In a 1984 interview Morrissey said that he chose The Smiths " because it was the most ordinary name " and because he thought that it was " time that the ordinary folk of the world showed their faces.

Smith had a good friend who suggested the name Smithville, but Smith thought that there were too many Smiths in the world, and instead chose to give the town his middle name.

The Smiths members Morrissey and Johnny Marr shared an appreciation for Smith's Horses, and reveal that their song " The Hand That Rocks the Cradle " is a reworking of one of the album's tracks, " Kimberly ".

The Smiths lived at their Potomac River home in Bethesda, Maryland, from 1958 until his death from pneumonia, after which Mrs. Smith relocated to a condominium on Marco Island, Florida.

Optima was also used as the original fonts used on The Smiths original 7 " single covers and their debut album.

Although they had limited commercial success outside the UK while they were still together, and never released a single that charted higher than number 10 in their home country, The Smiths won a significant following, and remain cult and commercial favourites.

In February 1984, the group released their debut album The Smiths, which reached number two on the UK Albums Chart.

It received a lukewarm reception from critics, but both Morrissey and Marr name it as their favourite Smiths album.

The Smiths were the subject of a South Bank Show documentary produced by LWT and broadcast by ITV on 18 October 1987, four months after their break-up and three weeks after the release of Strangeways.

In 2007 they released the documentary DVD Inside the Smiths, a surprisingly affectionate memoir of their time with the band, notable for the absence of Marr, Morrissey, and their music.

In March 1989, Joyce and Rourke started legal proceedings against their former bandmates, arguing that they were equal partners in The Smiths and each entitled to a 25 percent share of the band's profits on all activities other than songwriting and publishing.

As critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine has pointed out, " Several months after releasing their first album, the Smiths issued the singles and rarities collection Hatful of Hollow, establishing a tradition of repackaging their material as many times and as quickly as possible.

As early as 1985, " the Smiths had spawned a rash of soundalike bands, including James, who opened for the group on their spring 1985 tour ".

In February and April 2007 Hershey's announced that their Smiths Falls and Oakdale plants would close in 2008, being replaced in part by a new facility in Monterrey, Mexico.

* In November 2006, the Smiths Falls production plant in Ontario, Canada temporarily shut down and several products were voluntarily recalled after concerns over salmonella contamination possibly found in soy lecithin within their production line.

This process proved torturous, Shields noting, " It was pretty dangerous, I made the mistake of mentioning The Smiths because we liked their melodies, the whole thing was disastrous and excruciating, you should have seen some of the fruitballs we got.

Moreno's influences include such bands as The Cure, Bad Brains, The Smiths, My Bloody Valentine, Cocteau Twins, Duran Duran, The Smashing Pumpkins, Depeche Mode, Helmet, Jawbox, Faith No More, Hum, Kool Keith, Alice in Chains, Tool, Jane's Addiction and Weezer, and claims that Deftones ' 2006 album, Saturday Night Wrist, is more of a compromise between all of the members ' influences, ranging from their brutal and brooding heavy signature seen on Adrenaline and Around the Fur to the more experimental sound heard on White Pony and Deftones.

" by The Smiths started out as the extra track on the 12 " of " William, It Was Really Nothing " but later gained a separate release as an A-side in its own right, as did Oasis's " Acquiesce ," which originally appeared as a B-side to " Some Might Say " in 1995, but gained subsequent release in 2006 as part of an EP to promote their forthcoming compilation album, Stop the Clocks.

* October – The Smiths play their final gig as a five-piece.

The protagonists are an archetypal British family of the time, the Smiths, who are shown entering Brighton's West Pier, with General Haig selling tickets-the film later follows the young Smith men through their experiences in the trenches.

Following suit, the Smiths changed their stage names to ' Pickford '.

Noel was particularly inspired by the debut of The Smiths on Top of the Pops in 1983, performing their single " This Charming Man ".

He and his brother so distinguished themselves that their school-fellows signed a round-robin " refusing to try for the college prizes if the Smiths were allowed to contend for them any more ".

In 1986, when The Smiths performed on the British music programme The Old Grey Whistle Test, Morrissey wore a fake hearing-aid to support a hearing-impaired fan who was ashamed of using one, and also frequently wore thick-rimmed National Health Service-style glasses.

