Fact #169575
When:
Short story:
The Smiths play a showcase gig for Rough Trade Records at The Venue, Victoria, London, England, UK, Europe. Also on the bill are The Go-Betweens and Felt.
Full article:
Geoff Travis (founder, Rough Trade records) : What was brilliant about Johnny (Marr, of The Smiths) was the fact that, for someone of his age, his knowledge of music was breathtaking. He knew who John Renbourn was. He knew who Bert Jansch was. He knew who Richard Thompson was. I always thought he was an extraordinary guitar player, because he had that lightness of touch, which is what made him really unique.
Scott Piering (radio plugger, Rough Trade records) : They only trusted people they were familiar with. It was a bit of a vibe thing. So, like, Grant Showbiz, for example, if they liked the way he did live sound, he was the sound guy. It was always a question of, yeah, he's our man; let's take him on. You were paid with promises, but everybody was like, hey, it's The Smiths, let's stay on board.
Grant Showbiz (soundman, The Smiths) : The Smiths was them. There was no separation, there was no let's-pretend-to-be-The-Smiths. Which a lot of bands do. There was none of that with The Smiths. Everybody had the right rap.
Joe Moss (manager, The Smiths) : Most young bands seem to think that the world is waiting for them, and everything around is all very stale. But at that period, it was. It wasn't clever, was it?
Scott Piering (radio plugger, Rough Trade Records) : There was never any doubt that they were going to get there. There was total confidence the whole way. Privately, publicly, in their deepest moments of despair, they knew that they were gifted and they were going to succeed. So much of what most other artists learn, or artificially create, or never get, they had it all at the beginning. And that was the key to it. They had the confidence of knowing they had all the goods, and people could just fuckin' well wait.
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Scott Piering (radio plugger, Rough Trade records) : They only trusted people they were familiar with. It was a bit of a vibe thing. So, like, Grant Showbiz, for example, if they liked the way he did live sound, he was the sound guy. It was always a question of, yeah, he's our man; let's take him on. You were paid with promises, but everybody was like, hey, it's The Smiths, let's stay on board.
Grant Showbiz (soundman, The Smiths) : The Smiths was them. There was no separation, there was no let's-pretend-to-be-The-Smiths. Which a lot of bands do. There was none of that with The Smiths. Everybody had the right rap.
Joe Moss (manager, The Smiths) : Most young bands seem to think that the world is waiting for them, and everything around is all very stale. But at that period, it was. It wasn't clever, was it?
Scott Piering (radio plugger, Rough Trade Records) : There was never any doubt that they were going to get there. There was total confidence the whole way. Privately, publicly, in their deepest moments of despair, they knew that they were gifted and they were going to succeed. So much of what most other artists learn, or artificially create, or never get, they had it all at the beginning. And that was the key to it. They had the confidence of knowing they had all the goods, and people could just fuckin' well wait.