5. Money Changes Everything

How do you find a record deal? Grab a label boss by the sleeve in a loading bay, as a teenage Johnny Marr discovered.

This episode tells the story of The Smiths' first manager, Manchester trouser-shop owner Joe Moss, and the signing of a Rough Trade deal that helped birth British indie as we know it. But when only two names ended up on the contract, and a verbal understanding about money was never put in writing, the seeds of a far longer drama were sown.

Archive testimony from the band and their inner circle unpicks the business decisions behind the music, and asks why things went so badly wrong.

If you're enjoying this series of The Rise & Fall podcast, there are loads of other gripping music stories to immerse yourself in, focusing on Britpop, Madchester, Indie Sleaze, Sex Pistols and Oasis. Just search 'rise and fall' in BBC Sounds, or wherever you get your podcasts.

A Tempo+Talker production for BBC Sounds. Produced by Tom Pooley with original music and sound design by Coach Conrad.