{"id":555122,"date":"2026-03-21T14:39:11","date_gmt":"2026-03-21T14:39:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/555122\/"},"modified":"2026-03-21T14:39:11","modified_gmt":"2026-03-21T14:39:11","slug":"if-you-thought-the-smiths-were-boring-you-werent-at-our-irish-gigs-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/555122\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018If you thought the Smiths were boring, you weren\u2019t at our Irish gigs\u2019 \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

During an imperial career from 1983 until 1987, The Smiths<\/a> reigned supreme as the most revered British band since The Beatles. The cultural impact of the Mancunian-Irish quartet was remarkable. In 1985, their second album, Meat Is Murder, knocked Born in the USA off the number-one slot in the UK at the peak of Bruce Springsteen\u2019s superstardom.<\/p>\n

Andy Rourke<\/a>, The Smiths\u2019 bassist, died in 2023<\/a>, at the age of 59. All the surviving members \u2013 the inimitable Morrissey<\/a>, the guitar maestro Johnny Marr<\/a> and the drummer Mike Joyce<\/a> \u2013 have written autobiographies. <\/p>\n

Joyce\u2019s, which is the most recent of the trio, is entitled The Drums<\/a>, after his credit on every Smiths release. It is a celebration of The Smiths from the perspective of Joyce\u2019s drum stool, which he maintains was the best seat in the house.<\/p>\n

While Joyce offers insight into why the band\u2019s internal relations disintegrated, his book is essentially a love letter to the group, the 1980s and the sheer joy of being in a band. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m always asked what it was like to be in The Smiths,\u201d an infectiously cheerful and unassuming Joyce says. \u201cJust to say it was great doesn\u2019t do it any justice at all, really. I could sit down and talk to people for hours, but I still wouldn\u2019t be able to convey the majesty and wonder of it all. I wanted to give people a flavour of it and talk about some of the great experiences I had.\u201d<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Johnny Marr: I turned down Smiths reunion and acted to protect band\u2019s legacyOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

Joyce, who will be in Ireland shortly for the latest leg of his book tour, is pleasantly surprised by the cross-generational profile of fans attending his events. \u201cHalf the people are around my age, and the other half are kids who weren\u2019t even born when we were around,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n

\u201cIn Nottingham a girl burst into tears, which doesn\u2019t occur a lot. Well, it might happen to Harry Styles every time he walks out the door, but this doesn\u2019t tend to happen to someone in a band from 40 years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fans\u2019 enduring love for The Smiths heartens the drummer, who is currently playing in Pete Doherty\u2019s live band. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not nostalgic for these young kids,\u201d he says. \u201cThey\u2019re getting into the band as a brand-new thing. We came out right smack bang in the middle of the 1980s, but we were never really \u2018a 1980s band\u2019. I think this is why the music really resonates with people after all these years. If those songs had come out in 1972 or 2022, they would still connect with listeners.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TheThe Smiths: Johnny Marr, Morrissey, Mike Joyce and Andy Rourke in 1985. Photograph: Ross Marino\/Getty <\/p>\n

He puts The Smiths\u2019 ongoing appeal down to those timeless songs. \u201cAgain, it is testament to the sound we created from a very traditional line-up of bass, drums, guitar and vocals,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt was so different, so we were never pigeonholed into any genre or subset of 1980s music. I do some deejaying now, and whenever I play How Soon Is Now? out in a nightclub, it sounds majestic. It is truly timeless and doesn\u2019t sound like a 1980s record, but just an amazing song that continues to move people.\u201d<\/p>\n

[\u00a0The Drums by Mike Joyce: A love letter to the greatest Irish band of all timeOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

The drummer has fond memories of touring Ireland and performing in towns and cities slightly off the beaten track, such as Waterford, Limerick, Letterkenny and Dundalk. \u201cMy dad is from Mayo, so playing the Leisureland centre in Galway was special,\u201d Joyce says. \u201cIt felt like coming home, and it was magnificent.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe National Stadium in Dublin was amazing, too. Just riotous. Again, it was above and beyond people passively watching a gig. It was mayhem. Cork was also complete madness. If you thought The Smiths were a bit boring, you weren\u2019t at our Irish gigs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Next month, Joyce and his wife, Tina, will explore Mayo between book-tour stops to compensate for fleeting visits when he was on the road with The Smiths.<\/p>\n

\u201cI went over a bit with my dad when I was young,\u201d he says. \u201cMy uncle had a farm, which was great thing for a kid growing up in the built-up city of Manchester to experience.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u2666 \u2666 \u2666<\/p>\n

Joyce writes in The Drums: \u201cFor all of our shared ancestral heritage, it\u2019s a miracle the band made it out of 1982, such were our apparent differences and the sense of total social dislocation from our singer and lyricist.\u201d<\/p>\n

The drummer draws a distinction between the musicians and their vocalist.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy initial reaction to Morrissey \u2013 or, as he was known back then, Steven \u2013 was as an artist,\u201d he says. \u201cI was completely blown away by him from the very start. We didn\u2019t tend to head out for a pint together, whereas I would with Johnny and Andy. <\/p>\n

