The Smiths part 1

Like them or not, the Smiths were the best British band of the 80s. For Q magazine, they were "the one truly vital voice of the '80s", "the most influential British guitar group of the decade" and the "first indie outsiders to achieve mainstream success on their own terms". In a 2002, NME named the Smiths the "most influential artist ever". They managed to do all that with only four studio albums, all of which are of a special interest to us.

The Smiths were formed in Manchester, UK in 1982. They were Morrissey (vocals), Johnny Marr (guitar), Andy Rourke (bass) and Mike Joyce (drums). The band's focus on a guitar, bass, and drum sound, and their fusion of 1960s Rock and Post-Punk, came in sharp contrast to synthesizer-based Dance Pop, the prevalent style at the time. Marr's guitar-playing influenced later Manchester bands, including the Stone Roses and Oasis. Morrissey and Marr's songs combined themes about ordinary people with complex, literate lyrics delivered by Morrissey with a mordant sense of humor.

Their first album, simply named The Smiths, came out in 1984, had a half-naked Joe Dallesandro on the cover (from Andy Warhol's film Flesh) and was excellently received by the public and critics alike. The public sent the album at #2 in the UK charts (it stayed on the charts for 33 weeks).

The reviews were stellar: Slant Magazine listed the album at 51 on its list of "Best Albums of the 1980s" saying "There's no reason why a mordant, sexually frustrated disciple of Oscar Wilde who loved punk but crooned like a malfunctioning Sinatra should've teamed up with a fabulously inventive guitarist whose influences were so diffuse that it could be hard to hear them at all and formed one of the greatest songwriting duos of the '80s." Rolling Stone magazine ranked the album at #22 of the 100 greatest albums of the 80s, as well as at #473 of the 500 greatest albums of all time and at #51 of the 100 best debut albums of all time. UK's The Guardian placed it at #73 of the 100 best albums ever.

The first masterpiece of the album is the closing track of the A-Side, This Charming Man: the overtly homoerotic song, which deliberately uses archaic language, so as to deliver itself from epochal constraints, met with unanimous praise. The reviewer in The Face asked, "Where has all the wildness and daring got to? Some of it has found its way onto The Smiths' record, 'This Charming Man'. It jangles and crashes and Morrissey jumps in the middle with his mutant choir-boy voice, sounding jolly and angst-ridden at the same time. It should be given out on street corners to unsuspecting passers-by of all ages."

The groups appearance on UK's TV show Top Of The Pops was an instant sensation. Although as a single it only made #25 in its original run, it made #8 when it was re-issued in 1992. Here are the great lyrics:

Punctured bicycle

On a hillside desolate

Will nature make a man of me yet?

When in this charming car

This charming man

Why pamper life's complexity

When the leather runs smooth

On the passenger's seat?

I would go out tonight

But I haven't got a stitch to wear

This man said "it's gruesome

That someone so handsome should care"

Ah ! A jumped-up pantry boy

Who never knew his place

He said "return the ring"

He knows so much about these things

He knows so much about these things

Their first ever single, however, was Hand In Glove. It only charted at #124 on the regular UK Singles chart, but it made #3 on the UK Indie chart. A few months later, none other than one of the top female singers of the 60s in the UK, Sandie Shaw, recorded a cover version with The Smiths (minus Morrissey) as her backing musicians. This version reached #27 on the UK charts.

The lyrics were more veiled than in This Charming Man, but they were gay-themed nonetheless. Here they are:

Hand in glove

The sun shines out of our behinds

No, it's not like any other love

This one is different, because it's us

Hand in glove

We can go wherever we please

And everything depends upon

How near you stand to me

And if the people stare, then the people stare

Oh, I really don't know and I really don't care

Kiss my shades, oh

Hand in glove

The good people laugh

Yes, we may be hidden by rags

But we've something they'll never have

So, hand in glove I stake my claim, I'll fight

To the last breath

If they dare touch a hair on your head, I'll fight

To the last breath

For the good life is out there somewhere

So stay on my arm, you little charmer

But I know my luck too well

Yes, I know my luck too well

And I'll probably never see you again

Here are The Smiths, live in Glasgow, 1985:

Here are The Smiths with Sandie Shaw:

The third single off the album, What Difference Does It Make?, was their most successful at the time. It made #12 in the UK as well as in Ireland. Yet another great song. The lyrics:

All men have secrets and here is mine

So let it be known

For we have been through hell and high tide

I think I can rely on you

And yet you start to recoil

Heavy words are so lightly thrown

But still I'd leap in front of a flying bullet for you

So, what difference does it make?

So, what difference does it make?

It makes none

But now you have gone

And you must be looking very old tonight

The devil will find work for idle hands to do

I stole and I lied, and why?

Because you asked me to

But now you make me feel so ashamed

Because I've only got two hands

Well, I'm still fond of you, oh ho oh

So, what difference does it make ?

Oh, what difference does it make ?

Oh, it makes none

But now you have gone

And your prejudice won't keep you warm tonight

Oh, the devil will find work for idle hands to do

I stole, and then I lied

Just because you asked me to

But now you know the truth about me

You won't see me anymore

Well, I'm still fond of you, oh ho oh

But no more apologies

No more, no more apologies

Oh, I'm too tired

I'm so sick and tired

And I'm feelin' very sick and ill today

But I'm still fond of you, oh ho oh

Oh, my sacred one

Here's the official video:

More on The Smiths tomorrow.

