The Smiths didn't fall out of a clear blue pop sky~ groups like Orange Juice had engaged in similarly fet janglepop. But there was something about Morrissey ~ cavorting louchely on totp in a big, pyjama like shirt, idly brandishing a brunch of gladioli like a weapon, his vocals deliberately plummy and prominent in the mix.
That Thursday evening when Manchester's feyest first appeared on totp would be a unexpected pivotal cultural event in the lives of a million English boys. His very English camp glumness against the gaudiness of the eighties new pop world, as exemplified by Culture Club and their ilk. The Smiths' subject matter may have been "squalid" but there was a purity of purpose about them that you messed with at your peril.