Thy sting is not so sharp
As friend remembered not.
- William Shakespeare, As You Like It
How the Fifth Smith Came to Be
Before joining the Smiths, Andy Rourke began experimenting with heroin as a teenager growing up on a council estate. The habit followed him into the Smiths and, as the band’s success brought him increasing amounts of money, his heroin use spiraled into a full-blown addiction. As he later recalled, “You’re a young kid, and then overnight you’re in a successful band. You start getting a bunch of money and don’t know what to do. You start spending it on drugs.”1 By early 1986, that addiction had begun to exact more serious consequences. Rourke was arrested for possession of heroin, and was subsequently sacked from the group.2 The dismissal was largely, though certainly not wholly, motivated by the expectation that he would be unable to obtain the necessary work visas for the North American leg of The Queen Is Dead tour, scheduled to begin that summer.
While it is generally reported that Johnny Marr invited guitarist Craig Gannon3 to replace Rourke on bass, in fact it was Guy Pratt4 who was brought in to fill Andy’s shoes. Although Pratt’s brief involvement is somewhat tangential to an essay focused on Craig Gannon, it is nevertheless worth noting. Pratt reportedly assumed that his replacing Rourke was effectively a fait accompli. Given his impressive résumé, he apparently saw little reason to doubt that he could more than adequately match the contributions of the recently dismissed bassist. As Pratt later wrote of being asked to replace Rourke, “Let’s face it, how many people would be bothered?”5
According to author Tony Fletcher, Pratt spent nearly two weeks with both the band and Rourke, learning the bass lines and participating in rehearsals. He quickly realized, however, that filling Andy’s shoes would be a formidable task, perhaps one he could not effectively accomplish. In fact, Pratt marveled at the “sophistication” of what he was expected to learn.
According to Pratt, his proverbial sigh of relief was “almost palpable” when it was announced that Rourke would be rejoining the Smiths.
As for Gannon’s role in the Smiths. Marr invited him to play rhythm guitar in order to complement him on lead guitar:6
“I never touched the bass at all and I was never asked to. The first time I met Johnny he sounded me out to see if I’d be interested in replacing Andy on bass so it’s true that was the first offer but that’s as far as that went. I’ve said it many times and some people still don’t seem to want to believe it but I was asked to join The Smiths as a guitar player and I joined as a guitar player. It wasn’t an afterthought of Johnny to stick me over on guitar as some people want to believe, it was planned and there were definite reasons for it. Since then I usually play bass on my own music and sometimes other peoples but I was and am a guitar player.”7 - Craig Gannon
As fate would have it, Rourke’s drug charge resulted only in a two-year suspended sentence and a £1,000 fine. More importantly for the Smiths, despite expectations to the contrary, his applications for work visas in both Canada and the United States were approved, clearing the way for him to participate in the North American leg of the forthcoming tour. Within a couple of weeks, Morrissey and Marr reinstated Rourke as an active member of the Smiths.
Gannon’s role in the Smiths remained exclusively that of a second guitarist. As he later explained, “Me being there freed Johnny up a lot to embroider his guitar parts.”8 Rourke’s return, therefore, did not threaten Gannon’s position in the group; it simply rendered Pratt’s services unnecessary. With the Smiths now functioning, unusually, as a five-piece, Gannon soon acquired the affectionate moniker “The Fifth Smith.”
The Fifth Smith
Gannon participated as the second guitarist throughout all three legs of The Queen Is Dead tour, which took the band through the UK, North America, and then back to the UK between July and October 1986.
In the recording studio throughout 1986, Gannon contributed to several Smiths tracks:
The singles “Panic” (recorded in May 1986) and “Ask” (recorded in June 1986). Gannon also appears (briefly) in their respective promotional films.
An early, slower version of “Sweet and Tender Hooligan”, recorded in May during the sessions for “Panic”. This version was never released by the Smiths and was superseded by the version recorded for John Peel’s BBC radio program in December 1986.
The instrumental “The Draize Train”, also recorded in May, which appeared on the B-side of the 12-inch edition of the “Panic” single, the Greek 12-inch edition of “Bigmouth Strikes Again”, and the Germany-only “Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others” single.
“Golden Lights”, recorded in June 1986 and released as a B-side on the 12-inch edition of the “Ask” single.
“You Just Haven’t Earned It Yet, Baby,” “Half a Person,” and “London,” all recorded in October 1986. These tracks subsequently appeared on The World Won’t Listen, as well as on Louder Than Bombs.
Last but certainly not least, Gannon also appears on the Smiths’ Rank live album, recorded at the National Ballroom in Kilburn, London, on 23 October 1986 during the final leg of The Queen Is Dead tour.
Exit, Stage Left
Depending on whom one asks, either the Smiths dropped Gannon from the lineup at the conclusion of The Queen Is Dead tour or Gannon left of his own accord. Ultimately, however, the distinction may be irrelevant, since Gannon was a hired touring and session musician rather than a formal member of the Smiths. Nevertheless, Morrissey saw fit to offer his own account of Gannon’s departure in Autobiography:
“Once the US tour has ended [the North American leg of The Queen Is Dead tour], Johnny suggests that we do not make contact with Craig, in order to test whether he would actually bother to contact any of us. Unsurprisingly, Craig does not contact anyone […] It is not announced that Craig has departed, largely because his name is never again mentioned, and the press make no comment on Craig’s disappearance. Like mist, he evaporates, and it is confusing to think that he had ever been present.”9
Back in Morrissey’s Orbit
Post-Smiths, Gannon reunited with Morrissey in late 1988 to record the singles “The Last of the Famous International Playboys” and “Interesting Drug,” released in February and April 1989, respectively. Rourke and Joyce participated in the sessions as well, and all three appeared in the promotional video for “The Last of the Famous International Playboys.” Gannon also played on the accompanying B-sides: “Michael’s Bones” and “Lucky Lisp” for the former, and “Such a Little Thing Makes Such a Big Difference” for the latter.
