How Morrissey and Marr of The Smiths Created a Classic | The New Standards | Professor of Rock 

This was an amazing video, my favorite yet! Man, all us 80’s kids had some sort of turmoil in our lives, huh? So glad we made it out the other side. Morrissey was/is the best medicine❤️🤘🏻❤️

The Cure, The Smiths, Joy Division, Depeche Mode, and New Order.👌

I was 13 years old in the early 90’s my mother was in prison my father was an alcoholic and drug addict. The music from the Smiths was how I felt. By 14 my father kicked me out of his house and I knew somehow I would find a way to survive. Now I’m 41 with two boys of my own and they listen to the Smiths with me every time we’re in the car. They sing along with me 😊

I’m 52 , married, father of 4 children, done pretty well in life...but the fragile boy is still there and Moz is still so present to these days. I listen to something of The Smiths/Morrissey every single day, every single day. I’m so lucky that I dare playing in my guitar som tunes to sing along...with myself only. You see...I’m still that dreaming boy from the 80s. Greetings from Chile 🇨🇱

When I heard: “There's a club if you'd like to go You could meet somebody who really loves you So you go and you stand on your own And you leave on your own And you go home and you cry And you want to die” Morrissey, Marr, and The Smiths completely explained my high school life in one lyric stanza.

It's going to be written on my gravestone: "There is a Light that Never Goes Out". That light is music....

I'm such a big Smiths fan, I even know all the words to Oscillate Wildly.

As a person who suffers from life-long depression, Thank you for sharing. My friends always wonder why much of the music that I listen to is dark, depressing, and/or angry...The thing is that I am not trying to put my situation into the song...I just want to know that someone else has gone through what I am feeling at that moment, somehow that gives me hope and helps to alleviate the feeling.

Marr is THE most underrated musician of all time. When they speak about the giants, they either don't know or forget his name. No one ever, did what he did, with a guitar. No one ever wrote (nor can they), like Morrissey. The Smiths saved my life too. Thank you for this video.

I AM the Girlfriend In A Coma... I fell into a coma in the winter of 1986 and after I opened my right eye (my left eye/side of my body was paralyzed) on Christmas day of 1986 the song was released in 1987... Thank you Morrissey!!!

Professor of Rock should've had his own Vice City radio station

When your laughing and singing and finally living, hear my voice in your head and think of me kindly

I was a lost teenager growing up in Los Angeles in the mid 80's. THE SMITHS SAVED MY LIFE. Songs like "how soon is now" & "i've come to wish you an unhappy birthday" made the pain go away. It made me smile in the darkness when I felt there was no light. That was an awesome video. Thank You

I have a tattoo on my arm that says "There is a light that never goes out". Gives me hope when times are bad.

Professor, first of all - I’m genuinely sorry to hear that you went through such a rough patch in your early years. You’re such an awesome chap to be doing this. That’s why you had to stick around and keep sticking around.I think when you’re saved by music in general; but specifically, The Smiths, The Cure, R.E.M, Early U2, Joy Division, Tragically Hip, Pink Floyd, Metallica, etc - you tend to be an introspective soul which you clearly are. Professor -Keep reminding us about the songs that saved our lives, because now we’re dancing and laughing and finally living - We hear your voice ‘Professor’ and I’ll always think of you kindly.\m/ Much love & respect fellow brother from another mother

The Smiths, The Cure, Depeche Mode and U2 all anchor some of the greatest songs ever written. I discovered The Smiths in the mid-1980s and never looked back. They were a revelation.

"Please Please Please, Let me get what I want." Is the ONE song that I can relate to. That song breaks me every time I hear it. It's a short song but that short song... Amazing!

So I’ve actually never heard one single song by The Smiths before clicking on this, but since I trust the Professor, I decided to check out the song Asleep. It’s definitely one of the most incredible songs I’ve heard and I felt something being torn out of me, only to be replaced by something else being born by the time it was over. Thank you for telling us about these guys, I can’t wait to dive into more of their catalog!