\u201cI felt he didn\u2019t want me to get too close to him. I didn\u2019t really want him to meet my friends, either, so it was fine. However, our relationship changed over the years. We became closer through all the experiences we shared together.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Drums testifies to how powerful a unit a band can be. \u201cNobody else can really understand what it was like apart from the four of us,\u201d Joyce says. <\/p>\n

Sin\u00e9ad O\u2019Connor was very naive when we first met, as she hadn\u2019t played any gigs. This didn\u2019t matter at all, because in a live situation her voice was out of this world. The Lion and the Cobra was an incredible album<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce this started to become an overriding feeling, our own unique gang mentality kicked in, and I feel lucky to have been a part of it. We were creating something special, so it was inevitable we would forge strong bonds. Otherwise we probably would\u2019ve split up.\u201d Eventually they did split up, of course. <\/p>\n

After releasing their fourth and final album, Strangeways, Here We Come, which all four members consider to be their best work, Marr quit. Exhausted by their intense schedule and the additional burden of effectively managing the band in his early 20s, Marr went on to collaborate with numerous other artists and to launch a solo career.<\/p>\n

According to Joyce, Marr\u2019s departure was a shock. \u201cI saw Johnny every day for four years, and I mean literally every single day,\u201d he says. In 2023, Rourke\u2019s death led to their reconciliation. <\/p>\n

\u201cI got a text from Francesca, Andy\u2019s wife, about a memorial service in Manchester,\u201d he says. \u201cIt was very private, with no press or public present whatsoever. I\u2019d seen Johnny a little bit at football over the years, because we are both [Manchester] City fans. It felt good to reconcile.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TheThe Smiths: Johnny Marr and Mike Joyce on stage in 1983. Pic sent by Dusty Miller PR dustymillerpr@gmail.com <\/p>\n

In 1996, Joyce sued Morrissey and Marr for an equal share of the band\u2019s royalties; the singer and guitarist had been getting 40 per cent each, with Joyce and Rourke on 10 per cent each. Joyce won, receiving \u00a31 million in back royalties and a 25 per cent share from then on.<\/p>\n

Joyce has not communicated with the singer for more than 30 years and doesn\u2019t see them mending their relationship. \u201cI don\u2019t feel it will ever happen between myself and Morrissey,\u201d he says. \u201cAgain, it goes back to our first meeting. I\u2019m not desperate to speak to him, and he is not desperate to speak to me. I\u2019m cool with that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joyce worked alongside Rourke as Sin\u00e9ad O\u2019Connor<\/a>\u2019s rhythm section for her early live performances. \u201cShe was very naive when we first met, as she hadn\u2019t played any gigs,\u201d he says. \u201cThis didn\u2019t matter at all, because in a live situation her voice was out of this world. The Lion and the Cobra was an incredible album. <\/p>\n

\u201cShe was so wonderful. I loved the way she was so outspoken and ruffled feathers. Sin\u00e9ad and Andy left us far too soon. It is a massive shame they are not still here, but what an impact they both had on the international stage. They were two beautiful souls.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Smiths will probably never get back together, although they did, momentarily, in a surreal way for Joyce. \u201cI had a really strange dream a few years ago where me, Andy, Johnny and Morrissey were sitting in a room,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019d decided to re-form, and we were discussing the opening song we should play at the first gig back. I said, \u2018After four, say what you think should be the first song.\u2019 After counting to four, all four of us said in unison, \u2018Hand in Glove\u2019, and we all started laughing. It freaked me out for a few days.\u201d<\/p>\n

After everything they\u2019ve been through together, Joyce is still a devotee of his old band. \u201cWhen people come up to me and say, \u2018Hi, Mike, I hope I\u2019m not bothering you, but I\u2019m a massive Smiths fan,\u2019 the first thing I always say is, \u2018So am I.\u2019 <\/p>\n

\u201cPeople tell me that The Smiths changed their life. Well, they certainly changed mine. What I am trying to do in this book is to convey the incredible feeling of being in a band as beautiful as The Smiths.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Drums is published by New Modern. Mike Joyce\u2019s book tour visits Dolan\u2019s Warehouse, Limerick, on Thursday, April 2nd; R\u00f3is\u00edn Dubh, Galway, on Saturday, April 4th; Limelight 2, Belfast, on Sunday, April 5th; Sugar Club, Dublin on Tuesday, April 7th; and Spirit Store, Dundalk, on Wednesday, April 8th<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"During an imperial career from 1983 until 1987, The Smiths reigned supreme as the most revered British band…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":555123,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[274206,64,63,134,82714,274205,82713,136,274207,82715],"class_list":{"0":"post-555122","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-andy-rourke","9":"tag-au","10":"tag-australia","11":"tag-entertainment","12":"tag-johnny-marr","13":"tag-mike-joyce","14":"tag-morrissey","15":"tag-music","16":"tag-sinead-oconnor","17":"tag-the-smiths"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/555122","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=555122"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/555122\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/555123"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=555122"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=555122"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=555122"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}