Fact #158564
When:
Short story:
The Smiths start their first proper British tour at Sheffield University, Sheffield, England, UK, Europe.Full article:
Johnny Marr (guitarist, The Smiths) : It was our first real tour, a new venture for us, but we'd just lost our manager, my old school friend Joe Moss, so Morrissey and I were looking after the business side of things for the band. Joe told us that his wife was about to have a baby and he wanted to spend more time with his family but in fact there was some friction developing between him and Morrissey. So, being a good friend of mine, rather than let that friction cause problems between me and Morrissey, he just took himself out of the picture. But as a result of losing Joe, we were a bit like a rudderless ship when that tour started.
Dave Harper (Press Officer, Rough Trade) : They did that tour in a panel van. It didn't have seats, just a load of bean bags and a mattress in the back, and carpetting stuck up the wall.
Jill Smith (press officer, Rough Trade) : I had been brought in to Rough Trade to look after Hand In Glove, the single The Smiths were doing with Sandie Shaw. Right at the start of the tour, they'd got a new tour manager, Phil Cowie, who didn't seem to fit in.
Phil Cowie (tour manager) : I was travelling with the crew and acting as driver to ease their considerable workload and, though not spelt out, to prevent a greater than necessary amount of involvement with the band.
Johnny Marr : Phil constantly seemed to be under stress, much of it of his own making. There were constant dramas with the crew, right from the start and, because we had no manager, Morrissey and me were always left to sort it out.
Geoff Travis (MD, Rough Trade Records) : The character of The Smiths was such that it was all or nothing with them. They could never be satisfied with anyone's input into their affairs. It's either 24 hours a day and, if it's 23 hours and 58 minutes, it's not enough.
Jill Smith : One of the first things I learned was that Andy had a bit of a heroin problem, but Morrissey was very naïve about drugs so, although Johnny Marr knew about it, and most people knew about it, Morrissey didn't.
Andy Rourke : It started in a small way, just before I joined The Smiths. As I started getting some decent money in, it became easier for me to buy it in larger amounts.
Johnny Marr : In certain situations, you could say I protected Morrissey from things. Andy had been my friend from the age of fourteen, so I knew all his problems, but I always thought, "It's going to be over soon, it's just going to stop". But that's an ongoing story in that situation all the time. Another thing was, we were terrified because we had a public anti-drugs philosophy. Morrissey would always have to have taken the stick. That probably made Andy feel worse. That was why it was kept under wraps, plus obviously things like The Police .
Our families' lives were changing because we'd become successful so quickly. Their lives had been turned around as well. In mine and Andy's case, it was the first time the family had something to be proud of. No-one wanted to screw that up for Andy. And, an important point, we didn't want to screw it up for Morrissey. Genuinely, all of us would do anything for him. It wasn't just a professional thing, it was very personal. We wouldn't have let him have to deal with it.
(Source : not known)
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Dave Harper (Press Officer, Rough Trade) : They did that tour in a panel van. It didn't have seats, just a load of bean bags and a mattress in the back, and carpetting stuck up the wall.
Jill Smith (press officer, Rough Trade) : I had been brought in to Rough Trade to look after Hand In Glove, the single The Smiths were doing with Sandie Shaw. Right at the start of the tour, they'd got a new tour manager, Phil Cowie, who didn't seem to fit in.
Phil Cowie (tour manager) : I was travelling with the crew and acting as driver to ease their considerable workload and, though not spelt out, to prevent a greater than necessary amount of involvement with the band.
Johnny Marr : Phil constantly seemed to be under stress, much of it of his own making. There were constant dramas with the crew, right from the start and, because we had no manager, Morrissey and me were always left to sort it out.
Geoff Travis (MD, Rough Trade Records) : The character of The Smiths was such that it was all or nothing with them. They could never be satisfied with anyone's input into their affairs. It's either 24 hours a day and, if it's 23 hours and 58 minutes, it's not enough.
Jill Smith : One of the first things I learned was that Andy had a bit of a heroin problem, but Morrissey was very naïve about drugs so, although Johnny Marr knew about it, and most people knew about it, Morrissey didn't.
Andy Rourke : It started in a small way, just before I joined The Smiths. As I started getting some decent money in, it became easier for me to buy it in larger amounts.
Johnny Marr : In certain situations, you could say I protected Morrissey from things. Andy had been my friend from the age of fourteen, so I knew all his problems, but I always thought, "It's going to be over soon, it's just going to stop". But that's an ongoing story in that situation all the time. Another thing was, we were terrified because we had a public anti-drugs philosophy. Morrissey would always have to have taken the stick. That probably made Andy feel worse. That was why it was kept under wraps, plus obviously things like The Police .
Our families' lives were changing because we'd become successful so quickly. Their lives had been turned around as well. In mine and Andy's case, it was the first time the family had something to be proud of. No-one wanted to screw that up for Andy. And, an important point, we didn't want to screw it up for Morrissey. Genuinely, all of us would do anything for him. It wasn't just a professional thing, it was very personal. We wouldn't have let him have to deal with it.
(Source : not known)