- Morrissey: so much to answer for

There's a nice article in the Observer from last weekend commemorating 25 years since the start of the Smiths:


'It was May 1982 when a young Johnny Marr encountered the charismatic Mancunian oddball who became known to millions only by his surname. Their amazing songwriting partnership inspired a thousand indie bands and, 25 years on, they remain a potent force.'


Some great quotes featured at the end of the article:

Bono: '"Girlfriend in a Coma" - when I heard it I nearly crashed my car and ended up in a coma. He has that gift. That is not the work of a miserable man.'

Chrissie Hynde: 'The amount of times people have said it was "Meat is Murder" that converted them is astonishing.'

Noel Gallagher: 'Whatever you put down in a lyric to define your love or hate, [Morrissey]'ll do it one better.'

JK Rowling: 'I think the Smiths were the only group whose falling apart really affected me personally. Very sad.'

Billy Bragg: 'He sang all those old Smiths songs and made me feel 17 again. It was pretty amazing as I was 26 at the time.'

Observer critic Miranda Sawyer: 'If you notice, it's really all blokes. Men are in love with him... not women.'


Read the full article here. I wonder how much influence they had on Harry Potter.