They were Britain’s greatest ever rock group; more melodic than the Beatles, more powerful than the Stones, cleverer than The Who, catchier than U2, funnier than Madness and better-looking than Jesus & Mary Chain (okay, not hard). They played music that lifted the soul with words that sharpened the mind. They played both types of music: fast and slow, soft and loud, country and western (???), and they came from Manchester.

They were The Smiths.

They sang about the city and shot its sites for their sleeves: the Hacienda, Manchester Central, “a river the colour of lead”, Coronation Street, the Holy Name Church.

To mark the 30th anniversary of their founding, Ed Glinert, will be giving another of his dynamic, hilarious and enthralling talks (following on from the excellently received “Manchester’s Fiery Political Past” for the History Festival), this time on the history of Manchester’s, nay, the world’s greatest rock band (apart from Santana) at the wonderful King’s Arms pub in Salford.