Gig review: The Smyths at The Level

There are many tribute acts up and down the country, but there’s only one Smyths, who actually label themselves a "Legacy Act."

Frontman Graham Sampson told me the reasoning behind this when I spoke with him before the show, explaining it was because the band maintains a tangible and almost spiritual link with The Smiths. This is no idle claim either, as all the former members of The Smiths including their former producer, Stephen Street, have given their approval and support to the band. It doesn’t end there either: BBC Radio Two’s Jeremy Vine has heaped praise on the band and is quoted as saying, “Calling them a tribute act is an insult. I closed my eyes and thought it was 1985.”

The band have played many gigs on the international stage with recent tours in Australia, New Zealand and Brazil as well as appearances nearer home at the Glastonbury and Isle of Wight festivals. The Smyths are no strangers to Nottingham either, having played Rescue Rooms many time (their first gig here was back in 2009), and so the band were excited to be able play to a bigger venue in the city for the second year running, as part of their The Queen is Dead 40th Anniversary Tour.

While many tributes have enough on their plates gigging as their chosen heroes, Graham has another string to his bow heading the London-based five-piece Broken Horses, a group he put together to realise his love of dreampop bands such as The Cocteau Twins.

Excitement was rising noticeably as The Level became crowded with more and more people arriving to see the band. Bang on schedule, The Smyths arrived on stage to the strains of Sir Hubert Parry’s Jerusalem, reinforcing Graham’s love of romantic nostalgia. They quickly took up their respective places, with Simon on bass, Andy on guitar and Tom on drums. Then the main man arrived, bounding onto the stage and getting the show moving in dramatic style to huge cheers as the band struck up with The Queen is Dead.

Graham had Morrissey’s movements down to a tee which almost suggested some sort of subconscious linking, but in truth probably just reflected his passion for the great man’s music; but then again, who knows, such is the band’s commitment to their art. For example, Andy had previously explained to me how he had worked hard to replicate the sound of Johnny Marr’s guitar with a combination of application and the use of effects, and tonight’s performance was confirmation of that.

All the numbers from the The Queen is Dead album were played, the title track apparently reflecting Johnny Marr’s anti-monarchy leanings, along with evergreen favourites including the wonderfully named Vicar In A Tutu, Frankly Mr. Shankly and Bigmouth Strikes Again.

Graham held the crowd spellbound throughout, with a perceptible interchange of energy from singer to crowd and vice versa, at times coiling his mic lead around like a snake charmer.  People were dancing in any available space, either at the front of the stage, at the side of the stage or elsewhere, such was the joy that hearing The Smith’s music was conveying. Some latecomers were even dancing as they queued at the entrance for entry.

I thought of Jeremy Vine’s words while stood in the crowd with my eyes closed, imagining that I was 40 years younger listening to The Queen Is Dead back in 1986, either live or on my Walkman, and the image was complete and real in the moment. I dare say that a few others there tonight were having the same epiphanic experience to my own.

This was a first class performance by all: the sound and lights were superb, Tom’s drumming was an unstoppable force, supported by Simon’s solid bass, and Andy’s melodic guitar captured the bright jangly sound of Johnny Marr’s perfectly.

After all the album tracks had been played, the band performed a selection of The Smith’s best loved tunes with Suedehead getting the ball rolling, Panic is always popular with fans, myself included, and this went down an absolute storm with everybody, as did others including This Charming Man, Sheila Take A Bow and Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now. After playing for over an hour, the band left the stage, but of course, after much cheering the band came back to play the inevitable encore with three more songs kicking off with Still Ill and ending in spectacular style with How Soon Is Now?

At the end of the show, Graham thanked everyone for coming and handed out much-sought-after setlists to those eager for a keepsake of what was a memorable performance. The many happy gig goers who filed out into the fresh Nottingham night air were also delighted to hear from the promoters that The Smyths would be performing their Best of The Smiths hits at The Flowerpot in Derby on 26 November...

The Smyths performed at The Level on 3 October 2026.