The Smiths

This post is guest authored by Andrew Lovelady from IT Services. If you’ve got something of interest, get in touch.

While preparing for the interview for my current job I searched the internet for Edge Hill College. In amongst the information useful for the interview was a review of The Smiths playing at Edge Hill on Friday 18 November 1983. This was a couple of weeks after the release of their second single “This Charming Man”. The record was slowly climbing the charts and a week later they appeared on Top of the Pops for the first time. The set was a good mix of their early singles and tracks off their debut LP which was released in spring 1984.

  • Handsome Devil
  • Still Ill
  • This Charming Man
  • Pretty Girls Make Graves
  • This Night Has Opened My Eyes
  • What Difference Does It Make?
  • Wonderful Woman
  • Hand In Glove
  • Reel Around The Fountain
  • Miserable Lie
  • encores
  • You’ve Got Everything Now
  • This Charming Man

According to Simon Goddard in his “The Smiths – Songs that saved your life”, this was the last time that Wonderful Woman – one of the b sides of This Charming Man 12 inch– was played live. Another literary mention of the gig appears in Stuart Maconie’s “Cider with Roadies”. Both books warmly recommended.

, , , ,

3 responses to “The Smiths”

  1. Oddly enough, my first year at EdgeHill was spent primarily listening to the Smith’s first album…from which all but one of their songs from the above set list feature. It was a really lonely time for me in halls, and that album pretty much kept me company. (Sad I know)

    They were a great band. Didn’t do one bad track.

    Jake

  2. A while ago i heard on radio two that Edge Hill is famous among those in the know as it was one of the very last gigs (if not the last) that the Smiths had to honour before everything they did went big. I think they would have performed in what is now the Terrace.

    We had a roughly similar situation with the Editors a couple of years ago. Except they didn’t go big.

    I’ve always thought we should have a big mural of the Smiths (and other local northwest bands) in the bar.