On This Day in 1986, The Smiths Unknowingly Played Their Final Concert Together

December 12, 1986, marked the beginning of the end for The Smiths as a band. Tensions had been rising that year already due to exhaustion, bassist Andy Rourke’s drug habit, and record label issues, and their show at London’s Brixton Academy unknowingly became their last.

The Smiths began their North American tour in late July 1986, starting in London, Ontario. They spent a lot of time in the U.S., meandering through several big cities before concluding in Florida on September 10. The Smiths were scheduled to end the tour with Miami, Atlanta, Nashville, and New York. But because of the mounting stress that year—and also Andy Rourke getting stung by a stingray in Florida—the last four dates were canceled.

Prior to the tour, Rourke had been fired from the band, then rehired after two weeks. He was initially let go due to an arrest for drug possession. Apparently, there was worry he wouldn’t get his visa to travel to the U.S., but the visa came through anyway. Rourke, who died of cancer in 2023, was a heroin user for 20 years, which included his time in The Smiths.

Andy Rourke Fired, Johnny Marr Wrecked, and Record Label Disputes, But The Show Must Go On

According to Rourke’s account of that time, Johnny Marr and Mike Joyce knew about it, but they kept Morrissey in the dark. “Johnny thought it would freak him out,” Rourke said in 2013.

Additional stress came from their new album, The Queen Is Dead, languishing amid record label uncertainty. Rough Trade pushed the release date back from February to June 1986 due to legal issues. The following February, Johnny Marr told NME that the entirety of 1986 had pushed them to the limit. For Marr, this included crashing his car late that year, which led to the Brixton Academy show being postponed.

“‘Worse for wear’ wasn’t the half of it,” he said. “I was extremely ill. By the time the tour actually finished, it was all getting a little bit…dangerous. I was just drinking more than I could handle.”

The Smiths Were in Fine Spirits At Their Last-Ever Show, Despite Tensions That Year

At first, the December 12 show was scheduled for November 14 at the Royal Albert Hall. It was a benefit for Artists Against Apartheid, an activist group formed in 1985 by Steven Van Zandt in protest of apartheid in South Africa. When Johnny Marr had his near-deadly car accident shortly before the gig, it was pushed from the original date so he could recover.

The crash was a turning point for Marr that led him to leave The Smiths in 1987. It wasn’t just a wake-up call for his personal life, but for his relationship with fans as well. When the show was postponed, he recalled letters from fans expressing disbelief at the reason why. Some outright accused them of lying.

“That was the first time I can remember feeling a separation between what the fans were believing and the truth. It taught me a lesson,” said Marr. After his departure, the band split officially and was no more. The December 12 Brixton Academy show unintentionally became their swan song.

Still, at the time, The Smiths showed up in fine form. It was hard to imagine they’d call it quits soon, or that there were any lingering tensions among them. Morrissey was in high theatrical spirits, and they gave two songs a live debut, “Shoplifters Of The World Unite” and “Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others”.

There was also a new medley of the B-sides “London” and “Miserable Lie” from their 1984 self-titled debut. They ended the show with their debut single, “Hand in Glove”, giving the attentive and adoring crowd a beautiful night to remember them by.

Photo by Peter Noble/Redferns