Claim: Morrissey was born into an Irish migrant family.

Steven Patrick Morrissey -LRB- born 22 May 1959 -RRB- , professionally known as Morrissey , is an English singer , songwriter and author . He rose to prominence as the lead singer of the indie rock band the Smiths , which was active from 1982 to 1987 . Since then , Morrissey has had a solo career , making the top ten of the UK Singles Chart on ten occasions .   Born in Davyhulme , Lancashire , to a working-class Irish migrant family , Morrissey grew up in Manchester . As a child he developed a love of literature , kitchen sink realism and popular music . Involved in Manchester 's punk rock scene during the late 1970s , he fronted the Nosebleeds , with little success . Beginning a career in music journalism , he authored a number of books on music and film in the early 1980s . With Johnny Marr he established the Smiths in 1982 , soon attracting national recognition for their self-titled debut album . As the band 's frontman , Morrissey attracted attention both for his witty and sardonic lyrics and his idiosyncratic appearance ; deliberately avoiding rock machismo , he cultivated the aesthetic of a social outsider who eschewed drugs and embraced celibacy . He was also noted for his unusual baritone vocal style -LRB- though he sometimes uses falsetto -RRB- , The Smiths released five further albums -- including the critically acclaimed Meat is Murder and The Queen is Dead -- and had a string of hit singles . Personal differences between Morrissey and Marr resulted in The Smiths ' separation in 1987 .   In 1988 , Morrissey launched his solo career with the album Viva Hate . This and its follow-up albums -- Bona Drag , Kill Uncle , Your Arsenal , and Vauxhall and I -- all did well in the UK Albums Chart and spawned a number of hit singles . Having left Britain and moved to Los Angeles , during the mid-1990s Morrissey 's image began to shift into that of a burlier figure , who toyed with patriotic imagery and working-class masculinity . In the mid-to-late 1990s , his subsequent albums , Southpaw Grammar and Maladjusted , also charted but were less well received . After a hiatus between 1998 and 2003 , Morrissey released a successful comeback album , You Are the Quarry , in 2004 . Relocating to Italy , ensuing years saw the release of albums Ringleader of the Tormentors , Years of Refusal , and World Peace Is None of Your Business . In 2013 Morrissey released his autobiography , followed by his first novel in 2015 .   Highly influential , Morrissey is widely credited as being a seminal figure in the emergence of indie rock and Britpop . He has been acclaimed as one of the greatest lyricists in British history , with his lyrics having become the subject of academic study . He has courted controversy with his forthright opinions -- endorsing vegetarianism and animal rights , condemning royalty and prominent politicians , and questioning issues of British national and cultural identity . In a 2006 poll held by the BBC 's Culture Show , Morrissey was voted the second greatest living British cultural icon .