Strangeways, Here We Come is the fourth and final studio album by English rock band The Smiths, released in 1987, reaching No. 2 on the album chart and staying on the chart for 17 weeks. All of the songs on the album were composed by Johnny Marr, with lyrics written and sung by Morrissey. The album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America on 19 September 1990. Slant Magazine listed the album at #69 on its list of "Best Albums of the 1980s," saying, "Whether or not Strangeways, Here We Come ended the Smiths' brief career with their best album has been the subject of considerable debate for nearly a quarter century, but it definitively stands as the band's most lush, richest work." Strangeways, Here We Come is the fourth and final studio album by English rock band The Smiths, released in 1987, reaching No. 2 on the album chart and staying on the chart for 17 weeks. All of the songs on the album were composed by Johnny Marr, with lyrics written and sung by Morrissey. The album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America on 19 September 1990. Slant Magazine listed the album at #69 on its list of "Best Albums of the 1980s," saying, "Whether or not Strangeways, Here We Come ended the Smiths' brief career with their best album has been the subject of considerable debate for nearly a quarter century, but it definitively stands as the band's most lush, richest work." false 2022-10-22 14:15:47 Strangeways, Here We Come 7.6 1987 1987-09-22 1987-09-22 36 Alternative Rock Indie Pop Indie Rock Jangle Pop 111752 2114495 004dfc26-36b4-4bf7-a51e-4146b7a415d4 40f5d9e4-2de7-4f2d-ad41-e31a9a9fea27 53bcf9cf-db1e-3887-80f5-9f23c87a0f64 /media/data/media5/Music/The Smiths/Strangeways, Here We Come (1987)/folder.jpg The Smiths AlbumArtist The Smiths Artist The Smiths The Smiths 1 A Rush and a Push and the Land Is Ours 03:00 2 I Started Something I Couldn’t Finish 03:47 3 Death of a Disco Dancer 05:26 4 Girlfriend in a Coma 02:03 5 Stop Me If You Think You’ve Heard This One Before 03:32 6 Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me 05:06 7 Unhappy Birthday 02:45 8 Paint a Vulgar Picture 05:35 9 Death at One’s Elbow 02:02 10 I Won’t Share You 02:50 The Smiths were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1982, composed of Morrissey (vocals), Johnny Marr (guitar), Andy Rourke (bass) and Mike Joyce (drums). Morrissey and Marr formed the songwriting partnership. The Smiths are regarded as one of the most important acts to emerge from 1980s British independent music. The Smiths signed to the independent label Rough Trade Records in 1983 and released their first album, The Smiths, in 1984. Their focus on a guitar, bass and drum sound, fusing 1960s rock and post-punk, was a rejection of the synth-pop sound predominant at the time. Several Smiths singles reached the top 20 of the UK Singles Chart, and all their studio albums reached the top five of the UK Albums Chart, including the number-one album Meat Is Murder (1985). From that time, they bolstered their sound with the use of keyboards while retaining the guitar as the lead instrument. They achieved mainstream success in Europe with The Queen Is Dead (1986) and Strangeways, Here We Come (1987), which both entered the top 20 of the European Albums Chart. In 1986, the band briefly became a five-piece with the addition of guitarist Craig Gannon. Internal tensions led to the Smiths' breakup in 1987, followed by public lawsuits over royalties. The members each said that the band would never reunite and refused all offers to do so.