Rough around the edges: Former Smiths record label manager talks about his latest batch of Irish acts

Geoff Travis may have had a hand in the rise of bands such as The Smiths, but it’s his new crop of Irish acts that has him excited in advance of his visit to Cork, writes Ed Power

The first question you must of course ask Geoff Travis is what he thinks of Morrissey’s ongoing descent into far-right notoriety. Back in 1980s Travis discovered The Smiths and, with his record label Rough Trade, helped propel Moz toward gladioli-flourishing immortality. How long ago that must seem — how bittersweet the memories.