The Smith Meat Is Murder Patch

The Smiths came out of Manchester in 1982 and became one of the most influential alternative bands of the decade, built around Morrissey’s sharp lyrical voice and Johnny Marr’s unmistakable guitar work. They didn’t sound like the glossy pop around them, and they didn’t fit neatly into punk either — too literary, too bitter, too melodic, and too stubborn to be anything but themselves.

Released in 1985, Meat Is Murder pushed the band’s politics and identity further into the open. The album tied together anti-war sentiment, social criticism, alienation, and animal rights with the kind of bluntness that still makes people react. It remains one of The Smiths’ defining statements: dramatic, confrontational, and impossible to separate from indie rock history.