The World Won't Listen

Johnny Marr later revealed that the back cover was Morrissey’s intentional visual joke; a portrait of four teenage girls whose faces bore an uncanny resemblance to the individual members of The Smiths. Left to right, the girls supposedly represent Joyce, Rourke, Marr and Morrissey. ‘We didn’t discuss it,’ said Marr, ‘but I understood'. 
From Songs That Saved Your Life by  Simon Goddard

 The sleeve was designed by Morrissey, using a photo by Jürgen Vollmer from the book Rock 'N' Roll Times: The Style and Spirit of the Early Beatles and Their First Fans.

Here's a link to a lossless download of the LP.  a selection of  funky FBI / Ministry of Justice / IRP  badges.

http://sradams777.blogspot.com/2011/10/smiths-world-wont-listen-2011-remaster.html

The Smiths live at The Hacienda July 6th 1983

Another repost with restored links:

It's a pity you didn't sign the Smiths…
God to Tony Wilson, in the movie 24 Hour Party People.

Here's another film:

In 1982 Factory Records impresario Tony Wilson opened a nightclub in a disused Bollywood cinema . It was named The Hacienda (the name comes from a slogan of the radical group Situationist International: "The Hacienda Must Be Built", from Formulary for a New Urbanism by Ivan Chtcheglov) and given the Factory catalogue designation FAC 51.

This was The Smiths 14th gig, their 2nd at the Hacienda. To date they had only released one single. Two days previously Morrissey had given his first national radio interview on the David Jensen Show.

Press:

Smiths sign to independent label Rough Trade
The Smiths, generally considered one of the brightest prospects to emerge this year, have signed a long-term deal with Rough Trade Records. They say this "represents a conscious decision of preference" for the independent label, which was competing against three major labels, one of whom offered a six-figure cash advance. Their single 'Hand in Glove' has already been released, and they are currently in the studio with producer Troy Tate recording tracks for their first album and follow-up single.
New Musical Express, July 9, 1983

Why the importance in carrying flowers?
Morrisey: "They're symbolic for at least three reasons. We introduced them as an antidote to the Hacienda when we played there; it was so sterile and inhuman. We wanted some harmony with Nature. Also, to show some kind of optimism in Manchester which the flowers represent. Manchester is so semi-paralysed still, the paralysis just zips through the whole of Factory..."
Sounds, June 4, 1983
Line up for those born too late or just plain indifferent:
Morrissey- voice
Johnny Marr- guitar
Andy Rourke- the bass
Mike Joyce- drums

These are AVI files. I play them on DivX player.
Use Windows Media Player?
Have a look here.

Manchester, So Much To Answer For (1990)

The Fall Eat Yourself Fitter Buzzcocks What Do I Get

The Frantic Elevators  Hunchback Of Notre Dame The Chameleons Second Skin (Films) 

The Passage  Dark Times Blue Orchids The House That Faded Out

Tools You Can Trust Working And Shopping Twang Big Dry Out

A Witness I Love You Mr. Disposable Razors Big Flame All The Irish Must Go To Heaven 

The Smiths Handsome Devil Happy Mondays Mad Cyril Inspiral Carpets Directing Traffic 

The Railway Children Consider Dub Sex Swerve A Certain Ratio Do The Du 

A Guy Called Gerald Rockin' Ricki Ruthless Rap Assassins Three The Hard Way 

Kiss AMC Rawside New Fast Automatic Daffodils Big

I bet you've all been dying for a bit of Mick Hucknall on here?

A bit of a cash in on the (then) massive impact that Manchester was having on the popular music scene.
 Flaws? A Manchester comp covering roughly 1978-1990 with no Joy Division / New Order?

Stone Roses never played a Peel Session so they're not here either. Similarly absent and more of a loss - The Durutti Column and Frank Sidebottom . Anyway, what's here is, generally speaking, good. In places the sound quality is not great I'm afraid. (One of those 90's CDs that's turned a funny yellow colour...)

The Smiths- Demos

A remastering of some demos and previously unheard material from The Smiths that originally resurfaced to much media attention last December.
Lossless versions and liner notes here. All credit to the original poster for their sterling work.
MP3's @ 320 all in one folder here.

