For five short years in the 1980s, a four-piece Manchester band released a collection of records that had undeniably profound effects on the landscape of popular music and beyond. Today, public and critical appreciation of The Smiths is at its height, yet the most important British band after The Beatles have rarely been subject to sustained academic scrutiny. Why pamper life’s complexities?: Essays on The Smiths seeks to remedy this by bringing together diverse research disciplines to place the band in a series of enlightening social, cultural and political contexts as never before. Topics covered by the essays range from class, sexuality, Catholicism, Thatcherism, regional and national identities, to cinema, musical poetics, suicide and fandom. Lyrics, interviews, the city of Manchester, cultural iconography and the cult of Morrissey are all considered anew. The essays breach the standard confines of music history, rock biography and pop culture studies to give a sustained critical analysis of the band that is timely and illuminating. This book will be of interest to scholars and students in the fields of sociology, literature, geography, cultural and media studies. It is also intended for a wider audience of those interested in the enduring appeal of one of the most complex and controversial bands. Accessible and original, these essays will help to contextualise the lasting cultural legacy of The Smiths.

Contains songs recorded by The Smiths specially arranged in the original keys. In this songbook, each song includes chord symbols, guitar chord boxes, and complete lyrics.

Morrissey & Marr: The Severed Alliance is among the most successful – and controversial – rock biographies ever published. Having denounced the book and called for the death of its author Johnny Rogan, Morrissey later did a U-turn and cited it as evidence in the royalty-related court case brought by Smiths drummer Mike Joyce.Now, 20 years after it was first published, Rogan has returned to his definitive Smiths biography to produce a completely revised edition based on new information and new interviews to add to the almost 100 initially conducted over a four-year period. Widely acclaimed as one rock’s leading writers, Johnny Rogan now brings yet more insight and analysis to his best-selling book that revealed, for the first time, the true and unsanitised story of The Smiths – the most important group of their generation.

- The Smiths - Songs That Saved Your Life is now re-issued in a revised and expanded form, to include the fruits of Simon Goddard's most recent research, undertaken since the publication of the first edition in 2002. The new material for this edition includes: - Interview with guitarist Craig Gannon - Interview with John Peel - Interview with producer John Porter - Previously unpublished stills of the band

One of the seminal groups of the Eighties, The Smiths' career was as brilliant as it was brief. Now, drawing on interviews with band members, producers, and colleagues, music journalist Simon Goddard presents a meticulous chronological survey of the group's musical evolution, from their first demos in 1982 to their final fractured studio session five years later. Investigating the stories behind the songs, and detailing every British TV and radio session, he also offers a unique analysis of each track's concert life. Granted unprecedented access to The Smiths' studio archives and to the private collection of outtakes and rehearsals retained by drummer Mike Joyce, the author lifts the lid on unreleased material as well as the lost songs and alternate versions that have remained closely guarded secrets until now.

Steven Patrick Morrissey is one of the most original and controversial voices in the history of popular music. With The Smiths, he led the most influential British guitar group of the 1980s, his enigmatic wit and style defining a generation. As a solo artist, he has continued to broach subjects no other singer would dare. Worshipped by some, vilified by others, Morrissey is a unique rock and roll creation. The 300,000 words of Mozipedia make this the most intimate and in-depth biographical portrait of the man and his music yet. Bringing together every song, album, collaborator, key location, every hero, book, film and record to have influenced his art, it is the summation of years of meticulous research. Morrissey authority Simon Goddard has interviewed almost everybody of any importance, making Mozipedia the last word on Morrissey and The Smiths.

“Spend the day in bed” with Autobiography by Morrissey, whose new album Low in High School is out November 17th Steven Patrick Morrissey was born in Manchester on May 22nd 1959. Singer-songwriter and co-founder of the Smiths (1982–1987), Morrissey has been a solo artist for twenty-six years, during which time he has had three number 1 albums in England in three different decades. Achieving eleven Top 10 albums (plus nine with the Smiths), his songs have been recorded by David Bowie, Nancy Sinatra, Marianne Faithfull, Chrissie Hynde, Thelma Houston, My Chemical Romance and Christy Moore, amongst others. An animal protectionist, in 2006 Morrissey was voted the second greatest living British icon by viewers of the BBC, losing out to Sir David Attenborough. In 2007 Morrissey was voted the greatest northern male, past or present, in a nationwide newspaper poll. In 2012, Morrissey was awarded the Keys to the City of Tel-Aviv. It has been said “Most pop stars have to be dead before they reach the iconic status that Morrissey has reached in his lifetime.”

Children often wonder what Heaven is like, and what their loved ones are doing there after leaving the Earth. In this whimsical story, a little boy takes readers soaring beyond the clouds, as they go on exciting adventures with him throughout Heaven. They will fly through rainbows and see magical animals. They will see how everyone is safe and happy in the presence of Jesus, our loving Savior. The enchanting pictures are filled with peace, joy and hope. The sweet story brings a faraway Heaven close into the hearts of children. Are you ready to see what fun awaits where the dinosaurs roar?

Takes the readers from Manchester right into the heart of London - transforming a leaning post on a Wapping side street, an alleyway in Battersea, a bandstand in the East End and a barber shop in Mayfair into tourist attractions with a difference.

The Smiths are one of the most important bands to emerge from the British independent music scene of the 1980s. All four of their studio albums reached the top five of the UK Albums Chart, including Meat Is Murder which hit number one.