The Smiths

Official Singles Chart Top 100 - Official Charts
23 June 2017 - 29 June 2017
#85 The Queen Is Dead

Official Vinyl Singles Chart Top 40 - Official Charts
23 June 2017 - 29 June 2017
#1 The Queen Is Dead

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Related items:

• HMV responds to Morrissey’s “Queen Is Dead” singles sales complaints - Pitchfork - June 22, 2017
• Morrissey statement on HMV "Limited To One Copy Per Customer" stickers - Morrissey Official FB - June 17, 2017

Ok, we've gone up a notch:

He's 'officially' annoyed now despite any notice or attempt to market the item in a transparent, reasonable way.
Regards,
FWD.

"In our consumer culture, the Smiths new release of The Queen is Dead single was oddly racked at HMV with a sticker on the front that states:

Limited To One Copy Per Customer.

not unlike a Smoking Will Seriously Damage Your Health warning.

This sticker was not requested by the Smiths, and cannot be found on any other HMV stock, and therefore exists for The Queen is Dead only.

But why is it there?

An attempt to freeze sales is, of course, an overwhelming insult to the Smiths ... as if artistic freedom must struggle in our current culture of banality ... as if only counterfeit emotions may apply.
The Queen is Dead is also the only song currently in the UK top ten that has not been played on radio, and yet still sits at #4 on today's sales chart. Over thirty years since their...

"The Queen Is Dead" single released on 7", 12" and 7" picture disc in the UK, June 16, 2017



16th June, 1986: 'The Queen Is Dead' is released in the UK.

To mark the date, 2 ‘The Queen Is Dead’ singles are available now, one is a four-track 12” vinyl and one is a two-track 7” picture disc.

Head to record shops everywhere today.

Link posted by Famous when dead:

The Smiths Announce “The Queen Is Dead” Single Reissues - Pitchfork

Link to animation posted by Famous when dead and an anonymous person:

from Crash Collect
https://www.instagram.com/CrashCollect/



Photo from @BadlandsUK / Twitter. Link posted by Famous when dead...

The Smiths Tease Something Involving The Queen Is Dead Coming Tomorrow - Pitchfork
A cryptic image with the caption “TQID 16.06.17” appears on the band’s official Facebook page



#TQID
16.06.17

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Related item:

• "The Queen Is Dead" single confirmed by Boz - June 16, 2017 at your local HMV on 12", 7" - June 9, 2017

This was posted on June 1 and seemed to have slipped through the cracks. It is interesting to see how some of the covers work better than others. Of course, covering a great song is sometimes harder to pull off than covering a mediocre one: how do you match the original?

Gotcha Covered: “There Is A Light That Never Goes Out” - Stereogum

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Here's an interesting interview with a Smiths fan (living in New Zealand), who appeared in The Smiths video for Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before:

Crashing down on a crossbar: The New Zealand man in a Smiths video - The Spinoff
By Helen Lehndorf
June 8, 2017

In 1987, at the tail-end of The Smiths' five year lifespan, a call went out to fans: apply now to be featured in the music video with lead singer Morrissey. Among those chosen was Hector Hazard, who talks to Helen Lehndorf about his memories of the day, and shares some never before seen photos of the shoot.

"Suffer Little Children: the story of Morrissey's obsession with the Moors murderers" - The Telegraph
By Alice Vincent
16th, May, 2017

A very long, interesting article - worth a read.
The full article requires free registration or paying a subscription so it is here in full minus the pictures and videos used.

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Further to this article is a similar one in The Guardian (with Moz references):

"Suffer little children: how Ian Brady cast a dark shadow over popular culture" - The Guardian
by Dorian Lynskey
16th, May, 2017

Excerpt:
"In Autobiography, Morrissey remembers the long shadow that the Moors murders cast over his northern childhood. “A swarm of misery grips mid-60s Manchester as Hindley and Brady raise their faces...