Category: news

German power metal veterans Brainstorm have officially announced their brand-new studio album, Nightfall. The band’s forthcoming music output will be released in spring 2027 through Reigning Phoenix Music, marking the next milestone in a career spanning more than three decades.
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Live Review: Sex Pistols – Castlefield Bowl, Manchester

12th July 2026
Support: Dr John Cooper Clarke, The Undertones
Words: Dan Barnes
Photos: Tim Finch

It’s a glorious summer’s day here in Manchester and the perfect conditions for the return of punk deities to the city where – if legend is to be believed – their show at the Free Trade Hall launched the careers of a host of legacy punk and new wave bands and led to the formation of Factory Records; the film Twenty-Four Hour Party People tells the story far better than I could. As it happens, my walk out to the Bowl from the middle of town passes the old Hacienda, once the heartbeat of the thriving Madchester scene of the early Nineties, now luxury apartments.

As part of Manchester’s Sounds of the City, the Bowl hosts three of punk’s most endearing and influential musical acts, and the Bard of Salford himself, Dr John Cooper Clarke. Derry rockers, The Undertones have the honour of opening this special show, their blend of punk rock and new wave means they have a broader commercial appeal than tonight’s headliners. Evidenced by the number of historic band shirts milling about the Bowl this evening, the Northern Irishman take to the stage with the comment of “We mean you no harm” before cranking into some fat sounding good time vibes. Male Model gets a big singalong, The Love Parade slithers, with a mid-section that shows pop sensibilities. Frontman, Paul McLoone takes some time to wave at the stationary train waiting to continue into Deansgate, which has the crowd doing the same, and receiving a greeting from the driver in return. Jimmy, Jimmy has Castlefield bouncing, It’s Gonna Happen features some classic Undertones storytelling, Here Comes the Summer is introduced with a reminder that the band will be headlining the Ritz in October, and the driving punk rock of Get Over You brings the set to a close in style. Obviously, The Undertones played their two biggest songs: no matter how old it gets, Teenage Kicks is still the stone-cold punk classic that is widely known outside the genre, whereas My Perfect Cousin is like the best kept secret within it.

Punk poet, Dr John Cooper Clarke arrived to offer his unique perspective on subjects as diverse as questions he cannot answer, hire cars, filthy limericks, necrophilia, fluctuating weight due to opioid use, pies, and the poem that got him kicked off Deathrow Records. I won’t try to repeat any of them as I don’t have the verbal dexterity of the doctor.

I think this is the first time I’ve seen Belfast’s finest, Stiff Little Fingers, without them using Go For It as their intro tape. Instead, it was straight into Tin Soldiers and a truncated, festival version, of the show they placed over at the Academy back in March. It never ceases to amaze me the obsessive devotion shown to the Fingers by their life-long fans; shirts from every tour are to be seen, families, three generations strong, all wearing era-appropriate merchandise. Nobody’s Hero is an undeniable classic, the cover of Bunny Wailer’s Ska-infused Roots, Radicals, Rockers, Reggae is all-but owned by Jake and the boys by this point.

Jake even comments that they’re usually in Manchester when it’s raining, rather than the sun beating down on the Bowl; deep cut Back to Front goes down well with the older crowd, Emergency is a debut staple and Silver Linings is introduced with a history lesson, when the Government rode rough-shod over the voters and made life so very much harder than it needed to be. Good job it isn’t like that anymore! And to any Americans here today, Jake explained, that is what’s called sarcasm.

At the Edge, Bits of Kids and another cover that is a Finger’s song in everything except title, The Specials’ Doesn’t Make It Alright take the set into the closing section. Fade Away, Wasted Life and Gotta Get Away give way to Suspect Device and Alternative Ulster. It lasted an hour, but showed Stiff Little Fingers is as vital now as ever they were.

And, so to the main event: fifty-years on and not many bands could maintain the level of influence after having released just a solitary album. Sex Pistols feat Frank Carter is the real deal and, as much as I respect and admire Mr Lydon, his absence is excusable as Mr Carter, once of Gallows and without his Rattlesnakes, seems to be having the time of his life with his dream job. Dr John makes the introductions – should they been needed – as the level of anticipation swirling around the Bowl on the late evening wind is palpable.