1 Reel Around The Fountain (July 1983, Troy Tate final mix)

2 The Hand That Rocks The Cradle (October 1983, John Porter monitor mix)

3 This Night Has Opened My Eyes (June 1984, unreleased studio recording)

4 Rusholme Ruffians (July 1984, John Porter first take)

5 I Misses You (December 1984, instrumental)

6 There Is A Light That Never Goes Out (September 1985, early take)

7 The Queen Is Dead (Fall 1985, original unedited version)

8 Frankly, Mr Shankly (November 1985, Stephen Street "trumpets" recording)

9 Ask (9 June 1986, probable first-ever take)

10 Is It Really So Strange? ( June 1986, original unreleased studio recording)

11 Shoplifters Of The World Unite (December 1986, instrumental)

12 Sheila Take A Bow (January 1987, John Porter original version)

13 Girlfriend In A Coma (January 1987, early take)

14 Death Of A Disco Dancer (April 1987, first take)

 15 Paint A Vulgar Picture (April 1987, early take)

16 Heavy Track (April 1987, instrumental)

The Smiths- Hand In Glove 7" (1983)

It was important to me that there'd be something searingly poetic in it, in a lyrical sense, and yet jubilant at the same time...
Morrissey


The Smiths debut was released on Rough Trade Records in May 1983.
A self produced tape of the track, made at a cost of £250 had landed them a one record no contract deal with the company.
Attempts were made to re record Hand In Glove for the epynomous debut LP but eventually John Porter settled on a remix of the original effort.
The b-side was a live recording of the (prepoterously) controversial Handsome Devil (on 25th August 1983 - The Sun newspaper, under the headline Child Sex Song Puts The Beeb In A Spin accused The Smiths of singing about picking up kids for sexual kicks) from the Hacienda gig on 4th February 1983- notable for being the first time that flowers were used on stage by the group (a response, acording to Morrissey, to the sterile inteior of the club).
Morrissey specified that the record should have a paper label with 4 vents around the centre piece (like the 1960s singles he so loved) and that the sleeve should have a 'side vent' so that the disc was put in from the side rather than the top.
Much to his chagrin Hand In Glove did not make the top 40.

The Smiths- This Charming Man (1983)

One of those moments when a vivid, electric awareness of the power of music is born or renewed- Danny Kelly (NME)
...it imparted the first glimpse into the unknown dominion of Smithdom. The prelude now over, This Charming Man felt like The Smiths'concrete beginning.- Simon Goddard (The Smiths- Songs That Saved Your Life).

Tracks:
1 This Charming Man [Manchester*- produced by John Porter]
2 This Charming Man [London- produced by John Porter]
3 This Charming Man [New York Vocal, produced by Francois Kevorkian]
4 This Charming Man [New York Instrumental, produced by Francois Kevorkian ]
5 This Charming Man [Peel Session 21.09.83, produced by Roger Pusey- as featured on the LP Hatful of Hollow]
6 This Charming Man [1992 single remix]
7 This Charming Man [Original 7" version*, produced by John Porter]
8 This Charming Man [ Vinyl rip of original 7" version*, produced by John Porter]
9 Jeane [Vinyl rip of original 7" B-side, produced by Troy Tate]
10 Wonderful Woman [12" single B-side, produced by John Porter]

* On the CD multi single I have Sire Records rather naughtily overlook the fact that the original 7" mix was Porter's Manchester version . Therefore there are only 6 different versions of the track here.

Completists will be aware that Accept Yourself also featured on the B-side of the UK 12". It was an earlier version than the one used on Hatful of Hollow, which was from a David Jensen radio session- both versions were produced by John Porter. Here is the version that appeared on the B-side of the 12" single:

Sandie Shaw- Hand In Glove/ I Don't Owe You Anything 7” (1984) Morrissey- Please Help The Cause Against Loneliness-(1988)

Sandie cut an unusual figure, and would herald a new abandoned casualness for female singers… Morrissey, Sounds 1984.

Morrissey was always a huge fan of the female pop stars of the 1960’s, and Sandie Shaw in particular.
In 1984, having being coaxed out of semi- retirement by Morrissey, Sandie recorded a cover of The Smiths debut single Hand In Glove backed by Johnny, Andy and Mike. The record sold 20,000 copies within three days of release.
Also included here are Jeane (which appeared on the 12”- this version is a bonus track on the 2004 issue of her LP Hello Angel) and a duet by Morrissey and Sandie of Please Help The Cause Against Loneliness- an outtake from Morrissey’s Viva Hate LP. The song was written by Morrissey for Sandie and her version appeared on Hello Angel (the title of which came from a postcard that Morrissey sent her).
Here are some of Sandie’s reminiscences about working with The Smiths.

