The Smiths being that rare band who consistently churned out singles what were the equal or better of their albums, here is a
Smiths singles discography. Due to the fantastic number of singles the band released, I'll be arranging the discography by country, starting with UK releases.
UK Singles (All are on
Rough Trade records unless otherwise noted):
- Hand in Glove 7" (RT131, May 1983) b/w Handsome Devil (live)
- This Charming Man 7" (RT136, October 1983) b/w Jeane. Cover star: James Dean
- This Charming Man 12" (RTT136, October 1983) Manchester version and London version b/w Accept Yourself and Wonderful Woman. Cover star: James Dean
- This Charming Man (remix) 12" (RTT136NY, December 1983) New York version b/w New York instrumental. Cover star: James Dean
- What Difference Does It Make 7"/12" (RT146/RTT146, January 1984) b/w Back to the Old House and (12" only) These Things Take Time (see the song writeup for a detailed description of variations of this single). Cover star: Terrance Stamp
- Hand in Glove (Sandie Shaw vocals) 7"/12" (RT130/RTT130 April 1984) b/w Jeane (on 12" only) and I Don't Owe You Anything. Cover star: Rita Tushingham (this single deserves it's own WU -- I'll add one soon if there isn't one already)
- Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now 7"/12" (RT156/RTT156, May 1984) b/w (12" only) Girl Afraid and Suffer Little Children. Cover star: Viv Nicholson
- William, It Was Really Nothing 7"/12" (RT166/RTT166, August 1984) b/w (12" only) How Soon Is Now and Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want. Cover star: original (man sitting on bed) unknown, reprint Billie Whitelaw
- How Soon Is Now 7"/12" (RT176/RTT176, February 1985) b/w Well I Wonder and (12" only) {Oscillate Wildly]. Cover star: unknown
- Shakespeare's Sister 7"/12" (RT181/RTT181, March 1985) b/w What She Said and (12" only) Stretch Out And Wait. Cover star: Pat Phoenix
- That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore 7"/12" (RT186/RTT186, July 1985) b/w (12") Nowhere Fast (live), (12") Stretch Out and Wait (live), (12") Shakespeare's Sister (live), and Meat is Murder (live). Cover star: unknown young boy.
- The Boy With the Thorn in His Side 7"/12" (RT191/RTT191, September 1985) b/w (12") Rubber Ring and Asleep. Cover star: Truman Capote
- Bigmouth Strikes Again 7"/12" (RT192/RTT192, May 1986) b/w Money Changes Everything and (12") Unlovable. Cover star: "James"
- Panic 7"/12" (RT193/RTT193, July 1986) b/w Vicar in a Tutu and (12") The Draize Train. Cover star: unknown.
- Ask 7"/12" (RT194/RTT194, October 1986) b/w Cemetry Gates and (12") Golden Lights. Cover Star: Yootha Joyce
- Shoplifters of the World Unite 7"/12" (RT195/RTT195, January 1987) b/w (12") London and Half a Person. Cover star: Elvis Presley
- Sheila Take a Bow 7"/12" (RT196/RTT196, April 1987) b/w Is It Really So Strange (Peel session) and (12") Sweet and Tender Hooligan (Peel session). Cover star: Candy Darling
- Girlfriend in a Coma 7"/12" (RT197/RTT197, August 1987) b/w Work Is a Four Letter Word and (12") I Keep Mine Hidden. Cover star: unknown
- I Started Something I Couldn't Finish 7"/12" (RT198/RTT198, November 1987) b/w Pretty Girls Make Graves and (12") Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others. Cover star: Avril Angers
- Last Night I Dreampt That Somebody Loved Me 7"/12" (RT200/RTT200, December 1987) b/w Rusholme Ruffians (Peel session) and (12") Nowhere Fast (Peel session). Cover star: Billy Fury
In the early 90s, WEA (which I think had perhaps aquired the Smiths' US label
Sire) began (re-)issuing cd singles to accompany the release of the
Best...I and
Best...II compilations. These singles follow the common british practice of appearing in several different versions to enourage fans to buy all of them (in part because the sales of each different single contributes to a single chart position listing).
- This Charming Man 7"/CD1/CD2 (August 1992). 7" is a reissue of the original with the Troy Tate demo version of Jeane as the b-side. CD1 is the original 12" release, substituting Jeane for the London mix of This Charming Man. CD2 is 7 (!) versions of the song: Manchester and London mixes from the original 12", New York and New York instrumental from the second 12", a Peel session version, and a remix and the original versions of the 7" version. That's a lot. The cover for all versions is identical to the original.
- How Soon Is Now 7"/CD1/CD2 (August-September 1992). 7" is b/w Hand In Glove (single version). CD1 is the "fade-out" version of the title that appeared on some singles w/ The Queen Is Dead, Handsome Devil (Peel session), and I Started Something I Couldn't Finish. CD2 is the album version of the title w/ I Know It's Over, Suffer Little Children, and Back To The Old House. Cover art is new, a still of Vanessa Redgrave and David Hemmings taken from the horribly overrated film Blowup.
- There Is A Light That Never Goes Out 7"/CD1/CD2 (October 1992). 7" is b/w a live version of Handsome Devil. CD1 is with a BBC recording of Hand In Glove, a live Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others, and the instrumental Money Changes Everything. CD2 is with the three Sandie Shaw-sung tracks (see her entry above for Hand In Glove). 7" and CD1 have the same new artwork, while CD2 is a different (also new) photo, both of Sandie Shaw.
The next single accompanied the release of the
Singles compilation.
- Ask 7"/CD (February 1995). 7" is as original and CD is as the original 12". Cover art is the same.
For future noding: US and other international singles of interest. 1/17/03