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On the 40th anniversary of their first ever gig, on the 4th October 1982, Ed Glinert charts their success, sad stories, their rise & demise.

The Smiths – 40th anniversary :

• More melodic than the Beatles.

• More powerful than the Stones.

• Cleverer than the Who.

• Catchier than U2.

• Funnier than Madness.

• Better Looking than Jesus & Mary Chain (not hard!)

• They played both kinds of music: fast and slow, soft and loud, country and western!

The Smiths were Britain’s greatest ever music combo, a revelation because they showed it was possible to frame the basic guitar-bass-drums rock format with sophisticated up-to-the-minute production values, encased in lyrics of lexical dexterity laden with wit, pathos and irony. They are also the only group to indelibly unite their music with aspects of Manchester life, culture and history.

On the 40th anniversary of their first ever gig, on the 4th of October 1982, Ed Glinert, who hosts the regular music tours in Manchester and used to work for Mojo, charts their success, the sad stories, their rise and demise. A different Portico Library talk with music.

Ed Glinert is the country’s most prolific tour guide, who works in Manchester, Liverpool and London. Glinert is an experienced journalist, founder of City Life, former staff writer for Private Eye and launch production editor of the rock ‘n’ roll magazine Mojo. Ed is also a celebrated author whose Penguin work The Manchester Compendium was described by the Independent newspaper as a “superb work of in-depth research and dry Northern wit”. This irked Ed a little for he hails from London, Dalston no less, though he has lived in Manchester for nearly 45 years.

Image: By Mikey from Wythenshawe, Manchester, UK - The Ritz Nightclub, Manchester, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=63091705