The band amble out, Glen Matlock runs a comb through his silver locks before strapping on his bass, and Mr Carter, clad in a The Smiths t-shirt, wonders up to the microphone, takes in the applause and the Pistols kick into Holidays in the Sun. To say it’s a punk rock classic would be an understatement as the same can – and should – be said for the whole of the Never Mind the Bollocks: Here’s the Sex Pistols album, all of which get aired tonight.

Seventeen and New York prove the depth of Never Mind…, showing the deeper cuts can still compete with the more well-known tunes. Frank heads into the crowd for Pretty Vacant, tempering his call for a circle pit with the acceptance of the average age of the audience. A shout out to the NHS for the sterling work with knee-replacements gets a giggle, and he’s raised on high and transported back to the stage above head height. Bodies comes with a big singalong and an extended conclusion, Paul Revere and the Raiders’ I’m Not Your Stepping Stone is dedicated to the support acts, with this one particularly fitting Frank’s vocal style.

Liar starts with the question as to whether the Bowl is ready to bounce, and it isn’t long before the walking wounded at being brought out of the crowd for medical attention. A surfer goes over during God Save the Queen, as the band forget the stereotype that Punks can’t play and messrs Cook, Jones and Matlock lock into a groove. We’re introduced to the band – as if anyone in the Bowl needed such formalities tonight – before a cover of The Stooges’ No Fun, in which Frank has his mum on video call. No Feelings, Problems and EMI prove the wider debt bands owe to the Pistols, and their brief back-catalogue needs to be played and heard live. Phones and lighters are requested for My Way, a tribute to Sid, and the show ends in the only way possible, with Anarchy in the UK.

Folk will say that this isn’t the Sex Pistols, but my ticket says it is and, if you read Lonely Boy: Tales from a Sex Pistol by Steve Jones (London: Randon House, 2016) he talks of a time before John joined the band in August 1975. Regardless, bands of this duration change personnel, Frank just happens to be the Pistols’ current singer, and a damn good job he’s doing of it too.

The PA falls silent and Castlefield Bowl is left shattered and stunned by the show. It’s not often Punk Rock Royalty of this stature comes to town, but when it does it leaves Manchester devastated in its wake.

Could be gig of the year!

Photo credits: Tim Finch

For all the latest news, reviews, interviews across the heavy metal spectrum follow THE RAZORS’S EDGE on facebook, twitter and instagram.

The post Live Review: Sex Pistols – Manchester appeared first on The Razor's Edge.

Emptiness, nothingness, absence, non-being: such evocations of negation abound in extreme metal, often justifiably given the visceral analogy between dense dissonance and existential dysphoria. Among the acts walking this walk, Belgium’s Emptiness proudly stalk, with the blurb for seventh full-length Nowhere Speaks explicitly stating that it is “entirely unconcerned with making its listener comfortable.” The group’s trajectory thus far has taken them from uncompromising blackened death into ever more ambient and experimental territory, where they first crossed into the AMG-verse via Jean-Luc Ricard’s 2014 TYMHM post on Nothing But the Whole, and returned in 2017 to send shivers down Grymm’s spine with Not For Music. The sudden pivot into French-sung, distortion-free Vide was no less disturbing for its quietitude, though it may have ironically alienated fans. Nowhere Speaks thus carries the weight of significant mystery: what form has Emptiness taken this time, and does it bear any connection to their past?

Nowhere Speaks sees Emptiness heap scorn over those who doubted them—this is all of Emptiness, and there’s nothing random about it. The album begins with this affirmation, picking up the riff that was cut-off midway from Nothing But the Whole’s closer “Lowland,” and carrying on (“Nothing But The Whole (Part 2)”). It ends with it too, final track “All For Nothing” lapsing into the malevolent soundscape of Nothing But The Whole’s first, “Go and Hope,” and stopping with similar abruptness—a synecdoche for the wider circularity that connects these two albums over a decade apart. This brings a weird closure to the former record, even as Nowhere Speaks’ ending perpetuates the unsettled and unsettling sempiternality. Emptiness’ self-referential horror doesn’t stop at album construction. In a direct mirror of predecessor Vide, which was recorded by each member in isolation and geographically distant, Nowhere Speaks was recorded live all at once in the studio. This reassembling works as a metaphor for this album’s sound, which reconstructs many of Emptiness’ elements in both familiar and unfamiliar ways.