I saw someone say “The Smiths are like finding out that life can suck a lot, but that’s okay”. Perfect description of the feeling I get from all their music. Morrissey has some of the best lyrics I’ve ever heard and Johnny Marr’s ability to compose songs, especially with guitar, is almost unmatched.

"I wear black on the outside 'cuz black is how I feel on the inside." My motto all through high school. ♥

Even Morrissey's autobiography reads like poetry. Great choice of song and band.

Thanks for this one! Took me back to the first time I saw the Smiths in 1985 - Billy Bragg opened. It was at an outdoor stage at Canada's Wonderland; an amusement park. Yes Morrissey at an amusement park!

Great video! When i was 13 in 1987, my older sister bought a huge '3x5' poster of the "Shoplifters..." single. I thought they were a family band. Lol. Then i borrowed her 'Louder Than Bombs' cassette and i was hooked for life! I always describe The Smiths as the 1980s Beatles too. They're brilliant❤

I got to see Johnny Marr at Irving Plaza in NYC last year. It was surreal to hear “How Soon is Now”....”There is a light..” etc played live. Just incredible. All these songs , Smiths , Cure ,DM...gave voice to our generation.

For some reason I never got very deep into The Smiths, which is odd because they were huge in my circle of friends. But their song "Let me get what I want" Had a huge affect on me. I suffered from depression from age 7 and hearing this song so resonated with me. Even to this day I can't hear without my heart beaking.

The Cure, and now The Smiths? You are hitting it out of the ballpark with the alt rock stuff this last week!! If you had 2 hours of content dedicated to Marr/Moz it still wouldn't be enough. I really love how you showcased Morrissey's poetic lyrics and Marr's brilliance as a musician. Don't forget The Perks of Being a Wallflower! That movie perfect captured the teenage angst of the late eighties so well for me.

You my sir are a legend. Neil Finn and The Smiths in the same week.

Morrissey is one of few people who can put true emotion into words. How many misunderstood people were saved by listening to his songs cannot be underestimated. He was like a friend who empathized without judging, giving you time to find your way through the dark times. How many lives saved? Thanks for your analysis.

My introduction to the Smiths was the video for "How Soon Is Now" - featuring a completely transformative sound that seemed to come from a different world.

They’ve been my favorite band for over 30 years. This has been my favorite song for the same length of time. Morrissey gas been my voice, my heart sung through his lyrics. I listen to them when I’m sad, happy, in love, longing, broken and excited. It fits every emotion. I think because of the universal feeling of being understood in the words. Whenever you talk about You’re relationship with the Smiths I well up with tears as I realize I’ve again that other people get it and have felt them to the depths of their soul like I have. Thank you for putting your feelings into words that are so hard to explain. As a Smiths / Morrissey fan, we all take a lot of flack. I hear mocking and taking jabs that says it’s depressing music. I think only some of us get it, and it’s lovely to find someone who understands and gets it. Thank you for your content.

Your last monologue is perfect.I can feel your passion for The Smiths.When we're young we think no one understands us but some of us know that Morrisey did.

Wow! Finally someone who feels of the Smith's, as I do! Thanks Professor, for your insight, and for sharing your personal turmoil. To me, the Smiths are my favourite band of all time. In 1983 I was 14 years old. What I need to know, is....having never met Morrisey, how was he able to write all those songs for and/or about me! I truly believe that every Smiths fan ever, has had that same thought!! Thanks again!!!

Morrissey's solo carreer is equally awesome.

Had a lump in my throat listening to this. These albums where like a friend when i felt like i didn't have any. They led to me connecting with people i never knew felt the same way i did back in school and we've never separated. I remember the first book i read cover to cover was wasp factory and lying in my bunk bed at night i had Still Ill on repeat thinking about an unrequited love and feelings of alienation from who i thought i was and what i felt i was turning into. It didn't feel like bottling everything up because i had Morrisey and Marr to validate these strange young adolescent feelings inside me. Great video life is great now and im glad i had this to soundtrack darker moments in my becoming as a person. Helped get me through too.

