The LP cover of Unreleased Demos and Rarities, which contained "I Misses You" and "Heavy Track", tantalising glimpses of lost Smiths instrumentals.
The Smiths are a British indie-rock/alternative rock band that formed in 1982 and split in 1987. The lineup consisted of vocalist Stephen Patrick Morrissey (known to many as just Morrissey), guitarist Johnny Marr, bassist Andy Rourke and drummer Mike Royce. With only four studio albums (The Smiths, their first album, Meat is Murder, the biggest-selling Smiths album, The Queen is Dead, widely considered their masterpiece, and Strangeways, Here We Come, their last album) and a few collections of non-album singles and B-sides (Hatful of Hollow, Louder Than Bombs, and The World Won't Listen) released between 1984 and 1988 on Rough Trade Records, the band has greatly influenced the sound of alt-rock for years to come.
In 2005, when Rourke appeared on the BBC radio show Mint, he claimed to be auctioning off old Smiths paraphernalia and unreleased demo tapes. Rourke played a short segment from one of the tapes on the show, this segment being "Fast One" (also known as "Click Track" and "The Cowbell Track"), a brief instrumental running for 1:10 and is only available as a rip from the broadcast.
It is claimed to be just one of a loose collection of instrumental tracks and unfinished pieces owned by Rourke and possibly the other members (Marr, Morrissey, Joyce), also alluded to by the 2005 unearthing of the previously lost instrumental tracks "I Misses You" and "Heavy Track", which showed up on a very rare contemporary bootleg LP; Unreleased Demos and Rarities.
After Rourke's appearance, Marr apparently contacted him and convinced him not to sell any of the unreleased music. To this day it is unknown how many original instrumental demos The Smiths are withholding, although Rourke implied he was in possession of significant quantities of unreleased material.
The Smiths - The Click Track
"Fast One", as ripped from Rourke's original 2005 radio broadcast.
The Smiths in 1983, a year before their first album was released.