New "The Boy With The Thorn In His Side" single - Harbinger of Smiths releases to come?

unreleased smiths stuff! Official release! Hopefully this is the start of a bigger project of unreleased Smiths stuff from their archives!!

SMITHS 45 | True To You »

Warner UK will release a previously unissued version of The Boy With The Thorn In His Side as a physical 45. The sleeve, above, is by Morrissey, with layout by Darren Evans at Warner UK. The B-side is a previously unissued version of Rubber Ring.
The sleeve image is Salford actor Albert Finney.
Details of availability of the record will follow shortly.

 

I say "new" in the sense that's a demo and an alternate version of known songs. And the sleeve is designed by Morrissey! Could it be possible that Morrissey/Marr have finally reached détente at least as far as archival releases go?

From True To You | A Morrissey Zine »:

Warner UK will release a previously unissued version of The Boy With The Thorn In His Side as a physical 45. The sleeve, above, is by Morrissey, with layout by Darren Evans at Warner UK. The B-side is a previously unissued version of Rubber Ring.
The sleeve image is Salford actor Albert Finney.
Details of availability of the record will follow shortly.

 

I think it suggests the door is opening for archival releases. I read some speculation elsewhere that it was a taster for a possible "surprise" 30th anniversary release of The Queen Is Dead, but I think such a strategy would not be optimal for an archival release on the Christmas market.

I strongly suspect the Morrissey artwork is something that was prepared circa the Warner releases of the early Nineties and the mastering was done by Marr at the same time as the remasters.

 

Mentioned also on Rolling Stone-news:

The Smiths will release a new seven-inch single containing two previously unheard tracks: a demo mix of "The Boy With the Thorn in His Side" and an alternate version of "Rubber Ring." No release date has been announced, according to Morrissey's fan website, True to You.

"The Boy" originally appeared on 1986's The Queen Is Dead and was released as a single in 1985 with "Rubber Ring" as the B-side. "Ring" appeared on the 1987 compilation album, Louder Than Bombs. The new seven-inch cover features a photograph of actor Albert Finney. The sleeve was designed by Morrissey with layout by Darren Evans.

Despite the release, the Smiths have no plans for a reunion. In his recent memoir, Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr wrote about a 2008 meeting with Morrissey – the pair's first in over a decade – to discuss a potential Smiths reunion, though the plan later fell apart. "I think [the band has] run its course," Marr said in a recent interview with the Guardian. "I don't feel unfriendly in any way towards Morrissey – there's just no need for it. One of the things we had in common was that we lived for work, and we're too busy doing what we're doing now."

Last week, Morrissey postponed the remaining dates on his American tour to accommodate keyboardist Gustavo Manzur's recovery from an illness. Moz's trek currently wraps December 17th in San Antonio, Texas.
The Smiths will release a new seven-inch single containing two previously unheard tracks: a demo mix of "The Boy With the Thorn in His Side" and an alternate version of "Rubber Ring." No release date has been announced, according to Morrissey's fan website, True to You.

"The Boy" originally appeared on 1986's The Queen Is Dead and was released as a single in 1985 with "Rubber Ring" as the B-side. "Ring" appeared on the 1987 compilation album, Louder Than Bombs. The new seven-inch cover features a photograph of actor Albert Finney. The sleeve was designed by Morrissey with layout by Darren Evans.

Despite the release, the Smiths have no plans for a reunion. In his recent memoir, Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr wrote about a 2008 meeting with Morrissey – the pair's first in over a decade – to discuss a potential Smiths reunion, though the plan later fell apart. "I think [the band has] run its course," Marr said in a recent interview with the Guardian. "I don't feel unfriendly in any way towards Morrissey – there's just no need for it. One of the things we had in common was that we lived for work, and we're too busy doing what we're doing now."

Last week, Morrissey postponed the remaining dates on his American tour to accommodate keyboardist Gustavo Manzur's recovery from an illness. Moz's trek currently wraps December 17th in San Antonio, Texas.

The Smiths Plan Two Unheard Songs for Seven-Inch Single »

 

I'm all for any barrel-scraping Smiths material, but what's the actual point of this?

 

So some "himbo" can apply limiting and brickwall it!! Catch up!!

 

If you read 'The Songs That Saved Your Life' it's pretty clear there isn't much in the vaults as they were so good everything they began work on was good enough to be released. So it's going to be small differences at best in unreleased versions of songs but hey, it's the Smiths, I'll buy it whatever.

 

I would like some live recordings - I assume they have a load of them somewhere?

 

The Smiths...I'm in.

 

Interesting - perhaps the start of a Morrissey-curated* unveiling of unreleased material?

*Apologies - I dislike the current overuse of "curated."

 

Exactly - there will be nothing left to release but for slightly different mixes of songs.. but i wish they would release a really top notch live album - selecting the best live versions of their songs from the archives..

 

I have quite a lot of smiths live bootlegs - some good quality recordings and some bad ..

 

where'd you find 'em?

 

I ve had some of them for years ! .. if you search on the net there are still smiths bootlegs being sold...
Last year my girlfriend ( now my ex !) brought me a box set entitled THE SMITHS ' Songs that changed your life ' which includes -

ROCKAPALAST 1984 concert dvd
MADRID 1985 concert dvd
DERBY ASSEMBLY ROOMS 1983 Concert dvd

OXFORD APOLLO THEATRE 1985 CD
BRIXTON ACADEMY 1985 CD
BIRMINGHAM FIGHTING COCKS 1983 CD
DERBY ASSEMBLY ROOMS 1983 CD
BELFAST QUEENS UNI 1986 CD

... It also includes 'THE COMPLETE TROY TATE SESSIONS' album and 'VINYL RARITIES' ( different versions of songs) ..

.. Its a great little box set - dont think much to the artwork but the sound quality is good..

Dont know if its still available as it says limited edition on the cover - but its well worth finding if you can..

 

@It's Felix https://www.amazon.co.uk/Smiths-Songs-That-Changed-Your/dp/B004V0VIBU

 

There was a site on the internet that just had loads is Smiths bootlegs, like all the US tour gigs and so on. Can't remember what it was called but there is a wealth of material out there.

 

I always thought the single was a demo that turned out so well they just put it out. This was then tweaked for the album later - the "strings" being added on top.

 

Yes it was a demo - the original single version is on 'the world wont listen' ...
Marr added overdubs and subtle musical changes for the version that appeared on 'the queen is dead ' so it fitted the album sonically..

 

thanks for that

 

Thanks for that!

 

Passions Just Like Mine is a really informative site.

 

Interesting, let's hope this opens the door for more releases from the archives.

 

Any news about it? Release date?

 

Record Store Day

 

12" Please !