THE SMITHS simultaneously united an entire sub-culture that had been alienated by the glossy 80's synthpop that dominated Thatcher's decade while redefining the concept of the guitar hero. In Steven Patrick Morrissey they had the true musical anti-hero, resplendent in NHS specs, hearing aid and gladioli shoved down his trousers.

In Johnny Marr they had a six-string maestro who was equally at home with fingers skipping down a fret board as with creating the swirling soundscapes of How Soon is Now? In Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce they had the tightest rhythm section in town. This didn't stop Morrissey firing Joyce by means of a note taped to his car windscreen that read 'Dear Andy; You have left the Smiths. Good Luck and goodbye.' After that it was never the same. The band struggled on but the magic wasn’t there any more. Marr, annoyed by Morrissey’s obsession with 60’s girl groups (“I didn’t join a band to cover Cilla Black songs”) left and the dream was over.

By then the Smiths had released 4 studio albums (including 1984’s The Queen is Dead, an album that still consistently hits the top ten albums of all time polls) and remain an iconic band, loved the world over.