The Smiths – Handsome Devil

Despite breaking up in 1987, the Smiths still sells magazine, and are on the cover of Uncut Magazine (Mar 2007). The US usually get UK magazines a month later (we probably get all the unsold newsstand copies sent over), as I noticed the Who are on the April issue.

It’s usually quite expensive (average UK magazine costs about $9) and depending on where you go, it’s sometime inconsistent (e.g. some magazines might skip a month or might get canceled at the vendor).

Anyway, the main article are composed of other famous musicians talking about their favorite Smiths tunes (talk about lazy journalism). Some of the famous musicians in the magazine includes: Ian Brown, Beth Ditto (the Gossip), Brett Anderson, Billy Bragg, Nicky Wire, Alex Kaproanos (Franz Ferdinand), and Noel Gallagher.

Here’s an excerpt for Handsome Devil:

Richard Hawley (the Longpigs): A great pop song. What I loved about them was that it was like listening to an endless chorus. I rememberering hearing them for the first time as a kid, with headphones on in the dark, listening to Peel. It was fast and agressive, but had a real beauty to it, too. To me, the Smiths were as far away from one-hit wonders as you could get. Pretty much every single they released was brilliant. You have to judge them on their whole body of work. They rank up there with the Pistols and the Clash in that a huge proportion of people who heard “Handsome Devil” or “This Charming Man” went out and started a band. There aren’t many bands who can say they’ve influenced people to that degree. That’s their greatest legacy. It’s not just great melody and lyrics. It’s an attitude.

I once auditioned for Morrissey as guitartist around the time of “Everyday is Like Sunday”. I was very young and had only been in a local indie bands up to that point. I remember sitting in the flat with fuck-all money and getting a call from Morrissey. I Don’t think I made a great first impression because I smoked. But I started playing with his band. Then I made the fatal mistake of singing “One Night” by Elvis. He said, “What are you singing for?” I said “I thought you might need backing vocals”.

That was the last of that!

Random Note: There was a book a few years ago that a few of my friends are in called Songs That Saved My Life (2002, Reynolds & Hearn Books), which uses the same premise, where fans talked about their favorite Smiths songs. The fans who were included in the book didn’t even get a free copy :/