The Smiths - The Debut of Marr and Morrissey

The Smiths defined UK indie rock on their way to becoming one of the pioneers of indie music and one of the most influential bands of not just of the early alternative music era, but of the history of rock music.

After The Smiths formed in 1982, The Smiths would reject the synth-pop and new wave dominated UK music scene, focusing on guitar-based rock.

The key to The Smiths was the songwriting collaboration between lead singer Morrissey, with his unique vocal and lyrical approach, and guitarist Johnny Marr, with his jangly guitar style, as they created a new direction of alternative music defined as jangle pop.

Over their short career of four studio albums, The Smiths achieved major commercial success while remaining on the independent record label, Rough Trade Records, before the team of Morrissey and Marr would break up in 1987.

This episode will tell the story of the early years and formation of The Smiths with a focus on their self-titled debut album of 1984 and the non-album singles from this same time period.