“Frankly, Mr. Shankly” by The Smiths

“Frankly, Mr. Shankly” is a song performed by iconic band, The Smiths. The lyrics are about a displeased and an unhappy employee penning a letter to his superior or boss (Mr. Shankly) expressing his strong displeasure about how he has been treated by him at work. Though the lyricist of the song, Smiths’ singer Morrissey, has never confirmed this, many suspect that the lyrics are a direct jibe at Geoff Travis, the founder of Rough Trade Records, which was the record label of The Smiths throughout almost all the band’s career.

Facts about “Frankly, Mr. Shankly”

Many fans see “Frankly, Mr. Shankly” as The Smiths’ official resignation letter from Rough Trade Records.

In a 2011 interview with Mojo, Travis confirmed that the line in the song in which Morrissey sings about not realizing that Mr. Shankly wrote “bloody awful poetry” was referring to a poem he once wrote for Morrissey. In the interview, Travis also briefly talked about Morrissey’s desire to leave Rough Trade and go somewhere else.

The lyrics and music of this classic were written by Morrissey and Johnny Marr respectively.

The song is the second track from the band’s legendary “The Queen Is Dead” project.

Speaking with NME, Marr disclosed that Morrissey wanted the late American musician Linda McCartney to play piano on the song so he sent her a postcard making the request. However, Linda declined the request in a polite manner.

When was “Frankly, Mr. Shankly” released?

The Smiths released it along with their iconic 1986 album ‘The Queen Is Dead”. Both album and song were released on June 16th, 1986.

The Smiths vs. Geoff Travis of Rough Trade Records

As these types of stories often go, the beef between The Smiths and music executive Geoff Travis can be traced back to a money dispute. More specifically, Geoff was in charge of Rough Trade Records. And Rough Trade was The Smiths’ original employer, i.e. the label The Smiths were signed to for a good part of the early 1980s.

So after a three-year stint with Rough Trade, the band bounced in 1986 due to the aforementioned matter. However during that same year, while they were still signed to Rough Trade, The Smiths released “Frankly, Mr Shankly”.

The titular Mr. Shankly is presented as someone who is stifling the progress of the singer. That is he is limiting the vocalist’s wherewithal to enjoy life and truly be himself.  And all things considered, even though Geoff Travis is never mentioned by name it is pretty obvious the song is about him. Or in the very least, it can be deduced that the addressee, i.e. Mr. Shankly, is the employer of the singer.

Indeed there is one line of the song in particular which convinced Geoff that the track is indeed about him. Moreover, he was able to perceive that “Frankly, Mr Shankly” was an expression of The Smiths’ desire to leave Rough Trade.