Additionally, Gannon played on “The Bed Took Fire,” originally intended as a B-side to the “Interesting Drug” single. Morrissey was dissatisfied with the recording, however, and the track was shelved. During the winter of 1989 and 1990, while working on material that would eventually appear on Bona Drag, Morrissey asked producer Stephen Street to help remix the song. The resulting version met with Morrissey’s approval and was released as a B-side to the “Piccadilly Palare” single in October 1990, under the alternate title “At Amber.”
The original version of “The Bed Took Fire” remained unreleased for twenty-one years before finally appearing, under its original title and in its original form, on the remastered 20th-anniversary edition of Bona Drag in October 2010.
Gannon also participated in Morrissey’s first concert as a solo artist, held at Wolverhampton Civic Hall in Wolverhampton, England, on 22 December 1988. Thereafter, however, his involvement with Morrissey came to an end. Gannon has offered little explanation for the parting, remarking only, “There are reasons too long to go into as to why I didn’t carry on.”10
A Fascinating Bungle
As of early 2013, Gannon reported that he had not had any contact with Morrissey for well over a decade:
“I’ve not had any contact with Morrissey for years. I think the last time I saw him was at his flat in Altrincham around 1989 when we met to talk about writing together. At that point I’d also written a song he’d written lyrics to which he wanted to release as his next single.”11
In Autobiography, Morrissey makes a couple of decidedly impolite remarks about Gannon, describing his hiring as “a fascinating bungle” and adding that “Nothing useful vibrates in Craig’s upper storey.” What prompted such unflattering observations is unclear, particularly given that Gannon’s contributions to the Smiths were generally well received. While some might simply attribute the remarks to Morrissey’s longstanding reputation for being “difficult,” it is perhaps more likely that they reflect his characteristically candid, unfiltered recollection of working with Gannon.
The former Fifth Smith responded to Morrissey’s jibes on social media on 31 October 2013, describing them on his Facebook page as “blatant bitter lies, all will become clear very soon...” The post was deleted the following day.
Craig Gannon Reloaded
In January 2018, it was announced that Craig Gannon, Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce would collaborate under the name Classically Smiths, in effect a partial Smiths reunion. The project was promoted as an opportunity to hear some of the Smiths’ most memorable songs performed by the trio in collaboration with the Manchester Camerata Orchestra, with unnamed guest singers providing the vocals.
Concerts were tentatively scheduled for the summer of 2018 in Manchester, London and Edinburgh. Almost immediately after the announcement, however, the project collapsed when Rourke denied that he had agreed to take part.
Uncredited and Unpaid
Craig Gannon claimed to have originated the opening chord sequence of “Ask,” a seemingly minor matter that would later have significant repercussions for Morrissey and Marr:
“Me and Johnny were sat in the library playing acoustic guitars… I just started playing the chord sequence which would later become ‘Ask’ in exactly the way it appears on the record… The only section… I didn’t come up with was the middle eight… Up until the release of ‘Ask’ I still thought I’d be given a writing credit.”12
While Gannon may well have arrived at something similar, Johnny Marr had already used the very same chord sequence in an earlier demo. Marr himself disputed Gannon’s claim, and Gannon ultimately received no writing credit.
Gannon was still touring with the Smiths at the time of the release of the “Ask” single (20 October 1986), so one surmises that he would have inquired on the omission of a songwriting credit on the song. Whether or not Gannon did so is not known.
In 1989, the matter moved from grievance to litigation when Craig Gannon sued Morrissey and Marr over songwriting contributions made during his time with the Smiths, particularly in relation to “Ask,” as well as over unpaid wages. The dispute was eventually settled out of court for £44,000, approximately £142,000 today, comprising £30,000 in back pay and £14,000 in legal costs.
The Records Remember
For all the ambiguity surrounding his place in the band, one fact remains stubbornly audible: Craig Gannon may have been the Fifth Smith only briefly, but he was there, and the records remember him even when people do not.
Michael Moynihan, “Andy Rourke Tells All,” The Daily Beast, October 13, 2013.
Morrissey allegedly left a handwritten note under the windscreen wiper of Rourke’s car that read: “Andy, you have left The Smiths. Goodbye and good luck, Morrissey.”
Born on 30 July 1966 in Manchester, Gannon joined Aztec Camera as a guitarist in 1983. In 1984, he briefly joined the Colourfield before going on to join the Bluebells. Gannon is now a composer for film and television.
Guy Pratt (b. 1962) is an English bassist and session musician who has worked with artists including Pink Floyd, Roxy Music, Madonna, Michael Jackson, and the Smiths.
Guy Pratt, My Bass and Other Animals (London: Orion Books, 2008).
David Barnett, “I Started Something I Couldn’t Finish: The Smiths Reunion That Wasn’t,” The Guardian, 30 January 2018.
Sean Koepenick, “Interview with Craig Gannon,” Ear Candy Magazine, February 2012.
David Barnett, “I Started Something I Couldn't Finish: The Smiths Reunion That Wasn't,” The Guardian, 30 January 2018.
Morrissey, Autobiography (New York: Penguin Books, 2013), 214–15.
Koepenick, Sean. Ear Candy Magazine, Interview with Craig Gannon (February 2012)
Ibid.
Johnny Rogan, Morrissey and Marr: The Severed Alliance (London: Omnibus Press, 1992).