The Smiths (partially found unreleased tracks from British indie-rock band; 1982-1987)
The Smiths are a British alternative rock band that formed in 1982 and split in 1987 with no reunion whatsoever. The lineup consisted of vocalist Steven Patrick Morrissey (known to many as just Morrissey), guitarist Johnny Marr, bassist Andy Rourke and drummer Mike Royce. With only four studio albums (The Smiths, their first album, Meat is Murder, the biggest-selling Smiths album, The Queen is Dead, widely considered their masterpiece, and Strangeways, Here We Come, their last album) and a collection of non-album singles and B-sides (Hatful of Hollow) released between 1984 and 1987, the band has greatly influenced the sound of alt-rock for years to come.
In 2005, when Rourke appeared on the BBC radio show Mint, he claimed to be auctioning off old Smiths paraphernalia and tapes. Rourke played a short segment from one of the tapes on the show, this segment being "Fast One" (also known as "Click Track" and "The Cowbell Track"), a brief (1:10) instrumental which is only available at low quality, since all versions have been ripped from Rourke's radio broadcast.
It is claimed to be just one of a loose collection of instrumental tracks and unfinished pieces owned by Rourke and possibly the others, also alluded to by the 2005 unearthing of the previously lost instrumental tracks "I Misses You" and "Heavy Track", which showed up on a very rare contemporary bootleg LP; Unreleased Demos and Rarities.
After the radio interview, Johnny Marr apparently contacted Rourke and convinced him not to sell any of the unreleased music. To this day it is unknown how many original instrumental demos The Smiths are withholding, although Rourke implied he was in possession of significant quantities of unreleased material.