My favourite Smiths song is There Is a Light That Never Goes Out. It describes exactly how I felt when my mother died when I was 12 and I was sent to live with my cousins family who treated me terribly

They saved my life too. "So in my bedroom in those ugly new houses I danced my legs down to the knees, and me and my true love shall never meet again!"

As a 48-year-old The Smiths fan, I found myself crying while watching this video. Hard to describe my feelings. Love from me to you Professor and all the fans of this amazing band.

Morrissey’s work with the Smiths was truly remarkable. IMHO his lyrics resonate as they do because of his genius for articulating the “shadow”, the side we don’t want to admit or even look at. Yes, there have been lots of introspective and emo songwriters, but Morrissey for all his eccentricities, eluded cliche’ and resonated as as an authentic human being universal truths that still resonate powerfully thirty years later.

i've found it impossible to dislike someone who loves the smiths. when you leave noel gallagher speechless, you know you're a special guitarist. hoping R.E.M. will be highlighted on your channel soon. their first five albums captured moments in time and flew in the face of " how bands became successful " . you were proud to be an R.E.M. fan in the 80's.

I was lucky enough to be a teen when they were coming through and living a few miles from Manchester. In my first year at uni The Queens Is Dead came out and it lived on my turntable for months. I saw them live at Brixton Academy on the last tour and There Is A Light was the final song, it was truly a privilege to see that in person and the whole crowd singing it.

Damn! You and Justin had a mind meld moment! How awesome. Blue October is one of my current favorite bands (last 10 years current) He is Peter gabrielesque.

Adam ,This is I think the best retrospective you’ve ever done . Brought me to tears my friend . Wonderful stuff .

For me, it was listening to a song called “esta luz nunca se apagara” by Mikel Erentxun as a child coming from a Mexican family that loved Spanish rock. I always loved that song but never knew what it was actually called. I always tried to look for it but had no clue. One day when I was about 20, I went into a thrift store with some friends and recognized a song playing in the background that sounded just like it. I remembered some lyrics and looked it up later and was surprised to find out that the song I used to listen to as a child was actually a cover for there was a light and it never goes out. I became a Smiths fan that same day and I’m glad I finally discovered them. I play guitar and Johnny Marr is my favorite guitarist of all time and I’m going to see him later this month here in Denver!🙏🏽 This is the closest I will get to seeing the Smiths live.

The Death of a Disco Dancer...“Love peace and harmony, love peace and harmony, oh very nice, very nice, very nice but maybe in the next world” . Lyrically is far more appropriate today than it was in the 80’s...Great episode, thank you.

I feel exactly the same. The Smiths are other worldly, morrissey lyrics are just mind blowing.

This band saved my life, literally.

I LOVED the Smiths as a teenager and still love them all these years later. I grew up moving every three to four years because of my father’s work. We lived in Germany for half of my childhood. It was with shock and dismay that I learned we were moving to Haughton, Louisiana when I was 15 in 1983. I was a complete outsider during my Junior and Senior years of high school. Going from living in Munich to living in the country suburbs was more than a culture shock. The Smiths, early REM, the Cure, Echo and the Bunnymen and New Order were my saving grace. Especially the Smiths though, they embodied everything I felt as a teen.

When I split from my sons mum I moved back to my parents, head completely gone, my sister had gone on a girls night out with her friend, they were both staying over. I got a call “can you stay up, she really likes you” 2am in the morning watching VH-1 and this comes on, she’s from Salford and recognised everywhere in the video. It was our first dance!

Thank you! Love Morrissey and The Smiths, for me I discovered Morrissey first with Hairdresser on Fire & Everyday is like Sunday. Then I went back to explore The Smiths. Love them!! Side note: Morrissey’s 2020 album’s song Bobby, Don’t you think they know? is amazing!

