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The Smiths' Strangeways, Here We Come

Episode 4 of 4

Stuart Maconie examines Strangeways, Here We Come, released in 1987, which turned out to be the last LP by The Smiths. From November 2012.

In the summer of 1987 Britain's best loved indie band abruptly came to end when guitarist Johnny Marr sensationally quit. The Morrissey/Marr partnership that had produced such a wealth of finely crafted pop tunes was over, just weeks after the group finished recording their fourth album, "Strangeways, Here We Come." Since then, all four band members have separately pronounced the LP as their best work. Bass player Andy Rourke and drummer Mike Joyce also claim that, at the time, they were blissfully unaware of any conflict. So what happened?
In this final part of the Swansong series, Stuart Maconie examines the circumstances surrounding the final recording by The Smiths, revealing the reasons behind one of the most famous breakups in British pop history. With new interviews from Mike Joyce, Andy Rourke and producer Stephen Street and contributions from music journalist Sian Pattenden and Morrissey biographer Simon Goddard.

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30 minutes

Last on

Sun 27 Jan 2019 05:30

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  • Tue 13 Nov 2012 11:30
  • Sat 17 Nov 2012 15:30
  • Sat 26 Jan 2019 07:30
  • Sat 26 Jan 2019 17:30
  • Sun 27 Jan 2019 05:30

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Radio 4 on Music

Re-releasing music documentaries from the Radio 4 Archive.