Nowhere Speaks is the opposite of immediate; everything about it creeps. And it creeps inexorably, as certain as death. The dark melodies and restlessly stalking tempos (“Nowhere Speaks,” “Words to Wind,” “When the Whole Arrives”¹) are only the half of it. Sometimes the music’s atmosphere incarnates as disso-death moodiness, (“Words to Wind,” “When the Whole Arrives”), sometimes as the blurriness of noisy atmo-black (“The Threat,” “One Must See All,” “All For Nothing”), sometimes as warped, static-scattered ambience (“Darkness Commands,” “Words to Wind,” “Next In Line”). Tremolos often feel almost warm (“Nowhere Speaks,” “All For Nothing”) until they aren’t (“Words to Wind”), and the stylistic incongruence between them and the electro-industrial edge that warps whispered growls creates an eerie tone throughout. The highest points are the culmination of these apparent inconsistencies, some new genre Emptiness have been crafting all this time—a pared-back blackened-death, dark ambient, groovy, and dissonant. It builds in the second act of “Words to Wind,” stalks with predatory grace at “When the Whole Arrives”‘s intro, and spreads insidiously in “Next In Line.” Emptiness pass through extreme metal and cloak elements in atmosphere, yet all this adds rather than subtracts tension and fearfulness.

These nuanced and unusual textures are intriguing, but they sometimes veer towards a mélange that’s too understated. Emptiness have absolutely nailed the vibe, and much of Nowhere Speaks does capitalise on the magical combination of pseudo-dissonant guitar, smothering dark ambience, and unusual compositional shapes. I can forgive the myriad interludes—some of which, particularly “Darkness Commands,” are excellent in their own right—which bleed in and out of the main songs. It’s the wavering vagaries in the midpoints and margins that threaten to fade too far into the background. The burying of instruments whilst nothing else drives a progression (“Nowhere Speaks,”); muffled voices and noise (“Words to Wind”), an immersion-breaking slide into the major (“Nowhere Speaks,” “The Clash of Forces,” “All for Nothing”). At least it sounds brilliant—all the layers distinguishable, the reverb a softness rather than an obstruction, the drums, vocals and guitars each having space to spook you.

Emptiness are evidently believers in the virtue of patience, answering the open question of Nothing But The Whole’s abrupt ending more than a decade after it was posed. Nowhere Speaks is no anomaly; give it time, and it spreads out like a great gulf of nothing.² It may have taken many listens, but I’m now so immersed in the void of beautiful nothingness Emptiness have created, that it’s hard to remember I ever really had my doubts.

---

Rating: Very Good
DR: 9 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Season of Mist
Websites: Bandcamp | Facebook
Releases Worldwide: July 17th, 2026

The post Emptiness – Nowhere Speaks Review appeared first on Angry Metal Guy.

SEO-unfriendly Detroit synth-punks have a reportedly wild live show that makes heavy use of a strobe light and a subwoofer. Their sound is a quasi-industrial low-tech grind that combines abrasive vocals with throbbing beats. Last month, the band dropped their Germs-referencing debut 7″ (CC). Next month, they’ll follow it with a full-length called Devil’s Night / Dead Internet.

The post Credit Card Announce Debut Mixtape <em>Devil’s Night / Dead Internet</em>: Hear “Harsh Times” appeared first on Stereogum.

For more than four decades, Armored Saint have remained one of the defining names in American heavy metal. Formed in Pasadena, California, the band has carried the classic metal torch since the early 1980s, continuing to deliver powerful live performances and new music without losing sight of its roots.

In 2026, Armored Saint appeared at Germany’s Rock Hard Festival in Gelsenkirchen, where Rockpalast captured the band’s set. Among the performances was “Reign Of Fire,” the opening track from Symbol Of Salvation. Originally released in 1991, the album later returned in a 2003 reissue and remains one of the band’s most celebrated records.

Emotion Factory Reset, Armored Saint‘s ninth studio album since 1984’s March Of The Saint, marks another important chapter in the band’s history. Described as “a resurrection of sorts, a tearing down and a rebuilding in eleven songs of diverse musicality and lyrical themes,” the record reflects a group that continues to evolve while staying true to its identity.

As with the band’s previous four releases, bassist Joey Vera handled production, while Jay Ruston (Anthrax, Stone Sour) took care of mixing. The result is an album that pushes Armored Saint into new territory without abandoning the elements that earned them their reputation in heavy music.

Tracks such as “Close To The Bone,” “Hit A Moonshot,” and “Every Man-Any Man” showcase that balance, with Armored Saint paying tribute to their legacy while writing music that feels relevant today.

