The Smiths were one of those bands that seemed to speak for a generation when they arrived on the national, and then international, scene from Manchester in 1983. After the New Romantic movement had put the emphasis very much on keyboards, The Smiths were an unashamed guitar band, built around the inventive playing of Johnny Marr whose musical landscapes were the perfect backdrop for Morrissey to capture the imagination of a generation with his incisive, often hilarious lyrics that confronted all kinds of real world issues. With Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce making up a powerful rhythm section, The Smiths dominated the college circuit before bursting onto the national consciousness with a run of memorable singles, all housed within iconic picture sleeves, largely drawn from the 1960s, that helped complete the package. The band split in 1987 never to reform, but the Backstage Pass collection brings those days, and the start of Morrissey’s solo career, back to life.