I worked at Tower Records for five years and, in order to work there, I swore that you had to like The Smiths.

52 years old... The first Morrissey concert I attended I cried pretty much the entire concert as I sang along with everyone else. It was a release of over 30 years at that time.

Half a person is a masterpiece that I’ve connected my life with. In Highschool, 16, the only song i listened to. It definitely helped and shaped me. As well as, Well I Wonder. A beautiful song of melancholy.

"That Joke Isnt Funny Anymore" and "Well I Wonder" are my two current favorites. I will never stop listening to The Smiths and Morrissey (whose hand I have touched)......I was in love from the first note, and will be in love until my last. So let it be known.

I first heard, "How Soon Is Now" dancing on a very crowded dance floor crowded w/ a lot of very interesting people in 1980's San Francisco.

I agree with you 100%, Adam. The first time I heard the Smiths was probably the same way many felt when they first heard the Beatles. It was life altering. I’m now 54 and I still feel the same way I did all those years ago when I put their music on. Through many dark times I turned to their music and I realized that I wasn’t alone. Kept me sane that’s for sure. Such an incredible band

As a songwriter myself you perfectly described WHY I do what I do Adam... That's the best show you ever had Adam that was beautiful

I feel we walked the same path but on different sides of the planet. I'm glad we're both still here.

“Morrissey knew your perspective and the damaged plot of your life” - and his words meant you were not alone. Well said Professor! I discovered The Smiths later, and would have given my right arm to have heard them earlier.

You can go over every The Smiths lyrics and be overwhelmed by them, have shivers, it's true poetry in form of music, truest of arts. The Smiths are the best band in history, and I'm sure in future it's gonna be settled.

Asleep was my favourite Smiths song as a teenager too. Played it over and over in the dark when I was about 16. I thought that it was beautiful and really connected to it.

I truly wish Morrissey to find strength in his darkest hour. Having lost my parents in back to back years, the one thing I learned is, it never gets better, but it does get easier. And great video, Professor! Thank you for your time and hard work!

This is my favorite Smiths song as well, out of all of their amazing output. Thanks Prof for your insight and celebration of this amazing piece of art.

Just WOW... Seen Blue October several times now (they get better each time), I can see the influence. Can't wait to see Johnny Marr with the Killers next week. Great Episode... One of my Favs to date. The Depeche Mode episode is my fav about my fav band.

My fave 80’s band and “There is a Light That Never Goes Out” is such a GREAT song. thank you

To me, their greatest track was “Asleep”, hauntingly melancholic and beautiful all simultaneously.

I love your passion for the Smiths, that is how I feel about Blue October and Justin Furstenfeld! I was so excited to see you talking with him. I hope there is an episode about them!

I came on board when "Meat Is Murder" was released. I was a soldier and the Viet Nam soldier on the cover attracted my attention. From the opening chords of "How Soon Is Now?" I was hooked. My song is "I Know It's Over". Morrissey validated 3 years of wasting my time with someone who would never love me. Thanks, Morrissey.

Iam french ,saw the smiths on stage in 1984 in Paris. I am listening Everyday the band, i find new things intheir music each Times...

I loved it when you and Justin were going back and forth reciting Smiths lyrics. I have had such a deep appreciation for Morrissey’s craft for years.

I love this video so much.. Your passion matches mine! I was in tears for most of this video as I love them so much too. My memory: Listening to Louder than Bombs on my walkman.. Riding my my bike at age 15 (1991) then a bully (Kevin) knocks me down and takes my walkman and starts making fun, took someone else's parent to step in and get my stuff back, I went the long way from them on... I was a lonely child and from the first listen Morrissey felt familiar and nostalgic at the same time.. My first exposure was Suedehead followed by How soon is now and girlfriend in a coma. I'm so lucky to have found him in my teens.. Saw the kill uncle tour and was hooked. 33 concerts later and I'm still the biggest fan. Jim Jim Falls was in my head while listening to you talk about depression.

