The Smiths

Pair a disciple of Oscar Wilde (Morrissey) with an innovator of the electric guitar (Johnny Marr) and you have the most clever cult band of the 1980s, the Smiths. Though they made some of the most effortlessly catchy music of the era, the tension between the fey frontman and the rocker eventually doomed the band at its height. Morrissey went on to have a long and equally cult-driven solo career, emerging as one of the most distinct icons in all of alternative rock. Meanwhile Marr collaborated with Bernard Sumner in Electronic, and in 2006 announced he was joining US indie outfit Modest Mouse.

• rock