Marr and Pomfret visit Morrissey

In May 1982, Johnny Marr and his friend Steve Pomfret went to the home of Steven Morrissey in Stretford to invite him to form a band. Marr and Morrissey had met at a Patti Smith gig at Manchester’s Apollo Theatre on 31 August 1978, when Marr was 14 and Morrissey was 19. They bonded through their love of poetry and literature. A fan of the New York Dolls , Marr had been impressed that Morrissey had written a book on the band and was inspired to turn up on his doorstep following the example of Jerry Leiber , who had formed his working partnership with Mike Stoller after turning up at Stoller’s door. According to Morrissey: “We got on absolutely famously. We were very similar in drive.” The two found that they were fans of many of the same bands. When Marr looked through Morrissey’s singles collection, he found the Monochrome Set , a band they both admired. The next day, Morrissey phoned Marr to confirm that he would be interested in forming a band with him.