The Queen Is Dead/Take Me Back To Dear Old Blighty
Frankly, Mr. Shankly
I Know It's Over
Never Had No One Ever
Cemetry Gates
Bigmouth Strikes Again
The Boy With The Thorn In His Side(album version)
Vicar In A Tutu
There Is A Light That Never Goes Out
Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others

UK CD [Rough Trade ROUGHCD96]
UK CS [Rough Trade ROUGHC96]
UK LP [Rough Trade ROUGH96]
UK LP [Rhino UK ROURH96; 2009 reissue on 180g LP]
UK 10" [Rhino UK ROURH96; 2011 reissue for Record Store Day]
Argentina LP [Erahora 10005]
Argentina CS [Erahora 10005]
Australia CD [CBS 451069-2/DIDP11070]
Australia CD [1988 reissue on Festival D30108]
Australia CD [1993 reissue on Warner Australia 450991896-2]
Australia CS [CBS RTCANZ013]
Australia CS [1988 reissue on Festival C30108]
Australia LP [CBS RTRANZ013]
Australia LP [1988 reissue on Festival L30108]
Brazil CD [WEA 450991896-2]
Brazil CS [WEA 761.7082]
Brazil LP [WEA 610.7082]
Canada CD [Sire CD-25426]
Canada CS [Sire 92 54264]
Canada LP [Sire 92 54261]
Europe CD [WEA 450991896-2]
Europe CS [WEA 450991896-4]
Europe 10 [WEA 450991896-1]
France CD [Virgin 30259]
France CS [Virgin 50444]
France LP [Virgin 70444]
Germany LP [RT Deutschland RTD36]
Greece CS [Virgin TC-VG50187]
Greece LP [Virgin VG50187]
Holland LP [Dureco/Indisc MD7961]
Indonesia CS [King's Record BJ-349]
Israel CS [CBS ROUG96-4]
Israel LP [CBS ROUG96]
Israel CD [WEA/Hed Arzi 91896-2]
Italy LP [CGD RGH20508]
Italy LP [Rough Trade ROULP96]
Italy CS [CGD 30RGH20508]
Japan CD [Tokuma Japan 32JC-162]
Japan CD [1987 reissue on Victor VDP-5074]
Japan CD [1990 reissue on Victor VICP-2004]
Japan CD [1993 reissue on WEA WMC5-545]
Japan CD [1995 reissue on WEA WPCR-304]
Japan CD [1997 reissue on WEA WPCR-2511]
Japan CD [2006 reissue on WEA WPCR-12441]
Japan SHM-CD [2008 reissue on Warner WPCR-13270]
Japan LP [Tokuma Japan 25RTL-3015]
Japan LP [1987 reissue on Victor VIP-4215]
Korea CD [1995 issue on WEA 450991896-2]
Korea CS [1995 issue on WEA 450991896-4]
New Zealand LP [CBS RTRANZ013]
New Zealand CS [CBS RTCANZ013]
Peru CS [WEA/El Virrey 00918964]
Philippines CS [Backbeat ROUGH C 96]
Poland LP [Tonpress SX-T 153]
Portugal LP [Rough Trade ROUGH96]
Spain CS [Nuevos Medios 44 198 C]
Spain LP [Nuevos Medios 43 197L]
Sweden LP [MNW ROUGH96]
Taiwan CS [Crystal ROUGHC96]
USA CD [Sire 9 25426-2]
USA CD [Columbia House Record Club W2 25426]
USA CD [BMG Direct Record Club D102692]
USA CS [Sire 9 25426-4]
USA CS [Columbia House Record Club W4 25426]
USA LP [Sire 9 25426-1]
USA LP [Columbia House Record Club W1 25426]
USA LP [RCA Record Club R-143529]
USA LP [Rhino R1 520967; 2009 reissue on 180g LP]
Yugoslavia CS [RTV Ljubljana KL1738]
Yugoslavia LP [RTV Ljubljana LL1738

Additional information:
The German LP is available in plain black or dark green vinyl

The version of "Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others" is slightly different on original Australian pressings on CBS and Festival Records. The intro doesn't fade in then out as it does everywhere else.

The 2006 Japanese cd reissue is slipped inside a mini-replica of the original Tokuma Japan LP sleeve. Even the inner sleeve, obi and label are replicas of the ones from the original LP pressing.

The picture disc, pink vinyl, green vinyl and multi-coloured splatter LP editions on Rough Trade are actually bootleg reproductions made in 2007.

The UK edition of the 2009 LP reissue includes a coupon with an offer to download the album on MP3 format. This was not offered with the USA edition.

The 10" edition released in 2011 is limited to 1500 or 2000 copies, depending on who you ask.

Artwork information:
Alain Delon from the 1964 film "L'insoumis" ("The Unvanquished"). The USA cassette shows a cropped portion of the LP cover art instead of the whole artwork like everywhere else. The Spanish cassette has cropped and untinted artwork). A different photo of Delon (view left) is used on both sides of the LP's inner sleeve and inside the cd booklet. The UK Rough Trade cd booklet has the latter photo in pink.

