Our latest link round-up is all Manchester: The Smiths’ Andy Rourke will appear on Sirius XM’s 1st Wave all weekend, plus New Order has announced a New Zealand concert next year, The Stone Roses have booked festival slots in Norway and Portugal, and Peter Hook will play Joy Division songs in the UK next May and June.

For fans who’ll be in the Los Angeles area this weekend, this year’s installment of the Smiths/Morrissey Convention — set for Sunday at The Music Box in Hollywood — features an added attraction: an actual member of The Smiths.

Today’s collection of interesting stuff, including interviews with The Smiths’ Andy Rourke, Lou Barlow of Sebadoh and Dinosaur Jr and Gang of Four’s Jon King, plus some stripped-down, a capella New Order.

Exactly 28 years ago today, The Smiths took the stage for only their third concert — and only their second with the final Morrissey/Johnny Marr/Andy Rourke/Mike Joyce lineup — opening for Factory Records funk band 52nd Street at New Order’s infamous Manchester club The Hacienda.

The folks at 24 Hour Service Station, who are putting out Peter Hook’s Freebass project here in the U.S., will provide three lucky Slicing Up Eyeballs readers with a copy of the band’s debut CD, ‘It’s a Beautiful Life.’

This week’s releases include new studio albums from OMD, ex-Orange Juice frontman Edwyn Collins and reunited no-wave act Swans; plus a new Jesus and Mary Chain best-of; and expanded reissues of the Bangles’ first two albums, ‘All Over the Place’ and ‘Different Light.’

Former Stone Roses bassist Gary ‘Mani’ Mounfield today apologized ‘unreservedly’ to Peter Hook after blasting his now former bandmate for ‘hawking his mate’s corpse around to get paid,’ a pointed dig at the ex-Joy Division bassist’s recent spate of Ian Curtis tribute concerts.