The English alternative rock band the Smiths released four studio albums, one live album, 11 compilation albums, two extended plays (EPs), 25 singles and one video album on the Rough Trade, Sire and WEA record labels. The band was formed in 1982 in Manchester by vocalist Morrissey, guitarist Johnny Marr, bass player Andy Rourke and drummer Mike Joyce.
The Smiths' debut single was "Hand in Glove" (May 1983); it failed to chart. Its follow-up, "This Charming Man" (October 1983), met with critical approval and reached number 25 on the UK Singles Chart. In 1984 the band reached number 12 in the UK with the single "What Difference Does It Make?" and went to number two on the UK Albums Chart with their debut album, The Smiths. Their next three singles all went into the top 20 of the charts in the UK, helping to consolidate their previous chart success. The next studio album, Meat Is Murder (1985), reached the top of the British charts; the only single to be released from the album, "That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore" (1985), failed to break into the UK Top 40. The Smiths' next six singles all made the top 30 in the UK, and their third album, The Queen Is Dead (1986), climbed to number two in the UK.
Despite the Smiths' chart success, Marr left the group in August 1987 because of a strained relationship with Morrissey. Failing to find a replacement, the Smiths disbanded by the time of the release of their final studio album, Strangeways, Here We Come, in September that year. Strangeways, Here We Come climbed to number two in the UK and became the band's highest-charting release in the United States when it reached number 55 on the Billboard 200. During their time together, as well as four studio albums, the Smiths also released three compilation albums (Hatful of Hollow, The World Won't Listen and Louder Than Bombs), while the live album Rank, recorded in 1986, was released in 1988 a year after the band split. In early 1992 WEA acquired the entire back catalogue of the Smiths and produced two compilations – Best I and Best II – the first of which went to the top of the UK Albums Chart. The following year, 1993, WEA re-released the four studio albums, Rank and the three earlier compilation albums. WEA released two further singles compilations in 1995 and 2001, with a further compilation, The Sound of The Smiths, released in November 2008.
Albums Studio albums +List of studio albums, with selected details, chart positions and certifications Title Album details Peak chart positions Certifications UK UKIndie AUSAustralian chart peaks: Top 100 (Kent Music Report) peaks to 5 June 1988: N.B. The Kent Music Report chart was licensed by ARIA between mid-1983 and 5 June 1988. Top 50 (ARIA) peaks from 6 June 1988: Top 100 (ARIA) peaks from January 1990 to December 2010: All ARIA-era peaks to 27 May 2021: N.B. The High Point number in the NAT column indicates the release's peak on the national chart. CAN GER NLD NZ SWE US US Cash Box The Smiths Released: 20 February 1984 Label: Rough Trade Formats: LP, cassette, CD 2 1 77 65 — 28 9 44 150 129 BPI: Gold Meat Is Murder Released: 11 February 1985 Label: Rough Trade Formats: LP, cassette, CD 1 1 58 40 45 39 13 27 110 73 BPI: Gold The Queen Is Dead Released: 16 June 1986 Label: Rough Trade Formats: LP, cassette, CD 2 1 30 29 33 11 17 39 70 59 BPI: 2× Platinum RIAA: Gold Strangeways, Here We Come Released: 28 September 1987 Label: Rough Trade Formats: LP, cassette, CD 2 1 28 27 33 20 14 13 55 29 BPI: Gold RIAA: Gold
Live albums +List of live albums, with selected details, chart positions and certifications Title Album details Peak chart positions Certifications(sales thresholds) UK UKIndie AUS CAN GER NLD NZ SWE US US Cash Box Rank Released: 5 September 1988 Label: Rough Trade, Sire Formats: LP, cassette, CD, DAT 2 1 33 82 47 42 25 32 77 54 BPI: Gold
Compilation albums +List of compilation albums, with selected details, chart positions and certifications Title Album details Peak chart positions Certifications(sales thresholds) UK AUS CAN GER IRL NLD NZ NOR SWE US Hatful of Hollow Released: 12 November 1984 Label: Rough Trade Formats: LP, cassette, CD 7 — 91 — — — 21 — 28 — BPI: Platinum The World Won't Listen Released: 23 February 1987 Label: Rough Trade Formats: LP, cassette, CD 2 25 — 41 — 15 16 17 19 — BPI: Gold Louder Than BombsReleased: 30 March 1987 Labels: Rough Trade, Sire Formats: LP, cassette, CD 38 — 30 — — — — — — 62 BPI: Gold RIAA: Gold Stop MeReleased: 21 January 1988 (Japan only) Label: RCA Victor Formats: CD — — — — — — — — — — Best IReleased: 17 August 1992 Label: WEA Formats: LP, cassette, CD 1 64 36 — 56 74 15 35 45 139 BPI: Gold Best IIReleased: 2 November 1992 Label: WEA Formats: LP, cassette, CD 29 190 — — — — — — — — BPI: Gold Singles Released: 20 February 1995 Label: WEA Format: CD 5 134 — — 26 — — — — — BPI: Platinum The Very Best of The Smiths Released: 4 June 2001 Label: WEA Format: CD 30 — — — 34 — — — — — BPI: Platinum The Sound of The Smiths Released: 10 November 2008 Label: WEA Format: CD 21 114 — — 28 — — — — 98 BPI: 3× Platinum The Smiths Singles BoxReleased: 8 December 2008 Label: WEA Formats: 12 × 7" vinyl, 12 × CD — — — — — — — — — — Complete Released: 26 September 20113 October 2011 Label: Rhino Formats: 8 × CD, 8 × LP, 8 × CD + 8 × LP + 25 × 7" vinyl + DVD 63 — — — 75 — — — — — "—" denotes releases that did not chart.
