I understand that Morrissey has said that the band name "The Smiths" was chosen "because it was the most ordinary name". Apparently it is or at least was the most numerous surname in the UK, so his explanation makes sense.
Yesterday I was reading Robert Lindsay's autobiography and was musing on the name "Citizen Smith", a character he played in a BBC TV sit-com of the same name (1977-1980). Wolfie "Citizen" Smith was a Marxist revolutionary from Tooting, London. I had always considered that the name "Smith" in that context was also chosen because it was an 'ordinary' or most common name, but apparently 'Smith' was a pseudonym used by Wolfe Tone (1763-1798) who was a leading Irish revolutionary. And therefore 'Wolfie' was a reference to Wolfe Tone. I'd heard of the folk band the Wolfe Tones but I wasn't aware where their name came from.
Which makes me wonder whether 'The Smiths' was actually a sly reference to Wolf Tone, or it is a coincidence? I'm probably over-thinking this though.
Smith's was a popular brand of potato crisps in the UK in the 1970's too, but I don't think that had any influence on the choice of name for the band.
Yesterday I was reading Robert Lindsay's autobiography and was musing on the name "Citizen Smith", a character he played in a BBC TV sit-com of the same name (1977-1980). Wolfie "Citizen" Smith was a Marxist revolutionary from Tooting, London. I had always considered that the name "Smith" in that context was also chosen because it was an 'ordinary' or most common name, but apparently 'Smith' was a pseudonym used by Wolfe Tone (1763-1798) who was a leading Irish revolutionary. And therefore 'Wolfie' was a reference to Wolfe Tone. I'd heard of the folk band the Wolfe Tones but I wasn't aware where their name came from.
Which makes me wonder whether 'The Smiths' was actually a sly reference to Wolf Tone, or it is a coincidence? I'm probably over-thinking this though.
Smith's was a popular brand of potato crisps in the UK in the 1970's too, but I don't think that had any influence on the choice of name for the band.