The Smiths- Rusholme Ruffians/ Nowhere Fast – Peel Session August 1st 1984

These two tracks from The Smiths Meat is Murder LP were recorded for a Peel Session broadcast on August 1st 1984. They later appeared as the B-side to the 12” single of Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me (1987).

John Peel’s Festive Fifty- The Number Ones- 1980 to 1990.

Just for fun-
Nothing new here, and no doubt if you're a serious music lover of a certain age then you'll have (or have had) these tracks already, or at least know them.
Introduced in 1976, John Peel’s Festive Fifty (aired in the build up to Xmas) became an institution.

Originally listeners chose their all-time favourite three tracks, but this was replaced by a year-only chart in 1982.

By 1986 Peel was already expressing disillusionment at the predictable and unadventurous choices of his listeners, and he was quoted as saying that he felt there were too many white boys with guitars making an appearance on the countdown.

This culminated in the ‘Phantom Fifty’ of 1991, which was not actually aired until 1993. Peel was hacked off for two reasons- the absence of music that he had been championing in 91 (rave, hardcore) and the inevitability that Smells Like Teen Spirit would be number one by a country mile.
Here then are the number ones from the golden years…a cracking little compilation for the car or the pod or for teaching the children about the old days.
pics: Sex Pistols, Joy Division, New Order, The Smiths, The Jesus and Mary Chain, The Sugarcubes, The House of Love, The Sundays, The Fall.

The Smiths - Hacienda, Manchester, July 6th 1983

It's a pity you didn't sign the Smiths…
God to Tony Wilson, in the movie 24 Hour Party People.

Here's another film:
In 1982 Factory Records impresario Tony Wilson opened a nightclub in a disused Bollywood cinema . It was named The Hacienda (The name comes from a slogan of the radical group Situationist International: "The Hacienda Must Be Built", from Formulary for a New Urbanism by Ivan Chtcheglov)and given the Factory catalogue designation FAC 51.
This was The Smiths 14th gig, their 2nd at the Hacienda. To date they had only released one single. Two days previously Morrissey had given his first national radio interview on the David Jensen Show.
Press:
Smiths sign to independent label Rough Trade
The Smiths, generally considered one of the brightest prospects to emerge this year, have signed a long-term deal with Rough Trade Records. They say this "represents a conscious decision of preference" for the independent label, which was competing against three major labels, one of whom offered a six-figure cash advance. Their single 'Hand in Glove' has already been released, and they are currently in the studio with producer Troy Tate recording tracks for their first album and follow-up single.
New Musical Express, July 9, 1983

Why the importance in carrying flowers?
Morrisey: "They're symbolic for at least three reasons. We introduced them as an antidote to the Hacienda when we played there; it was so sterile and inhuman. We wanted some harmony with Nature. Also, to show some kind of optimism in Manchester which the flowers represent. Manchester is so semi-paralysed still, the paralysis just zips through the whole of Factory..."
Sounds, June 4, 1983
Line up for those born too late or just plain indifferent:
Morrissey- voice
Johnny Marr- guitar
Andy Rourke- the bass
Mike Joyce- drums

The Smiths- The Troy Tate Sessions (1983)

‘We’ve done everything exactly right and it’ll show’ Morrissey told the Melody Maker, referring to The Smiths debut LP, provisionally titled The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, which they had just finished recording. The LP had been produced by Troy Tate, guitarist with The Teardrop Explodes.
Of course, it proved that this was not the case. Rough Trade were unhappy with the sound quality of the record, and brought in former Roxy Music producer John Porter to clean up the project.
I’ll come clean: The Hand That Rocks the Cradle and Accept Yourself are missing from this bootleg, and the quality is a bit warbling in places.
It is, however, an interesting listen for enthusiasts of one of the most influential bands of the post- punk era.
I’m not up to the task of writing much about The Smiths, but I would urge anyone with an interest in the group to read Simon Goddard’s remarkable The Smiths: Songs That Saved Your Life.