The sessions for Emotion Factory Reset took place at several facilities, including 606 Studios, Secret Hand Studios, Skullseven Studios, Constantine Studios, and Bridge Recording. Engineering duties were shared by Oliver Roman, Bill Metoyer, Joey Vera, and Jason Constantine, while DDKing created the album artwork.

The post ARMORED SAINT Shares Pro-Shot Video For “Reign Of Fire” Taken At Live At Rock Hard Festival 2026 appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.

Before Steve Howe joined Yes in 1970, he’d built a respectable career as both band member and session player. Even after becoming one of prog’s leading guitarists he was happy to make guest appearances on other artists’ albums.

Before giving Prog a rundown of his favourite experiences outside Yes in 2015, Howe recalled the session that got away, which took place in 1964 when he was 17 years old – the chance to record with jazz great Ella Fitzgerald.

“I got straight on a bus from Holloway to Putney, walked in with my Gibson ES-175 and an amp, and two guys were carrying her out of the studio – she was paralytic!” he said.

“I’m watching this in the corridor, the guys oblivious to this young kid with the guitar. So that session – ‘Steve Howe plays with Ella Fitzgerald’ – didn’t happen!”

Other sessions, as Howe explained, went a little better.

EMI sessions (1960s)

I’m a guitar for hire! There’s not many musical things I’d turn away from. In the 60s I played sessions for EMI, and I was always playing rhythm, with Big Jim Sullivan playing lead.

And the big day came when the producer said, ‘I want Steve to play lead and Jim to play rhythm.’ I thought, ‘Jesus, this could be the beginning of something big.’ I was off! All those things give you more confidence – if you survive them!

Lou Reed – Lou Reed (1972)

Yes were in Morgan Studios doing Tales From Topographic Oceans, and through other channels Rick Wakeman and I got invited to play with Lou. He came in, played us a demo, fine, gave us the chart, and we played. I’ve got no idea what it sounds like. I’ll have to have a listen back!

The openings for those kinds of guest things are fun. You start off thinking, “Oh, is this going to be alright?” And that adds a little tinge to it.

ZTT sessions with Trevor Horn (1985-86)

In the mid-80s there was this feeling around Trevor Horn. Sometimes I’d nip in to see him and things would spontaneously happen.

I play this jazzy guitar on Propaganda’s track Murder Of Love. On Frankie Goes To Hollywood’s Welcome To The Pleasuredome, Trevor asked me to come back the next day to add a dobro guitar. And I played on two or three tracks from Frankie’s second album, Liverpool, too.

Queen – Innuendo (1991)

I was in a restaurant in Montreux and bumped into one of Queen’s techs. He said, ‘Steve, come down to the studio – the lads would love to see you.’ It was a set-up!

When I got down there they’d set up the studio for me. They played me the whole album, and it was stunning, and they said, “How about playing on Innuendo? Play like [Spanish flamenco guitarist] Paco De Lucía; just run around and go nuts.” So I did!

Flavio Sala – Sabrosa (2015)

Flavio’s a phenomenal Italian classical guitarist; he’s really going somewhere with it. We just recorded the Chet Atkins tune Sabrosa.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Venom Inc. Guitarist Curran Murphy Produces Megaton Communion’s New Album Three of Cups

Desert Rock Outfit Reveals Album Title and Artwork by Jonathan Grimm Ahead of Delta Doom Fest Performance

Megaton Communion has officially revealed the title and cover artwork for its highly anticipated sophomore album, Three of Cups , produced by Curran Murphy , acclaimed guitarist for Venom Inc.
For fans of heavy music, Murphy’s name carries serious weight. Known for his crushing guitar work with Venom Inc. and his long history in the metal scene, Murphy brings his signature production style and decades of experience to Megaton Communion’s latest release, helping shape an album that blends massive riffs, desert rock atmosphere, and powerful songwriting.
Recorded at Custom Audio Mutation and featuring stunning artwork by Jonathan Grimm , Three of Cups represents the band’s next evolution while benefiting from the creative vision of one of modern metal’s most respected musicians.
The album takes its name and inspiration from the Three of Cups tarot card, a symbol of friendship, emotional connection, celebration, and hope. The imagery of three raised cups reflects unity and shared experiences, while the clear sky symbolizes optimism and brighter days ahead. The result is an album centered around one simple but powerful message: celebrate being alive.
Fans of desert rock, stoner rock, and groove-heavy metal should have Three of Cups firmly on their radar.
More details soon: https://linktr.ee/megaton_communion

