This is the incredible story of the forty years of the The Smiths in a lavishly illustrated hardback edition. Manchester has given birth to many famous bands and musicians, but none have caught the attention or imagination of the public quite as much as The Smiths. Formed in Manchester in 1982, composed of singer Morrissey, guitarist Johnny Marr, bassist Andy Rourke, and drummer Mike Joyce. Morrissey and Marr formed the band' s song-writing partnership. The Smiths are regarded as one of the most important acts to emerge from 1980s British independent music. The Smiths signed to Rough Trade Records in 1983 and released their first album, The Smiths, in 1984. Their focus on a guitar, bass and drum sound, fusing 1960s rock and post-punk, was a rejection of the synth-pop sound predominant at the time. Several singles reached the top 20 of the UK Singles Chart, and all their studio albums reached the top five of the UK Albums Chart, including the number-one album Meat Is Murder (1985). They achieved mainstream success in Europe with The Queen Is Dead (1986) and Strangeways, Here We Come (1987), which both entered the top 20 of the European Albums Chart. This is the story of band.