Steven Patrick Morrissey, better known, mononymously, as Morrissey, is a singer and lyricist of Irish descent born in Davyhulme, Manchester, on May 22, 1959. His parents, Elizabeth (née Dwyer) and Peter Morrissey, were Irish Catholics who had emigrated to Manchester from Dublin with his only sibling, elder sister Jacqueline, a year before his birth.

In the late 1970s, he fronted the punk rock band The Nosebleeds with little success before beginning a career in music journalism and writing several books on music and film in the early 1980s.

The Smiths (1982-1987)

The Smiths were based upon the songwriting partnership of Morrissey and Johnny Marr. Drummer Simon Wolstencroft recorded a few demos, before leaving and being replaced by Mike Joyce in 1982, as he did not like Morrissey's voice. Dale Hibbert was hired as bassist on the basis of his ability to provide after-hour recording facilities at Decibelle studio. He was replaced after a few gigs by Marr's best mate Andy Rourke, as the band did not agree with his personality or style of playing. The band signed on to indie label Rough Trade Records. They released their first single, Hand in Glove, in May 1983. It failed to chart, despite heavy promotion from DJ John Peel. Follow-up singles "This Charming Man" and "What Difference Does It Make?" fared better when they reached numbers 25 and 12 respectively on the UK Singles Chart.

The Smiths released their debut eponymous album in 1984, with even better success, peaking at number two in the UK Albums Chart. This was followed by two non-album singles, "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now" and "William, It Was Really Nothing". "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now" was The Smiths' first single to reach number ten on the UK Singles Chart, and marked the beginning of producer Stephen Street's work with the band.

A second album entitled Meat Is Murder was released in February 1985. Meat marked a more politically driven message in Morrissey's songs, manifesting in the eponymous album track. The album was the band's first and only chart-topping work. In the same year, The Smiths undertook tours of the States and the United Kingdom, while juggling recording of their fourth album The Queen Is Dead.

A legal dispute with Rough Trade delayed the release of The Queen Is Dead by seven months, however. Adding to the growing problems of the band, Marr turned to the bottle to cope with stress. Rourke was fired, reportedly by means of a note handwritten by Morrissey and left on his car, although he was reinstated after a fortnight. Guitarist Craig Gannon was hired, moving to rhythm guitar. The new five-men band recorded Panic and Ask (the latter with Kirsty MacColl on backing vocals), while undertaking a second tour of the UK. Gannon left the band in October 1986 after the end of the tour. Frustrations with Rough Trade on part of The Smiths sans Gannon mounted, and the group sought a deal, ultimately (and controversially) signing with EMI.

Despite growing and continued success, personal tensions emerged within the band. Marr was growing frustrated with Morrissey's difficult personality and musical inflexibility. Morrissey himself was not pleased with Marr's musical work outside of The Smiths. In 1987, Marr left the band permanently (originally planning to take a breather) after discovering the article "Smiths to Split", which he suspected was planted by Morrissey. Auditions to find a replacement resulted in the hire of Ivor Perry. The band was unable to continue on, in part due to Morrissey refusing to co-operate with Perry. This resulted in the final, total split of The Smiths.

 Solo Career

Morrisseys solo carrer has been critically mixed, the highlight being You Are the Quarry (2004) released on May 17, 2004. The first single, Irish Blood, English Heart, was released internationally on May 10, 2004. The single reached number three in its first week of sales in the UK singles chart. To date, this is the highest placing chart position for Morrissey in his entire career as both a solo artist and the lead singer of The Smiths. It has sold over a million copies, making the album his most successful.

His subsequent albums were less well received.

Despite Morrissey’s aesthetic fluctuations in the decades following the demise of the Smiths, the cult of this pop original has endured. After three decades in the business, Morrissey remains the ultimate rock outsider as his increasingly questionable eclectic pronoucements testify.

Upon the death of Sinead O’Connor, Morrisey slammed tributes after her death writing a fiery blog:  ‘You Praise Her Now Only Because It Is Too Late, You hadn't the guts to support her when she was alive and she was looking for you," 

Influence

The BBC has referred to him as "one of the most influential figures in the history of British pop"

In 1998 he received an Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Music from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors.

NME named him one of the greatest singers of all time in a 2014 poll, noted that his "rejection of convention" in his vocal style and lyrics is the reason "why he redefined the sound of British rock for the past quarter-century.