Megaton Communion will also be bringing these new songs to the stage when they perform at the inaugural Delta Doom Fest on Saturday, October 17, 2026 , at Growlers in Memphis, Tennessee.
The festival features an outstanding lineup including:
Tommy Stewart’s Dyerwulf
Ninja Witch
Red Sun Sermon
Stonewielder
Ponddigger
Megaton Communion
Burnt Witch
Ruined God

Metal Devastation Radio and Metal Devastation PR are proud sponsors of Delta Doom Fest alongside Does It Doom, Woodrite Guitars, Black Doomba Records, Brutal Media, Pinebox Coven Records, BlackOak Productions, and Blackbird Designs.
Doors open at 2:00 PM , with music beginning at 3:00 PM . The event is all ages and promises a full day of doom, stoner, sludge, and heavy metal from some of the region’s finest acts.
With Venom Inc. guitarist Curran Murphy behind the production, striking artwork from Jonathan Grimm, and a standout appearance at Delta Doom Fest on the horizon, Megaton Communion is poised to make Three of Cups one of the most anticipated underground heavy rock releases of the year.
Follow Megaton Communion through their Linktree for upcoming singles, videos, album news, and social media updates as Three of Cups continues its journey toward release.
https://linktr.ee/megaton_communion

Before Brian Epstein came along, calypso musician Lord Woodbine helped Lennon and McCartney learn to write songs. Continue reading…

Alice Cooper has announced a fresh round of “Alice’s Attic” tour dates, kicking off the fall leg October 27 here in Clearwater and running through November 21 in Reno, Nevada — 20 shows in all once September’s festival dates are included. The Rock And Roll Hall Of Famer’s stage production, introduced last year during his co-headline run with Judas Priest, hits a wide swath of new cities this time around, and he’ll have a new face alongside him: 23-year-old guitarist Anna Cara, filling in for Nita Strauss while she’s on maternity leave.

STREAM THE METAL BREAKDOWN DAILY NOW:

Scott Penfold gives his honest take on today’s episode: Alice Cooper is pushing 80 and still booking a 20-city run across three months — what that says about the guy, and why the new guitarist situation is one of the smoothest lineup transitions in the business. Download the free Loaded Radio App on Apple iOS and Google Play to stream it live.

The Full Alice Cooper Fall 2026 Tour Schedule

Cooper’s road schedule kicks off with a run of festival and casino dates in September before the proper “Alice’s Attic” fall leg begins in late October:

Sep. 17 – Louisville, KY – Louder Than Life*
Sep. 19 – West Springfield, MA – The Big E Fair*
Sep. 20 – Ottawa, ON – CityFolk Festival*
Sep. 22 – Niagara Falls, ON – OLG Stage at Fallsview Casino
Oct. 27 – Clearwater, FL – Ruth Eckerd Hall
Oct. 30 – Richmond, VA – Altria Theater
Oct. 31 – Atlantic City, NJ – Tropicana Casino & Resort
Nov. 01 – Bethlehem, PA – Wind Creek Bethlehem
Nov. 04 – Hershey, PA – Hershey Theatre
Nov. 06 – Windsor, ON – Caesars Windsor – The Colosseum
Nov. 07 – Kalamazoo, MI – Wings Event Center
Nov. 08 – Waukegan, IL – Genesee Theatre
Nov. 10 – St. Louis, MO – Stifel Theatre
Nov. 11 – Park City, KS – Hartman Arena
Nov. 14 – Indio, CA – Fantasy Springs Casino
Nov. 15 – Prescott Valley, AZ – Findlay Toyota Center
Nov. 17 – San Diego, CA – Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre
Nov. 18 – San Jose, CA – San Jose Civic
Nov. 20 – Wheatland, CA – Hard Rock Live at Hard Rock Hotel + Casino
Nov. 21 – Reno, NV – Grand Theatre at Grand Sierra Resort + Casino

It’s a serious workload for a performer who first found fame drawing on horror movies, vaudeville, and garage rock more than five decades ago — and a reminder that Cooper’s stage show, guillotines and all, hasn’t slowed down with age. Cooper’s camp has proven remarkably good at keeping the show running at full strength even through lineup shuffles, something that’s about to be tested again this fall.

