People thought the Smiths were miserable…but we had a blast, says Mike Joyce | music | entertainment

While many musicians of the period set differences aside to pique their lucrative nostalgia tour successes, The Smiths remain rock’s best outsiders.

While groups like Duran Duran and Spandau Ballet celebrated the magic and made glowing pop music, the Four Young Mancunists made powerful guitar music and lyrics that stood against many accepted standards of the ’80s.

Singer Morrissey, guitarist Johnny Marr, drummer Joyce, and bassist Andy Rourke have been together for only five years, having split after their fourth studio album Strangeways, Here We Come – they’re currently celebrating their 35th anniversary.

They refused to indulge in the unbridled hedonism of the era and shunned any other musician of the time, while Morrissey made headlines for his controversial comments attacking the royal family and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

But even the Smiths weren’t completely immune to star-studded exposure. During a concert in New York in 1986, the band was thrilled to see Rolling Stones’ Mick Jagger dance on the side of the stage.

Drummer Joyce told Express, “Mick was doing his ‘Mick Jagger’ dance. Johnny looked at me and whispered, ‘Check it out!’ I looked across, saw Mick dancing away, and thought, ‘How cool is that?’ I’m making Mick Jagger dance!”

It was an usually funny moment for The Smiths.

Although often portrayed as wretched for their dramatic lyrics and unwillingness to party with other bands, Joyce – who bets on the silver disc he’s acquired for Strangeways, Here We Come, to raise money for a Manchester charity (15,000) £ so far) – he insists that life at The Smiths was a blast from start to finish.

But he thinks their isolation is what made them so special. Joyce, 59, explains, “We felt outside of everything else that was going on in the music, and it brought the four of us so close. We weren’t part of any scene.”

“We were very, very different from any band I had ever heard. We were a closed shop. They were very isolated, and we were together the whole time.”

Joyce recalls their holding on: “I’d go to Johnny’s house and he would always answer the door with a guitar around his neck. He’d say to me, ‘Oh, that guitar knocked last night.’ He was playing the guitar he was working on and it would be the best thing I’d heard on Launch.Johnny has been and continues to be prolific from the moment I met him.

“Morrisey was the same. I had never heard of a singer like him before and he had an incredible sympathy for Johnny’s music. His words and his voice were so touching.” Their separation from other bands was brought home when The Smiths appeared on Top Of The Pops with Spandau Ballet.

Joyce smiles, “We were polite to each other and said hi. But we looked quizzically at Spandau. They were all leather and wearing lead belts to adorn their big hairstyles. We were all thinking, ‘Why are they all dressed up?'”

He pauses, then adds: “And I’m sure they were looking at us and thinking: ‘Look at their condition! Al Smith didn’t really belong.

“There was a ‘Best of the ’80s compilation recently that featured all of the typical ’80s stars, like Culture Club, Nik Kershaw and Duran Duran. But The Smiths weren’t on it. I took that as a huge compliment.

“All of our music was released in the ’80s, but we weren’t a band in the ’80s. Our music could last into any decade. If our singles don’t come out until 2040, I think they’re still doing well. Our sound was unique.”

This distinct style was there from the start, leaving Joyce in a daze through his first rehearsal with the band. That initial session produced the classic Hand In Glove’s debut.

“I was stunned when I heard it. I thought, ‘What is this?'” Joyce recalls, “It wasn’t rock, and it wasn’t a punk. My brother asked me, ‘What does your solo voice sound like? And I thought, “Well, how would you describe it?” It’s great pop, but that’s all you can say.

Although Joyce’s tight, rhythmic percussion was an integral part of The Smiths’ sound, he admits he continued to be impressed by the talent of his bandmates.

“I had the best view at home in all of The Smiths, because I was able to see both the rest of the band and the fans. Seeing the expressions on the fans’ faces, they were always amazed at what they were going through.

“I was in desperate need of a day off a week when we went out after a show in Boston. I ran to the bathroom and could hear 15,000 people chanting, ‘Mourning! Smith! Smith!”, begging us to come back. I was pressing my feet with a chant, when I suddenly realized, “Wait a minute, I’m in this band!”

Having made feature albums Meat Is Murder, The Smiths, and The Queen Is Dead, the band split up once Strangeways released, Here We Come in 1987.

Joyce thinks guitarist Johnny Marr wanted to try music outside of The Smiths and understands the guitarist’s reasons. He wonders, “I think Johnny felt he did what needed to be done at The Smiths. He has itchy feet and maybe for him, it’s over.”

On reflection, Joyce thinks it was the right move, noting, “I thought we’d have 10 more great albums in us.

“But we may have lost our spark, and on our eighth album, people will say, ‘They lost it.'” “You’d better come out on top. Who knows, maybe we’ll keep making great albums, but the legacy we’ve left behind is very strong.”

“Some people think we could have continued if we had taken a six-month vacation after Strangeways, here we go, but I don’t think that’s the case.

“The five years we’ve been together have been amazing. He was relentless, but I’m definitely not complaining. I’d rather be in the studio playing the drums on How Soon Is Now than getting three weeks off.”

Joyce and bassist Andy are still in touch. “Andy is one of the funniest guys I’ve ever met, and he’s a really nice guy. Every time he plays the bass, he sounds great.”

But the drummer hasn’t seen Morrissey or Johnny since they faced each other in court. In 1996, Joyce won £1 million from the singer and guitarist in a royalties dispute. He helped ensure the Smiths were never fixed – an idea that Joyce thinks would be a mistake, despite its past laurels.

“I think the Smiths are best left in the past,” he says. “It would look very good if we got on stage, because we are all better players and technology has improved.”

“But you can’t recreate the four characters of these people from 1982 to 1988. I haven’t spoken to Morrissey in 30 years, and you can’t go up on stage with someone you haven’t spoken to in 30 years.”

Despite their sometimes bitter alienation, Joyce holds no animosity toward his former bandmates.

“I don’t know them anymore. I don’t say it in any aggressive or degrading way, it’s just what it is. For the people we’ve been to in the five years of The Smiths, I’m very fond of them.”

Some fans believe The Smiths’ legacy has been tarnished, due to Morrissey’s recent political leanings.

The singer has made a series of statements that appear to support far-right policies, including the controversial Britain First party. But Joyce insists that Morrissey deserves his views, commenting, “Morrisey and I disagree politically, but that’s it. If someone doesn’t like their opinions and can no longer listen to The Smiths because of them, that’s fine.”

“Everyone on their own. But Morrissey has said a lot of choppy things in the past too, and will continue to do so. He’s his own person. Pandora’s Box opens a lot when he talks, and I like that up front-person.”

It’s more interesting than a singer who just says, ‘I wrote these words, I hope you like them.’

“It opens up a lot of discussion. It’s not my political views, but Morrissey has always been divided in opinion.

“He’s still a great singer too. Someone sent me a clip from his current tour, and it still looks great.”

Since The Smiths, Joyce has played with musicians including Sinead O’Connor, Buzzcocks and Julian Cope. He is in the process of forming a new band, Love Tempo, with guitarist friend Rick Hornby.

He does the lottery on his silver disc to raise money for Back On Track. The charity, of which the drummer is a patron, helps people struggling to unite their lives, whether in the fight against addiction, homelessness or mental health issues.

Joyce adds: “The disc means a lot, but I can raise some much-needed cash by drawing on it. On top of that, I have my memories of The Smiths – and they are invaluable.”

• For more information on Back On Track and the chance to win a Mike Joyce silver disc, visit backontrackmanchester.org.uk Lottery tickets cost £5 each, with entry closing October 12.