Extended plays +List of EPs, with selected chart positions Title EP details Peak chart positions UKIndie The 12" Mixes Released: 1988 Label: Rough Trade Formats: cassette, CD— The Peel SessionsReleased: 1988 Label: Strange Fruit Formats: 12-inch vinyl, CD9
Singles + List of singles as lead artist, with selected chart positions and certifications, showing year released and album name Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications Album UK UKIndie AUS IRL NZ US Dance "Hand in Glove" 1983 — 3 — — — — Non-album single, this version later included on Hatful of Hollow, alternate version on The Smiths "This Charming Man" 8 1 52 9 15 — BPI: 3× Platinum RMNZ: PlatinumNon-album single "What Difference Does It Make?" 1984 12 1 — 12 — — BPI: Silver The Smiths "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now" 10 1 — 11 — — BPI: Platinum RMNZ: PlatinumHatful of Hollow "William, It Was Really Nothing" 17 1 — 8 — — "How Soon Is Now?" 1985 16 1 190 5 39 36 BPI: Platinum RMNZ: Platinum "Shakespeare's Sister" 26 1 — 11 — — Non-album single later included on The World Won't Listen "Barbarism Begins at Home" — — — — — — Meat Is Murder "The Headmaster Ritual" — — — — — — "That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore" 49 1 — 20 — — "The Boy with the Thorn in His Side" 23 1 — 15 46 49 BPI: SilverThe Queen Is Dead "Bigmouth Strikes Again" 1986 26 1 — — 40 — BPI: Platinum RMNZ: Gold "Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others" — — — — — — "Panic" 11 1 — 7 — — BPI: GoldThe World Won't Listen "Ask" 14 1 — 9 — — BPI: Silver "Shoplifters of the World Unite" 1987 12 1 — 7 — — "Sheila Take a Bow" 10 1 — 3 — —Louder Than Bombs "Girlfriend in a Coma" 13 1 — 12 29 — Strangeways, Here We Come "I Started Something I Couldn't Finish" 23 2 — 13 — — "Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me" 30 2 — 17 — — "Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before" — — 91 — 31 — "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out" 1992 25 — 176 22 — — BPI: 2× Platinum RMNZ: Platinum The Queen Is Dead "Sweet and Tender Hooligan" 1995 — — — — — —Louder Than Bombs "The Boy with the Thorn in His Side" 2017 — — — — — — BPI: Silver The Queen Is Dead "The Queen Is Dead" 85 — — — — — "—" denotes that the recording did not chart or was not released in that territory.
Notes
Other certified songs +List of other certified songs Title Year Certifications Album "This Night Has Opened My Eyes"2024 BPI: Silver RMNZ: Gold Hatful of Hollow / Louder Than Bombs "Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want" 2025 BPI: Platinum RMNZ: Gold "Back to the Old House" BPI: Gold RMNZ: Platinum "I Know It's Over" BPI: Silver The Queen Is Dead "Asleep" BPI: Silver The World Won’t Listen / Louder Than Bombs "Cemetry Gates"2026 BPI: Silver The Queen Is Dead
Other appearances +List of appearances on other albums and EPs Title Year Album "What She Said" (Live) 1985 NME Readers' Poll Winners '84 – four track various artists EP given away free with copies of NME magazine "Bigmouth Strikes Again" (Live) 2013 The Old Grey Whistle Test: The Anthems
Video albums +List of video albums, with selected details and certifications Title Album detailsCertification The Complete Picture Label: WEA Format: VHS / LaserDisc / DVD / VCD UK: Platinum
Music videos +List of music videos Title Year Director(s) Notes "This Charming Man"1983 "What Difference Does It Make?"1984 "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now" "How Soon Is Now?" 1985 Paula Grief and Richard Levine "The Boy with the Thorn in His Side" Ken O'Neill "The Queen Is Dead"/"Panic"/"There Is a Light That Never Goes Out" 1986 Derek Jarman A short film made for the 1986 Edinburgh Festival. "Panic" A promo video for the "Panic" single was made using a mixture of concert footage and footage from Jarman's film. "Ask" "Shoplifters of the World Unite" 1987 Tamra Davis Combines footage of The Smiths on The Tube in April 1987 with footage from the film A Place in the Sun. "Sheila Take a Bow" "Girlfriend in a Coma" Tim Broad "Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before" Video produced for a single whose release was cancelled. "I Started Something I Couldn't Finish" Promo video released after The Smiths had split, which recycles footage from the "Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before" video. "This Charming Man" 1992 Unknown Uses footage originally shot for the Tyne Tees Television show The Tube in 1983. "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out" Tim Broad Recycles footage from the "Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before" promo video.
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