Mike Joyce - The Drums by Mike Joyce

Mike Joyce - The Drums by Mike Joyce

A Times, Resident and Rough Trade Book of the Year

Longlisted for the Penderyn Music Book Prize 2026

‘A warm and engaging memoir’ Guardian

‘A beautifully told odyssey’ Daily Express

‘A brilliant book’ Mark Ellen, Word in Your Ear

The long overdue reflection of life in The Smiths from their legendary drummer.

As a band, the Smiths need no introduction. Formed in 1982 and disbanded in 1987, all four of their studio albums reached the top five in the UK charts. They are widely lauded as one of the most influential groups of all time.

Mike is the last member of the band to release their autobiography and this is his no-holds-barred story of what it was like to play the drums in the Smiths. Throughout his honest and witty reflections, Mike answers the question he and bassist Andy Rourke used to often ask each other: ‘Where did it all go right?’

A lot of the Smiths’ past is already canonised. Rather than retelling those well-documented iconic moments, in The Drums, Mike conveys ‘the feeling’ of his time in the band. His off-piste, frank and witty perspective allows him to re-contextualise fan favourite moments through a beautifully vulnerable, human insight into his life.

The written history of the Smiths is not missing an encyclopedic account of everything that happened over the years; but Mike’s honest, entertaining and deeply human memoir is what Smiths fans have been waiting for. This book truly conveys what it felt like to be a member of the Smiths.

In The Drums, Mike Joyce finally gives us the perspective of the self-confessed biggest Smiths fan in the world who from the start was just some lad from the suburbs of Fallowfield who played the drums.

Mike Joyce is an English drummer and a member of The Smiths between 1982-1987. Widely regarded as one of the most important British groups of the 20th century, all of their albums reached the Top Five in UK charts. Joyce continues to play drums and is a radio DJ in Manchester.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781917923224
ISBN 10	1917923228
Title	Mike Joyce - The Drums
Author	Mike Joyce
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Putman Publishing
Year published	2025-11-06
Number of pages	320
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.