THE SMITHS are to have an academic conference dedicated to their music and lyrics. The conference is being organised by the Metropolitan University in the band's hometown of Manchester to 'examine the cultural message of the band'. Papers to be presented will include one by an Irish academic on 'Subjectivity, Suicide and the Smiths', while one from Oslo University will concentrate on the poetry of a single song, 'The Boy with the Thorn in his Side'. | |