One of the greatest articles I've read on the Smiths for a long time.
It's interesting to see how every Smiths-fan somehow has a Smiths-moment where they first heard them and it changed life. It's like hearing people from the 60s talk about when Kennedy got shot. You remember exactly where you were etc. no matter how long ago it is.
Fantastic to see how the Smiths changed so many lives and helped so many people deal with it. What band can say that that's in the charts now? He was exactly right on today's indie bands. Many try to imitate, but they never quite get it etc. etc. etc.

He captured Morrissey's righteous anger and bruised idealism very well, as well as the hollow sadness that pervades the first album. Which I picked up for 5 pounds in a bargain bin in Golden Discs on Grafton Street in Dublin in 1984, by the way :) I remember staring at the sleeve for a long time, thinking, "should I buy this? It looks so interesting. And odd." I often wonder what if I hadn't bought it. Part of the joy of listening to that first album is that *nobody* I knew then listened to the Smiths, nobody talked about them. Like David Merryweather, I felt I was exploring an unknown world made just for me.

I picked up the LP when I was 12. I had only remotely heard of the Smiths from an odd teen magazine from the UK called Star Hits.

Star Hits had discussed Morrissey and the Smiths at great lengths- I recall this little magazine describing the Smiths live in concert; they stated that Morrissey moved his hands like a butterfly's wings. The articles also described Morrissey's voice as one filled with heartache and beauty.

After looking at the odd cover of the LP, I bought it with my newspaper route money. I also bought The Queen is Dead. I could not wait to discover the mysteries inside.

I, too, enjoyed a secret world made just for me courtesy of Morrissey and friends.

Now I am 29, and quite a collector. These CD's bring me great comfort 365 days a year.

Love,
Ken

Great article!
I always enjoy reading how The Smiths played a part in others lives and how the isolation and confusion we all shared was made a bit more bearable by playing those records.

Barry Fry the Nonce writes:

Nice to say 'BFH' to Cliff's Richard Dimbeleby-tongued retard and its influenza-promoting Mosque-ito* over the decades.

Mike Nesmith: Inside a cavernous, but cooling, tumble dryer with Lee Merriweather (Robert Downey Jr- Syndrome , May 18, 2003)

On their 20th attempt to sellotape James Aukett to an angry Kraut, Craig David's Dickensian woolfhound explains how Alan Smithee rocked his Chewbacca statuette.

* Islamic Insect