The SMITHS saved me from a physical distructive life. But sent me into an emotional distructive down fall. Greatest band ever for the emotionally disturbed.All their songs saved me through those years. Thank you Morrissey for all those beautiful songs that helped me through those difficult years.🤠

The level of musical alchemy that Marr & Morrissey had is nothing short of amazing and may never be achieved again. Marr's notes and Morrissey's voice were simply perfect, and the quality of songwriting is unmistakable. The volume of truly great songs in such a short time is almost hard to fathom, and the only band I can think was as prolific is The Beatles. When The Smiths disbanded it left people wanting much more, but when you think about Marr & Morrissey as people and artists is actually makes sense. That flame burned so brightly that it was almost predestined to be short lived. It also created greater mystique about the band, which is something I'm sure Morrissey in particular finds gratifying.

Seeing The Smiths on The Queen Is Dead Tour was one of the greatest nights of my life. The Smiths were a guiding light that brought many lost souls to the the other side. Truly one of the greatest bands that there ever was.

Brother...You are a poet! So many fuel addled nights of quiet despair...yet outwardly flippant and unrelenting cheer..ending in solitude listening...singing...dancing...and surviving with ...The Smiths (among others you artfully cover)! I cannot express how much your life experiences...analyses of your and my (our) musical collection...and poetic soul bearing ...is appreciated! Cheers Brotha!

Thank you for this thoughtful and touching video. This was my favorite that you have made.

There is a Light helped me get through my depression after my middle school sweetheart passed away in a freak car accident. I was thinking very dark thoughts, like sitting in a parking lot full of cars and thinking every single person that drives these cars is going to die... it also reminds me of the time when my best friend said "dont ever lose the light that I see in your eyes".. there is a light is my absolute favorite Smiths song. And always will be. It is heavenly beautiful and hits me in the depths of my heart

First Smiths song I ever heard was This Charming Man, still my favourite after 30+ years.

Thank you so much, this almost had me in tears, I can FEEL your passion!! They were a great band no doubt about it. Maybe a feature on LLoyd Cole and the Commotions soon?

Manchester 80s kid here. Top of the Pops aged 14 hearing that riff and opening verse on this charming man, was my WTF moment. Went past Moz's house almost daily to smoke and drink cider at the Quadrant, hanging out at Longford Park, Platt Fields, Chorlton and yep even in southern cemetary. Those witty, cynical words really struck home. hard in a dark period in the UK.. took years - well after they split - for me to realize just how life changing they were to kids the world over. too. Nothing has come close since.

My favorite video so far, many thanks for posting it.

Man I get you Professor. I had every Smiths album in the 80s and listened to them all the time in the tortured years of high school. Grew out of it in college but still they have a special place for me.

I think “A Hatful of Hollow” was a perfect album I have listened for 25 years. Perfect!

Favorite band? Saved your life? Spoke for the unspoken? Put your feelings into words and music? Gave you hope through connection and knowing others felt the same like some sort of ghost friends you had yet to meet? Yeah, the Smiths did that - better than any band I've ever known. Not shockingly, Rebel without a cause was my favorite movie at 15. The parallels you mention (finally) make sense. Thank god for the Smiths (and Jimmy Dean). Those two, along with Billie Holiday, were my closest friends as a teen, and perhaps even still. Thanks for the amazing vid, and for sharing your history of depression - there's not enough talk about that and so many need to know they're not alone. We need our heroes of the unsung, and no better ever existed than the Smiths.

