Pluto Studios, 36 Granby Row, M60 7LH

Pluto Studios, 36 Granby Row, M60 7LH

The Smiths initially recorded their debut album in Wapping in East London with producer Troy Tate in the summer of 1983. The general consensus at the end of the recording was that it wasn’t as good as it could have been, so a decision was required about what to do next. The producer’s role was handed to John Porter who told Rough Trade's Geoff Travis that it would be easier to rerecord the whole album rather than tinker with the original. In September recording commenced at Matrix in London followed by time at Pluto in Manchester the following month. It was completed at Eden Studios in London.

Johnny Marr and Morrissey would meet at Piccadilly Station and walk to Granby Row, no doubt formulating plans for the future of The Smiths on the way.  

It was around this time that the matter of money arose. There are significantly different versions of what actually occurred and what was agreed. However what is clear is that during the recording of ‘What Difference Does it Make?’ Morrissey popped out of the studio. After a number of hours passed it was clear that he wasn’t returning. In fact he’d got on the first train to London to see Geoff Travis at Rough Trade in order to try resolve the issues around how The Smiths' income was to be divided. 

This was something that should have sat with Joe Moss, the Smiths manager, to resolve. Why he was left out of the loop isn’t clear. The result was that the session couldn’t continue until matters had been resolved. With Morrissey in London it was left for Johnny Marr and Joe Moss to speak to Andy and Mike. Suffice to say a conversation occurred which years later people have very different recollections of. The result though was that the session resumed and the album was completed. The money issue would eventually get dealt with years later at the High Court.

Pluto Studios was owned by ex Herman’s Hermits’ Keith Hopwood. It was initially located above Strawberry Studios in Stockport before moving into the centre of Manchester. Granby Row has since been redeveloped.

If you want to know where in Granby Row Pluto was situated, here's Simon Wolstencroft to tell you...