Steven Patrick Morrissey was born in Manchester on May 22, 1959. He is a singer-songwriter and co-founder of the Smiths (1982-1987) and has had a solo career for twenty-six years, during which he has achieved three number 1 albums in the UK in three different decades. He has achieved twelve top ten albums (plus nine with the Smiths), while his songs have been recorded by artists such as David Bowie, Nancy Sinatra, Marianne Faithfull, Chrissie Hynde, Thelma Houston, My Chemical Romance, and Christy Moore, among others. As an animal advocate, in 2006 he was voted the second most important living British icon by the BBC audience, losing to Sir David Attenborough. In 2007, he was voted the greatest northern male, present or past, in a national newspaper. In 2012, Morrissey was honored with the Keys to the City of Tel Aviv. It has been said that "Most pop stars must be dead before they reach an iconic status that Morrissey has achieved during his lifetime." The autobiography covers Morrissey's life from his birth to the present day.