The Salford Lads Club photo from inside the LP (see left) was changed to a different one from the same sessions in CD reissues on Rough Trade and WEA.

Etchings on vinyl:
UK LPs: FEAR OF MANCHESTER / THEM WAS ROTTEN DAYS
(only on original Rough Trade release and Rhino reissue, not on the WEA reissue)
The b-side etching is a line spoken in the 1960 movie "Saturday Night And Sunday Morning".

Additional release date information:
UK: 16 June 1986
USA: 23 June 1986
USA/Canada cd: 7 July 1987
UK/Europe WEA re-release: 15 November 1993
Australia WEA 1993 re-release: 12 December 1993
Japan WEA 1993 re-release: 10 December 1993
Japan WEA 1997 re-release: 25 November 1997
Japan WEA 2006 re-release: 13 September 2006
UK (2009 reissue): 6 July 2009
USA (2009 reissue): 25 August 2009

Chart peak information:
UK: 2 (28 when reissued at mid-price in 1995)
USA: 70

Certifications:
UK: Gold on 1 July 1986
USA: Gold on 19 September 1990

Promotion:
UK: White label copies of the LP were sent to radio and record shops for promotion. Some labels might have actually been green.

Argentina: White label copies of the LP may have been used for promotion.

Australia: Stock copies of the original CBS LP edition were supposedly stamped with a promo warning in gold on the back. A very limited number of copies of the Festival stock LP with promo sticker affixed to the label were distributed to promote Festival's reissue programme.

Brazil: Stock copies of the LP were stamped on the back with a promo-only warning. Different various artists promo EPs were also sent to radio at the time of release of this album. A 6-track one (WEA #24; 1.024), slipped in a blue sleeve with yellow text featured "Bigmouth Strikes Again". A 4-track one (WEA #37; 1.037) slipped in a light blue sleeve with pink text featured "There Is A Light That Never Goes Out".

Canada: Gold-stamped copies of the LP were used for promotion. A various artists promo cassette featuring "Bigmouth Strikes Again" was sent to radio by WEA at the time of release of this album.

Germany: Copies of the green vinyl LP were distributed to media with two press sheets. A promo VHS featuring the Derek Jarman videos for "The Queen Is Dead" and "Panic" (2 versions of the latter) were distributed to the relevant media in Germany for promotion of this album as well as the "Panic" single.

Greece: Copies of the stock LP were made into promos by being promo-stamped with "Not For Sale" on the label(s). A LP in an early sleeve variation with white Virgin labels seems to have served earlier, more limited promotional purposes.

Holland: Fifty white labels of the Dutch LP were sent to a promoter in anticipation of the appearance of the Smiths at Pinkpop. When Morrissey discovered that the festival was promoted by McDonalds, the gig was canceled and the test pressings were never used. They ended up being sold on Ebay in 2005.

Italy: "The Boy With The Thorn In His Side" was included on a promo sampler 12" (CGD INT15250). A different 4-track various artists sampler 12" (CGD INT15267) featured "There Is A Light That Never Goes Out".

Japan: Promotion of the original release was done via copies of the LP format with a white SAMPLE sticker on the sleeve and the usual extra 3-character promo text printed on the label. Promo cds for the 1990 and 1993 (and possibly 1987 and 1995) reissues have a promo sticker on the case and promo text on the cds' inner ring. The promo cds for the 2006 reissue in LP-replica sleeve have a white and red promo sticker on the back of the obi and 'sample loaned' etched on the cd's inner ring. Copies of the double-cd set featuring this album and "Hatful Of Hollow" were stamped on the back for promotion.

USA: Gold-stamped copies of the LP were used for promotion. A 1-track promo 12" of "There Is A Light That Never Goes Out" (Sire, PRO-A-2571) was distributed in June of 1986 to promote the album (view artwork left). The video for the latter song was included on a Warner Bros or Sire promo video compilation (Mini Comp #52) and on the September 1986 issue of the Telegenics promo video series. The video for "The Queen Is Dead" was included on a different promo video compilation from Warner or Sire, this one numbered NVS#1702. It was also included on the January 1987 issue of the Telegenics promo video series. A press kit including a bio and a photo by Steve Wright (probably the Salford Lads Club photo) was also sent to radio and the relevent media.

Quotes:
Morrissey: "It doesn't necessarily mean Queen Elizabeth. There's a safety net in the song... that the old queen in the lyrics is actually me. So when they lynch me or nail me to the cross, I have that trapdoor to slide through. But, having said that, the song is certainly a kind of general observation on the state of the nation."

Morrissey in Oor magazine, February 1987: "It didn't really occur to me ever that people would consider the title offensive. The song existed, and I thought it was so strong it deserved special attention, which it was given by being the title track. (...) Another aspect was that no Top 10 groups, or any English group with a high status, were trying to compile a thoughtful language. And I thought The Queen Is Dead, as a title between Invisible Touch and A Kind Of Magic and Picture Book, was something one would pause over.

Morrissey in Q Magazine April 1994: "Some things we did are not as good as they're remembered. "The Queen Is Dead" is not our masterpiece. I should know. I was there. I supplied the sandwiches."

Johnny Marr reminisces about the album at this link.