With the release of 1986's The Queen Is Dead,
The Smiths remained exceedingly popular at home while also landing
a much bigger American audience, with this third album breaking
into Billboard's top 100. While maintaining the group's trademark
tongue-in-cheek sense of humor, the record's more darkly romantic
overtones captured the hearts of teenage outcasts the world over,
placing them alongside fellow British bands The Cure, Depeche Mode,
and New Order as the hippest UK exports of the mid-'80s. Meanwhile,
a large-scale US tour earned them great respect for their impassioned
live performances.
