THE SMIRKS
| Always had that je ne sais quoi |
Irritating little combo with no plans to reform |
The most fun you can have with your shoes on |
| Click here to buy the SMIRKOLOGY album |
| Always had that je ne sais quoi |
Irritating little combo with no plans to reform |
The most fun you can have with your shoes on |
| Click here to buy the SMIRKOLOGY album |
When I started creating this website for The Smirks, I had a handful of original singles and some dodgy scans of their sleeves. Over the years, thanks to the generosity of band members, fans and eBay sellers, this site has increased in size and now contains a wealth of material about the band. We now have some photos, a copy of the previously unreleased album, the Peel session, most of a 1980 concert set and, by now, an enormous concert tour list and a collection of press cuttings.
Despite that vast list, there are still more things we want here. This page summarises the known material we are looking for, and this page lists most of it.
Four songs were Rosemary, Up Eh Up, Julie Julie and Streets. Can someone help me with a copy? I'm assured that it was broadcast.
BBC Radio 4 recorded a documentary called "It's hard work, this rock and roll", which looked at the early history of the band and explored the issues of life on the road for a struggling band. This never made it to air, but a thirteen minute extract from it is available here. However, does anyone have the rest of it?
One correspondent tells us that the whole show, "Band Of Hope", was broadcast in 1988 or 1989. However, this is a different documentary, focussing on "Distant Cousins". Nevertheless, it draws heavily on the material in the previous recording. Who has this?
Update: June 2007. John has been kind enough to send me his precious tape of the documentary, which I have converted to an MP3. It is available here: Band Of Hope
When Spitballs appeared on the Old Grey Whistle Test, it seems that the band in the background apparently playing tennis racquets were actually The Smirks. For some stills of this, and some clues of what was happening, please click here. But hasn't someone got a copy of the original programme?
On 5th December 1978, I am advised that The Smirks appeared on Mr Roy North's music programme "Get It Together". Apparently Rosemary and Up Eh Up were performed on the show. Does anyone have any sound or video footage of this?
A Spanish correspondent mentions a single called "Weekend". I have never heard mention of any such song from anyone apart from this one place. Does it exist? I believe that the answer is "no", but I'll ask here just on the off chance.
Mog mentions it...apparently it has all the Smirks except Mike and John Scott playing on it.
One of the things we have here is described as a radio version of New Music. Apparently this came from a session recorded for Key 103 in Manchester. What else comes from the same session? Time will tell.
April 16th 1978 is listed as the day The Smirks did something for the Pete Baker Show. Is this radio or TV? Local or national? Live or pre-recorded? I have no information about it, but someone reading these words may be able to help.
So far, we have just ten photographs of the band, from just two dates. Doesn't anyone else have photographs of the band?
We understand that the band played in May 1980, but we don't have any details after March 8th, 1980. Do you? Do you have any information about these dates, or any other concerts that aren't on our list?
Newspaper clippings. Always welcome, especially if they say something that we haven't already heard.
I'm not hopeful that there are any more recordings of the band, but there might be. I didn't expect to get the Peel sessions or the album, but they did eventually turn up, for which I am very grateful.
However, there is a VHS tape of a Manchester Poly gig at the March of the Slobs tour. Some time, I need to zip over to Levenshulme and have a long conversation and a trip home in an armoured van.
I'll be very pleased to hear from anyone who has any physical or digital material or any memories to share. You can contact me at ian @ thesmirks.com. If you want to send something, email first and I will let you know where to send it. All material will be returned after use, if you supply a return address.
Page last updated by Ian on 16 June 2007