BookishBoy
Well-Known Member
EW has an article / slideshow all about artists who left successful bands and who then remained successful in their solo careers (or became more so). It's a broad list, running from Paul Simon to Lauryn Hill and from Harry Styles to Beyonce - and includes Morrissey, of course.
https://ew.com/music/artists-who-left-bands-for-successful-solo-careers/
Here's the paragraph about him:
What The Smiths lacked in album sales they more than made up for in influence, spawning numerous soundalike bands during their brief reign in the U.K. (many of whom lead singer Morrissey would handpick to serve as concert openers). While Morrissey's collaborations with guitarist Johnny Marr veered between strummy guitar pop and sonically-innovative rock experiments, Morrissey's solo career was unabashedly commercial in approach, even as his lyrics — as always — oscillated between the poetic and the profane. While The Smiths continued to be lionized and dissected to this day, Morrissey's solo career — for those who are still around following the singer's never-ending run of controversial statements — has been defined by tracks like "Suedehead," "Everyday is Like Sunday," "The More You Ignore Me, The Closer I Get," and "Irish Blood, English Heart." He is no longer the commercial or critical force he once was, but he's still defiantly, indisputably Morrissey (and no, he will not be reuniting The Smiths anytime soon).
https://ew.com/music/artists-who-left-bands-for-successful-solo-careers/
Here's the paragraph about him:
What The Smiths lacked in album sales they more than made up for in influence, spawning numerous soundalike bands during their brief reign in the U.K. (many of whom lead singer Morrissey would handpick to serve as concert openers). While Morrissey's collaborations with guitarist Johnny Marr veered between strummy guitar pop and sonically-innovative rock experiments, Morrissey's solo career was unabashedly commercial in approach, even as his lyrics — as always — oscillated between the poetic and the profane. While The Smiths continued to be lionized and dissected to this day, Morrissey's solo career — for those who are still around following the singer's never-ending run of controversial statements — has been defined by tracks like "Suedehead," "Everyday is Like Sunday," "The More You Ignore Me, The Closer I Get," and "Irish Blood, English Heart." He is no longer the commercial or critical force he once was, but he's still defiantly, indisputably Morrissey (and no, he will not be reuniting The Smiths anytime soon).