Day 48: ‘This Charming Man’ by The Smiths

Here’s another sixth form water cooler moment (if we’d had a water cooler, of course!) The day after this astonishing Top of the Pops debut in November 1983, I think everyone in my class was still in shock. It was probably the ‘Bill Grundy moment’ for those of us who were too young to have experienced the detonation of the Punk A-bomb.

Within about two years you couldn’t move for bands of skinny guys with floppy haircuts, playing semi-acoustic guitars and bemoaning their shambolic love lives. In Morrissey’s own words, Oh, Manchester, so much to answer for. This was where it all started, though. And it’s about a failed gay seduction. Genius!

Morrissey – vocals; Johnny Marr – guitar; Andy Rourke – bass; Mike Joyce – drums