Perhaps sensing that theirs was an alchemy that would burn brightly but briefly, The Smiths did things in a hurry. The Manchester quartet had only released their debut single, the chiming, urgent guitar-pop of Hand In Glove, in May 1983. By the time their second album Meat Is Murder arrived at the beginning of 1985, they had released a masterful debut (1984’s The Smiths), an outtakes, radio sessions and odds and sods collection that for any other band would mark a career peak (Hatful Of Hollow, also 1984) and a run of classic singles that didn’t even make it on to their studio albums (This Charming Man, Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now, How Soon Is Now?, Shakespeare’s Sister).
If they had started their career demonstrating that they were in rarefied air, it was on Meat Is Murder where Morrissey, Johnny Marr, Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce showed that they were untouchable. The record, which turns 40 this week, is where everything began to coalesce for a group who would become one of the all-time great British bands.