** The Queen Is Dead, a short film incorporating the Smiths songs " The Queen Is Dead ", " Panic ", and " There Is a Light That Never Goes Out " ( 1986 )

The first, in January and February 1986, featured Bragg, Weller's band The Style Council, The Communards, Junior Giscombe, Lorna Gee and Jerry Dammers, and picked up guest appearances from Madness, Heaven 17, Bananarama, Prefab Sprout, Elvis Costello, Gary Kemp, Tom Robinson, Sade, The Beat, Lloyd Cole, The Blow Monkeys and The Smiths along the way.

In 1986, the series evolved into Me & Max, a family sitcom which brought the Smiths ' two children into the cast.

Other non-governmental jobs include: chairman of engineering plant company the Davy Corporation ( Davy McKee ) ( now subsummed into Aker Kværner ) 1985 – 1990 ; director Sotheby's Holdings 1973 – 1993 ; Morgan Crucible 1974 – 88 ; Smiths Industries Ltd 1973 – 1986 ; S. G. Warburg & Co 1964 – 1970, 1973 – 1988.

* 1986 The Queen Is Dead-The Smiths (" Frankly Mr Shankly " only )

Factory Records Festival Of The Tenth Summer took place in July 1986 celebrating the 10th anniversary of Punk and included appearances by The Smiths and New Order.

In 1986, the British band The Smiths released a single " Ask " which was adorned with a photograph ( both on the cover and reverse ) in memory of Yootha Joyce.

* " Panic ", a 1986 song by The Smiths

The Smiths recorded " Panic " at London's Livingston Studios in May 1986.

* 1986 " There Is a Light That Never Goes Out "-The Smiths

" on a Smiths tribute album.

The resulting album, Viva Hate ( a reference to the end of the Smiths ), was released in March 1988, reaching number one in the UK charts.

The Smiths ' album, The Queen Is Dead is referenced in the Sleeper song, " Dress Like Your Mother ".

* " London ", a song by The Smiths on the album Louder Than Bombs

* " London ", a Smiths cover by Anthrax on the album Sound of White Noise

* Selby's first work, " The Queen Is Dead " ( appearing as a chapter in Last Exit ), inspired the name of an album by Manchester pop group The Smiths.

In 2001, he released a live album / DVD ( 7 Worlds Collide ) consisting of songs recorded at St James Theatre in Auckland, New Zealand with the likes of Lisa Germano, Sebastian Steinberg ( Soul Coughing ), Ed O ' Brien and Phil Selway ( Radiohead ), Johnny Marr ( The Smiths ), Eddie Vedder ( Pearl Jam ), Paul Jeffrey, Tim Finn, and Betchadupa.

Released on July 25, 2006, the album featured guitarist Steve Conte, bassist Sami Yaffa ( ex-Hanoi Rocks ), drummer Brian Delaney and keyboardist Brian Koonin, formerly a member of David Johansen and the Harry Smiths.

Although the group began work with Tony Hoffer producing, the album was produced by Stephen Street ( The Smiths, Blur ).

" While Schultzberg was with the band, several early works were recorded, including their first 7 " single " Bruise Pristine ", the " Come Home " EP, the single version of " Nancy Boy " ( with B-sides " Slackerbitch ", " Miss Moneypenny ", and the Smiths cover " Bigmouth Strikes Again ") and their eponymous debut album.

Guitarist Johnny Marr ( formerly of The Smiths ) joined the band in May 2006, along with percussionist Joe Plummer ( formerly of the Black Heart Procession ) and multi-instrumentalist Tom Peloso, to work on the album We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank.

In 2004, Coxon released his fifth solo album Happiness in Magazines, produced by ex-Blur and The Smiths producer Stephen Street.

From their initial releases until 1995 Living Field album, the pillows music was categorized as a blend of alternative rock and jazz experimentation under the influence of British bands such as The Smiths and The Stone Roses.

Head appeared on the album cover of the Smiths ' compilation album Stop Me, taken from a still of the film The Family Way.

Artists that got their start here include Chuck & Joni Mitchell, Alice Cooper, The White Stripes, The Detroit Cobras, MC5, The Stooges, Savage Grace, Ted Nugent, Grand Funk Railroad, the Red Hot Chili Peppers recording their Freaky Styley album, the publication of Creem Magazine, the first rock journal, the first to use the terms " punk rock " and " heavy metal " and the first to give recognition to music of the likes of David Bowie, Iggy Pop, The Smiths, among many others.

* Singles ( The Smiths album )

Rusholme was mentioned in the song " Rusholme Ruffians " by The Smiths on their 1985 album Meat Is Murder.