This is one of THEE BEST videos I've ever seen that 1000% explains the life-saving connection between Morrissey's song writing brilliance and his lifelong fans that still follow him across the world! Thank you! And I'm so happy he saved you as well so long ago so that you are able to share these exceptional stories and histories! 🖤🎶

100% with you on The Smiths. Rubber Rings, that you cited vis-s-vis "Don't forget the songs that made you cry, and the songs that saved your life..." is in my top 10 of theirs. It hits the nail on the head for me that feeling when you hear the best song ever for the first time and you know immediately that you will be nostalgic for that moment, like, tomorrow...that's how great it feels. All while paying wonderful homage to all great songs, reminding us that, even when you're grown past them, they are immediate access to halcyon eras. Such great advice.

New subscriber here. Just want to thank you for your excellent take on the great music of the 80’s!! Long live Morrissey!

Beautiful Video, Thank you for sharing your story. Watching this absolutely made my day

"Sing me to sleep" was on repeat after my dad passed away. Sometimes you have to go deep into your soul to come out again stronger. Sadly, many will never comprehend the depths from which they wrote these songs. Maybe it's good they don't but I feel richer and more in tune with myself after knowing these songs. Many experiences they wrote of I will never experience but I am a better person having heard them.

legendary episode.

I really enjoy this RU-vid channel. Great work!

This video is beautiful. And it was definitely needed! Thank you

Thanks for your personal story. I’m 48 and rarely does a day go by where I don’t listen to at least one song from The Smiths/Morrissey. No other music speaks to me as deeply.

Very well put, The Smiths saved my life as well. You've done The Smiths and The Cure, I hope you do a video on another great band of the 80s, New Order with their amazing run of masterpiece singles assembled on the 1987 compilation Substance...

Met my wife when we were both in high school. She was a huge Smiths fan and made me mixtapes of her favorite songs. I became an instant fan. I should say we never got together in high school; it wasn't until we were both in our early forties that we finally got together, and that was after not seeing each other for nearly twenty years.

Thank you for sharing your story and thoughts on The Smiths, what they mean to you and how they saved your life, I am a 45yr old man from Manchester, England, at the age of 12 I heard my older brother playing The Smiths for the first time and I was totally gripped by the infectious guitar of Johnny Marr complimenting, weaving and embellishing Morrissey real life lyrics, from that moment I knew I had to learn & start to play the guitar, now 33yrs later I am a musician/producer, singer & guitarist in a band that loves songwriting, performing & recording songs everyday of my life, The songs of The Smiths have undoubtedly been so important in my life, musically and educationally teaching me so much about the world and life whether it be good, bad, happy, sad, humorous, melancholic whatever it may be, because life isn’t a happy, glitzy, lovely bed of roses all the time and The music of The Smiths taught me that and about many things in life I use to my advantage everyday whether I’m happy or depressed, struggling or doing well, from one day to the next with The Smiths in my life I know I have the tools and knowledge to survive, do my best, try and be happy and help whoever I can when possible, I know that for the rest of my life I will always listen to The Smiths without ever getting tired or bored of listening to them and I will play my guitar everyday unless I get hit by a bus and loose both of my arms 😂 and to me it is a beautiful & wonderful thing when you can connect & learn so much from something that it can have such an impact in your life. So thanks for your views and show which I thoroughly enjoyed and I wish you all the very best, Stephen (Manchester, England)

Smiths did indeed save lives . Their reputation grows with every decade, rightfully. Completely unique. There is not much middle ground , more often than not people either passionately love them , or loathe them. And i could never trust anybody that loathes them

London on "Rank" has always been my favorite song..its a real hard rock song..with Marr putting his special touch at the end..that riff..the lyrics...

YES! As much love as you’ve given Moz and The Smiths with your shirts, it was just a matter of time. Keep up the good work buddy!

Thank You SO MUCH for being raw and vulnerable in your description of the meaning of this song as it pertains to your and many others struggles with mental illness. It solidified my decision to go into the field of substance abuse and dual diagnosis therapy. I'm so happy that I found your channel; I relate to all of your content on so many levels!! Keep up the GREAT work!!

As always, your generous heart in sharing moments like these instantly tells the world they are not alone. Thank you for this incredible channel. Absolutely adore every episode.