This Charming Man - Background

Background

By early 1983, The Smiths had gained a large following on the UK live circuit and had signed a record deal with the indie label Rough Trade. The deal, along with positive concert reviews in the weekly music press and an upcoming session on BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel's radio show, generated a large media buzz for the band. In a music scene dominated by corporate and video-driven acts, the Smiths' camp and bookish image stood out, and many expected the band to be the breakthrough act of the UK post-punk movement. The previous October Frankie Goes to Hollywood released their iconic track "Relax", which was seen as an anthem to an out alpha male self-assertiveness, and alien to many UK homosexuals. However, The Smiths' May 1983 debut single "Hand in Glove" failed to live up to critical and commercial expectations, mostly due to its perceived low production values. When Rough Trade label mates Aztec Camera began to receive day-time national radio-play with their track "Walk out to Winter", Marr admitted to "feeling a little jealous, my competitive urges kicked in". The guitarist believed The Smiths needed an up-beat song, "in a major key", in order to gain a chart positioning that would live up to expectations.

Marr wrote the music to "This Charming Man" especially for the Peel session on the same night that he wrote "Still Ill" and "Pretty Girls Make Graves". Based on the Peel performance, Rough Trade label head Geoff Travis suggested that the band release the song as a single instead of the slated release "Reel Around the Fountain", which had gathered notoriety in the press due to what were seen as lyrical references to paedophilia. The Smiths entered Matrix Studios in London on September 1983 to record a second studio version of the song for release as a single. However, the result—known as the 'London version'—was unsatisfactory and soon after, the band travelled to Strawberry Studios in Stockport to try again. Here, they recorded the more widely heard A-side.