Magnificent Mancunians

Stick some fresh gladioli in your back pocket. Dust off your old Rickenbacker guitar. The Smiths have been voted the most influential pop band of the past 50 years in an NME poll. While Morrissey's profile and his outrageous quiff may have slipped off the pop radar since his Eighties heyday, his collaborator Johnny Marr is still churning out his own brand of electro-pop for those indie music lovers still interested.

While some may argue that the Beatles, the Kinks and Blur have a stronger claim to the number one spot than the boys from Manchester, it's fitting that the Smiths have been recognised for their achievements. They've shown that a truly great band's legacy is made up of more enduring stuff than record sales and high scores on the hype-ometer. In the age of Pop Idol we should be grateful for that. There is a light that never goes out, and it's the Smiths.