intriguing band made a big impression on this seasoned session player. “I do remember thinking it was unusual. It definitely had a very strange vibe about it – that sounds wrong – a very strong atmosphere.” More than twenty years later, with an astounding list of credits to his name that includes working with every major artist on the planet, and enjoying a burgeoning and ever-developing solo career, Paul is reminded of his few hours’ work with The Smiths on an almost daily basis. “I’ve got a bit of a CV, I suppose,” he laughs now. “And [after] two or three hours with them, it’s amazing how many people will jump on that and say, ‘You played with The Smiths!!’”
Legends were certainly being born in the autumn of 1983. Lennon and McCartney. Jagger and Richards. Leiber and Stoller. Bacharach and David. Morrissey and Marr had arrived.
A mighty night for Johnny, and indeed for the entire band, came on November 24, as The Smiths made their first historic appearance on Top Of The Pops , still [just] the UK’s premier pop show. While for many acts TOTP was a huge stepping stone to the big time, The Smiths were becoming successful despite the media interest in them rather than as a result of it. But every so often an act appears on Top Of The Pops that changes the world. Bowie’s appearance singing ‘Starman’ in July 1972 was one such instance. The Smiths’ first appearance was another. “I didn’t take [contemporary pop music] at all seriously until I saw Johnny Marr,” Noel Gallagher said of the show. “When The Smiths came on Top Of The Pops , that was it for me. I wanted to be Johnny Marr.” The Smiths records and sessions were being played on the radio because people wanted to hear them, rather than the other way round, but the band were understandably excited, as they took the stage following gender-bender extraordinaire Marilyn. Johnny was nervous, and so intent on not making a fool of himself that his tactic of self-preservation was to root his feet firmly to the floor and to stay put. Rocking while Morrissey’s flowers and a stage-full of balloons lent a festive exuberance to the proceedings, Johnny was very visible on Top Of The Pops , and it was not only Noel Gallagher who was watching – a generation of indie guitarists were inspired too.
Immediately after Top Of The Pops – on the same night – the band were met outside The Hacienda by Mike Pickering. Two thousand punters had managed to get in, while a thousand more thronged along Whitworth Street outside. To a fanatical audiencethe band played a fourteen-song set that concluded with a rousing ‘Hand In Glove’. What Johnny called “three years of A Hard Day’s Night ,” had begun.
As Christmas approached, the band took off for their first visit to the USA, booked to make their first appearance at The Danceteria, New York’s leading dance club, on New Year’s Eve. It should have been the start of a significant assault on America’s eastern seaboard. While Morrissey had family in America and had visited them a number of times in his teenage years, for the rest of the band it was their first time on an aeroplane. To be heading out west to the Big Apple was as exciting as it got – “having our dreams come true,” as Johnny described it. In fact it was the start of a careering course for The Smiths and for Johnny in particular. While the band appeared to gather speed along some pre-determined racetrack to success, in fact it was more as though they were beginning to lose control of the steering. The Smiths suddenly – and not for the first time – found themselves without a manager on the very day that they left for New York. So close to the band’s departure that several members of the party were surprised not to find him at the airport, Joe Moss decided to hang up his managerial hat and let go his connection with the band he had been so instrumental in getting going.
Over the years there has been much speculation
Legends were certainly being born in the autumn of 1983. Lennon and McCartney. Jagger and Richards. Leiber and Stoller. Bacharach and David. Morrissey and Marr had arrived.
A mighty night for Johnny, and indeed for the entire band, came on November 24, as The Smiths made their first historic appearance on Top Of The Pops , still [just] the UK’s premier pop show. While for many acts TOTP was a huge stepping stone to the big time, The Smiths were becoming successful despite the media interest in them rather than as a result of it. But every so often an act appears on Top Of The Pops that changes the world. Bowie’s appearance singing ‘Starman’ in July 1972 was one such instance. The Smiths’ first appearance was another. “I didn’t take [contemporary pop music] at all seriously until I saw Johnny Marr,” Noel Gallagher said of the show. “When The Smiths came on Top Of The Pops , that was it for me. I wanted to be Johnny Marr.” The Smiths records and sessions were being played on the radio because people wanted to hear them, rather than the other way round, but the band were understandably excited, as they took the stage following gender-bender extraordinaire Marilyn. Johnny was nervous, and so intent on not making a fool of himself that his tactic of self-preservation was to root his feet firmly to the floor and to stay put. Rocking while Morrissey’s flowers and a stage-full of balloons lent a festive exuberance to the proceedings, Johnny was very visible on Top Of The Pops , and it was not only Noel Gallagher who was watching – a generation of indie guitarists were inspired too.
Immediately after Top Of The Pops – on the same night – the band were met outside The Hacienda by Mike Pickering. Two thousand punters had managed to get in, while a thousand more thronged along Whitworth Street outside. To a fanatical audiencethe band played a fourteen-song set that concluded with a rousing ‘Hand In Glove’. What Johnny called “three years of A Hard Day’s Night ,” had begun.
As Christmas approached, the band took off for their first visit to the USA, booked to make their first appearance at The Danceteria, New York’s leading dance club, on New Year’s Eve. It should have been the start of a significant assault on America’s eastern seaboard. While Morrissey had family in America and had visited them a number of times in his teenage years, for the rest of the band it was their first time on an aeroplane. To be heading out west to the Big Apple was as exciting as it got – “having our dreams come true,” as Johnny described it. In fact it was the start of a careering course for The Smiths and for Johnny in particular. While the band appeared to gather speed along some pre-determined racetrack to success, in fact it was more as though they were beginning to lose control of the steering. The Smiths suddenly – and not for the first time – found themselves without a manager on the very day that they left for New York. So close to the band’s departure that several members of the party were surprised not to find him at the airport, Joe Moss decided to hang up his managerial hat and let go his connection with the band he had been so instrumental in getting going.
Over the years there has been much speculation
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