Check This Out – 13 Perfect Metal Albums With Zero Skips

New Guitarist Joins For The Ride

The other headline out of this tour cycle is who’s holding down the guitar chair. Nita Strauss, Cooper’s guitarist for the better part of 12 years, is stepping away to welcome her first child this summer. Filling in is 23-year-old Anna Cara, a shredder from Newcastle, England, who Loaded Radio first introduced readers to back in April when she made her live debut with the band at Criss Angel’s Las Vegas theatre.

The story behind the hire is a genuinely good one: Strauss didn’t just step aside, she personally recommended Cara. “When I was asked in an interview who I thought was the best up-and-coming guitarist, I had no hesitation in answering ‘Anna Cara,’” Strauss said. Cooper echoed the enthusiasm, calling Cara “a beautiful dynamic shredder in the vein of Nita but with a style of her own.” For her part, Cara — who’s worked with Krokus’s Marc Storace and Cooper/Hollywood Vampires guitarist Tommy Henriksen — described landing the gig as a dream nine years in the making, going back to watching Cooper’s shows on YouTube as a 14-year-old. Strauss’s own history with the band goes back to 2014, and she’s been clear this is a leave, not an exit, telling fans she’ll be “back on the road (with a +1 along for the ride!)” once maternity leave wraps up.

TL;DR

• Alice Cooper’s fall “Alice’s Attic” tour runs October 27 (Clearwater, FL) through November 21 (Reno, NV)
• September festival dates in Louisville, West Springfield, Ottawa, and Niagara Falls precede the fall leg
• 20 total dates announced across the full run
• Guitarist Anna Cara, 23, is filling in for Nita Strauss, who’s on maternity leave welcoming her first child
• Strauss personally recommended Cara for the role before the announcement went public
• Cara made her live debut with the band in April at Criss Angel’s Las Vegas theatre

FAQ

Is Alice Cooper coming to your city this fall? Check the list and let us know which show you’re catching in the comments. Follow Loaded Radio for daily rock and metal news.

The post Alice Cooper Announces 20-Date Fall 2026 North American Tour appeared first on Loaded Radio.

Johnny Marr knew instantly that the riff was special. The 19-year-old been messing around on his little brother’s guitar at his parents’ house, and was so excited by what he’d played that he asked his girlfriend (now wife) to borrow her dad’s car so that he could show it to his songwriting partner, Steven Patrick Morrissey, immediately. Within an hour, he and Morrissey had recorded a basic demo of the song in the singer’s bedroom, and the following day Morrissey called him up at home to inform him that the new song would be called Hand In Glove. At this point, The Smiths had only played two gigs, but the two young musicians knew that this song would take their band to another level.

The following month, The Smiths recorded a full band version of their new song during a one day session at Strawberry Studios in Stockport. And two months after that, on a Friday morning in April 1983, Johnny Marr and Smiths bassist Andy Rourke travelled down to London on a mission to get a cassette copy of the song into the hands of Geoff Travis, the founder of their favourite independent record label, Rough Trade. When Marr spotted Travis emerging from his office at the distribution warehouse, he pounced.

“I just grabbed him and said, ‘Hey Geoff, uh, hi, my name’s Johnny. I’m in a band from Manchester and you won’t have heard anything like this,” the guitarist told the Daily Mail in 2013. “That’s what just came out! Anyway, he was pretty gracious, gave me the brush-off – but he took the tape.”

“Johnny was an interesting-looking kid, like a young Keith Richards,” Travis remembers in a new interview with The Times. “He came into the kitchen, gave me a tape and said: ‘Listen to this. It’s not just any tape’. It was Hand in Glove. That was a Friday and I must have played it over the weekend more than 20 times. On Monday I called the number on the tape, on Tuesday all four Smiths came down and we cut the single.”

Hand In Glove, The Smith’s debut single, was released by Rough Trade in May 193, and reached number three in the UK indie charts, introducing The Smiths to the world. They would not look back.

In later years, rumours circulated that The Smiths only landed their deal with Rough Trade after being rejected by Manchester’s own Factory Records, co-founded by TV presenter and impresario Tony Wilson. This, Johnny Marr insists, is a “crock of shit”.

“If you were a musician in Manchester at that time, it was almost the law that you went on your hands and knees and begged Tony Wilson for his papal blessing to stick you in the studio, and I wasn’t about to do that,” Marr told NME in 2014. “The Smiths would have signed to Factory over my dead body… I didn’t want to be assimilated into the Factory aesthetic.”