| Why Pamper Life's Complexities? A Symposium on The Smiths | The symposium takes place from Friday 8 to Sunday 10 April. Highlights include: - Talks from Dave Haslam, John Harris, Simon Goddard and Professor Sheila Whiteley
- Various academic discussions and lectures on such topics as The Smiths and Camp Performance; Class, Politics and the Kitchen Sink; Fans of The Smiths during the late 1980s; The Music Of The Smiths as Inside Joke; and The Performance of Words and Music in The Boy With The Thorn In His Side
- Other events including tribute band The Smyths at the Dry Bar, Stephen Wright taking photos at Salford Lad's Club and a bus tour of The Smiths' Manchester
For a full itinerary and a registration form, visit the MIPC website [link on the right]. |
We caught up with event organiser Sean Campbell, Senior Lecturer and Research Co-ordinator in Cultural Studies at APU in Cambridge, to discover why The Smiths need academic investigation and what the weekend will mean to the myth and legend that surround the band and their songs. Why are you holding a Smiths symposium now? "In the past year or so, there has been an enormous resurgence of interest in the band, with the NME voting them the most influential act of all-time, and magazines publishing special 'Smiths' issues. In addition to that, of course, there was the spectacular Morrissey 'comeback' in 2004, which renewed people's interest in the back catalogue. More than that, though, we felt that this was the 20th anniversary of The Smiths' key moment - in the mid-1980s. It felt like a timely moment to look back, reflect, and assess." Who is involved with the conference? | "It was obvious when they got up on stage that not just anybody could get up and do it, there was something exceptional about them that defied analysis" | | Sean Campbell on the music of The Smiths |
"I am co-organizing the conference with Colin Coulter of Maynooth's National University of Ireland, Maynooth and Fergus Campbell of the University of Newcastle. Justin O'Connor (MMU) is very kindly hosting the event for us at the Manchester Institute of Popular Culture." What are the highlights? "Too many too mention! I guess that the four 'plenary' speakers will attract most attention: John Harris, Dave Haslam, Simon Goddard, and Sheila Whiteley. For my own part, I will be challenging the conventional view that The Smiths were quintessentially English by suggesting that they are in fact better understood as Manchester-Irish." What do the Smiths think of all this?
 | | Morrissey |
"We are waiting, patiently, for the fatwa. Seriously, though, we think that Morrissey knows about the event, as we've talked to some of his close friends about it. I'd guess that he will probably maintain a public veneer of indifferent disinterest, whilst being secretly pleased with the level of attention. It is, after all, publicly confirming his position as a modern-day Oscar Wilde. I'm not sure if Johnny knows about it, but I'd understand if he didn't want to get involved. It would be quite awkward for a musician to appear at an event at which their work was being analysed and deconstructed. I would hope, however, that he was at least comfortable with the ethos of the event. Mike and Andy, as far as I know, do know about the event, and we would of course extend a humble invite to any band members that wished to come along." What's next, a Smiths degree? "Contrary to the views of the Daily Mail, popular culture has been studied at British universities since at least the early Sixties. Popular music, in particular, has been a central part of people's everyday experience, as well as a key aspect of the global media industry, for at least five decades, and for this reason alone it is worthy of our attention.
 | | The Smiths (photo: Stephen Wright) |
It seems strange to me that people have no problem with a course on, say, the novels of the 1980s, or the films of the 1980s, but raise an eyebrow when a college devotes a few hours to the popular music of that decade. This seems totally preposterous, however, when we consider how important a band like The Smiths were in defining how that decade was both experienced and remembered. The question that we should really be asking, then, is why popular music isn't a more established part of the academic curriculum. However, just to offset any 'moral panic' that this might generate amongst readers of the Daily Mail, let me re-assure them that there are currently no plans for a degree programme on The Smiths, just as there is currently no available degree programme on, say, James Joyce or Madonna." How big a Smiths fan are you?
 | | Andy Rourke recreates his pose last year |
"Like Colin and Fergus, I saw The Smiths live on a number of occasions, and met all the group members during the mid-1980s. I can also play the group's material on guitar, and have a pretty good understanding of how their songs work musically. However, while this means that I am clearly a 'fan' of their work, my academic writing on the band tends to be analytical rather than fawning, and like my colleagues who study things like Shakespeare or Alfred Hitchcock, I use my personal investment in the artist as a means to sustain academic effort." What's all this about recreating that Salford Lads' Club photo? "We wanted to invite people to the conference who were closely involved with The Smiths at the time, such as Stephen Wright, who took the iconic shots of the band outside the Salford Lads Club. Stephen has very generously agreed to donate his time, and for very personal reasons, has suggested that we recreate the shoot for charity. What this means is that people who want to have their photo taken outside the Salford Lads Club by the guy that took the original shots in 1985, can do so whilst making a small contribution to charity. It's a light-hearted and very positive way to close the event." Who are you expecting to attend the event?
 | | The Smiths fans (photo: Stephen Wright) |
"We have had an enormous amount of interest from academics, fans, students, journalists, and musicians. People are coming from the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and all over Europe. I should say that we have a limited number of places, and people who want to ensure a place should send in the registration form by Friday 1 April." Is this a case of the light that will never go out? "Although the academic in me calls for demystification, it is clear that The Smiths had an enigmatic allure that continues to fascinate... as well as repel: many people find The Smiths unbearable. Either way, however, they provoke strong emotions, and are undoubtedly seen as unique, along with people like The Beatles and The Sex Pistols. Despite the 'DIY' ethos from which The Smiths came, then, it was obvious when they got up on stage that not just anybody could get up and 'do it', as there was definitely something exceptional and unique about the band that defied analysis and was notoriously difficult to pin down. This, amongst other things, is something that we hope to come to grips with at the conference." |