Frankie Goes To Hollywood - Holly Johnson

20 years after a certain group from Liverpool set the world on fire, another group from Liverpool dominated the conversation. It was, however, more of a firework rather than a proper fire, short-lived but quite glorious. The band in question is Frankie Goes To Hollywood.

The nucleus of Frankie Goes To Hollywood emerged from the Liverpool punk scene as the Sons Of Egypt. In 1980 they changed their name to FGTH. Their line-up was Holly Johnson (lead vocals), Paul Rutherford (keyboards, backing vocals), Jed O'Toole (guitar), Mark O'Toole (bass) and Peter Gill (drums). In 1982 former Son Of Egypt Brian Nash replaced Jed O'Toole on guitar. Both Johnson and Rutherford were out gay men.

From 1980 to 1983 the group performed all over the UK, but was not awarded with a recording contract. It took an appearance on a TV show called The Tube, where they performed Relax, to convince Trevor Horn (remember him from yesterday?) to sign them for his new label, ZTT Records.

Relax was released in October 1983 and had a steady progress into the UK Top 40. Following a debut on the BBC's Top Of The Pops in January 1984, it rose from #35 to #6. 6 days later, a BBC DJ was playing the record on his show when he noticed the front cover design and became outraged by the "overtly sexual" nature of both the record sleeve and the printed lyrics, which prompted him to remove the disc from the turntable live on air, branding it "obscene". Two days later – almost three months after the single's initial release, and just eight days after the group's Top of the Pops appearance – the BBC banned the record from all its TV and radio outlets, with the exception of its Top 40 show. Relax immediately shot to #1 in the UK charts and stayed there for 5 weeks, during which time the BBC could not feature the nation's best-selling single on Top of the Pops.

Well what about the lyrics? They certainly meant business. Judge for yourselves:

Relax, don't do it, when you want to, go do it

Relax, don't do it, when you want to cum

Relax, don't do it, when you want to suck, do it

Relax, don't do it, when you want to cum

Cum

But shoot it in the right direction

Make makin' it your intention

Live those dreams

Scheme those schemes

Gotta hit me

Hit me (Hit me)

Hit me with those laser beams

The original video depicted a gay S&M parlor. It was promptly banned by both the BBC and MTV, resulting in the production of a substitute video directed by Brian De Palma, which also appeared in his film, Body Double.

Here's the original, banned video:

Here's the version from Body Double by Brian De Palma:

The song spent 48 weeks in the Top 75 and sold over 2 million copies in the UK alone, making it the 6th best-selling single of all-time in the UK. It was also #1 in Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and Thailand. It was #2 in Belgium, Iceland and Norway, Top 5 in Australia, Austria, Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands and Sweden and Top 10 in Hong Kong, New Zealand and the US. In Canada it made #11.

How do you follow such a hit up? With Two Tribes, of course. A song that deals with people's obsession with violence, with war especially. The video, directed by Godley & Creme (both ex-10CC), depicted a wrestling match between then-US President Ronald Reagan and then-Soviet leader Konstantin Chernenko, for the benefit of an eagerly belligerent assembly of representatives from the world's nations, the event ultimately degenerating into complete global destruction. Here it is:

The song spent 9 weeks at #1 in the UK. It was also #1 in Belgium, Germany, Greece, Ireland, the Netherlands and New Zealand and a Top 10 hit in many other countries.

Then a 3d #1 in a row: The Power Of Love is, unlike their first two hits, a ballad. Thus the group became only the second act in the history of the UK charts to reach number one with their first three singles; the first being fellow Liverpudlians... not those guys... Gerry & The Pacemakers. Here's the video:

My favorite song of theirs is actually the 4th hit from their debut album, Welcome to the Pleasuredome, the title track. It "only" made #2 in the UK charts. It either celebrates or warns against a life of debauchery, depending on whom you ask. Never mind that, it's a terrific bundle of energy. Here's their 12-inch version:

Also in the first album, a cover that shouldn't have worked, but it does. They dare cover Springsteen's ultra classic Born To Run and they actually get away with it. Judge for yourselves:

Their second (and last) album, Liverpool, came two years later. Although it was a hit, compared to WTTPD's monster critical and commercial success it was a bit of a let down. Only the lead single, Rage Hard, made the Top 5 in the UK:

By this time, the group members weren't getting along with each other at all. Eventually, lead singer Holly Johnson left the group and in 1989 he released his first solo album, Blast, which went to #1. There were four singles, the first two both peaking at #4 in the UK.

First there was Love Train:

Then came Americanos:

His following album in 1991 was a commercial failure. Later in the year, Johnson learned that he was HIV positive. This triggered a temporary withdrawal from the music business and public life in general. In March 1994, Johnson's critically acclaimed autobiography A Bone in My Flute was published, in which he discusses his struggle with, and acceptance of, his homosexuality. The same year, he recorded a new single, Legendary Children (All of Them Queer), whose lyrics referred to famous LGBT people throughout history. He also performed live at London's Gay Pride. Here's Legendary Children:

Since the mid-1990s, Johnson has worked primarily and quite successfully as a painter. The other openly gay member of FGTH, Paul Rutherford, moved to New Zealand with his civil union partner.

Frankie Goes To Hollywood is a band that could've been much bigger, if there existed better chemistry between its members. As it was, their career was brief, but they really left their mark on the 80s.