entirely enveloped. I did researcg about him (James Dean) and it was like unearthing Tutankhamen’s tomb. His entire life seemed so magnificently perfect.” – June 1984
“On the face of it, the Sandie Shaw project was a tremendous success. It felt at that time, that what we were doing was the absolute envy of the entire industry. It was The Smiths, these relative newcomers, and Sandie Shaw at the other extreme. Just the way we came together, the combination was almost perfect: it had virtually never been done before in the history of music.” – December 1984
“I think what The Smiths are is something quite beyond popular music, which could almost sound like an absurdly brash comment but it really is the truth. I think that’s why I’m asked very serious questions. If we were simply blending in with modern popular music, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.” – February 1984
“The songs are personal – they’re there to be discovered. The words are basic because I don’t want anyone to miss what I’m saying. Lyrics that are intellectual or obscure are no use whatsoever.” – September 1983
“The Smiths is a very stray kind of name, very timeless.” – May 1983
“Control of artwork, etc. is of maximum importance. This is our product; we haven’t come this far for some stranger to step in. We’re not hollow musicians.” – May 1983
“We’re out to prove that you don’t need dazzling technology to produce music. There’s a horrendous myth in modern music that you need the most complex equipment and the most far-reaching ideas, otherwise you don’t rate. We’ve got back to a very traditionalist structure with the four-piece set up which has been severely underrated in the past couple of years.” – May 1983
“We’re out to prove that you don’t need dazzling technology to produce music. There’s a horrendous myth in modern music that you need the most complex equipment and the most far-reaching ideas, otherwise you don’t rate. We’ve got back to a very traditionalist structure with the four-piece set up which has been severely underrated in the past couple of years.” – May 1983
“One of The Smiths’ skills have been to take subjects which people might lazily presume are dark and morbid, and make them interesting, or turn them into the subjects of interesting songs.” – September 1983
“We’re out to prove that you don’t need dazzling technology to produce music. There’s a horrendous myth in modern music that you need the most complex equipment and the most far-reaching ideas, otherwise you don’t rate. We’ve got back to a very traditionalist structure with the four-piece set up which has been severely underrated in the past couple of years.” – May 1983
Quotes taken from Morrissey in his own words, John Robertson, 1988. Omnibus Press
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The Smiths – Art & Sound Print
This print is my tribute to The Smiths with the information that I’d like to have in my music room. It gives you an in-depth and well-researched insight into The Smiths’ UK discography. The print compiles The Smiths’ studio albums, UK singles and compilations, but it also includes key information on the cover stars and UK chart numbers per release, key UK TV appearances, the hidden UK vinyl matrix messages and much more.
Find out more at https://shop.thesenseofdoubt.com/
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