"The World Won't Listen"
February 1987
Panic
Ask
London
Bigmouth Strikes Again
Shakespeare's Sister
There Is A Light That Never Goes Out
Shoplifters Of The World Unite
The Boy With The Thorn In His Side (single version)
Money Changes Everything *
Asleep
Unloveable
Half A Person
Stretch Out And Wait (alternate version)
That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore (edited)
Oscillate Wildly
You Just Haven't Earned It Yet Baby
Rubber Ring
Golden Lights **
UK CD [Rough Trade ROUGHCD101]
UK CS [Rough Trade ROUGHC101]
UK LP [Rough Trade ROUGH101]

Argentina LP [Erahora 10008]
Argentina CS [Erahora 10008]

Australia CD [CBS 450467-2]
Australia CD [1993 reissue on Warner Australia 91898-2]
Australia CS [CBS 450467-4]
Australia 2-CS [augmented issue on CBS 450978-4] ***
Australia LP [CBS 450467-1]
Australia 2-LP [CBS 450978-1] ***

Brazil CS [WEA ??]
Brazil LP [WEA 670.0007]

China CD [Warner Hong Kong HDCD-H345]

Europe CD [WEA 91898-2]
Europe CS [WEA 91898-4]
Europe 10 [WEA 91897-1]

France CD [Virgin 30260]
France CS [Virgin 50494]
France LP [Virgin 70494]

Germany LP [RT Deutschland RTD45]

Greece CS [Virgin ??]
Greece LP [Virgin VG C 101]

Holland LP [Megadisc MD 7940]

Indonesia CS [King's K1166AED]

Israel LP [CBS ROUGH101-1]
Israel CS [CBS ROUG 101-4]
Israel CD [1993 reissue on WEA/Hed Arzi 91898-2]

Italy CS [CGD 30RGH20614]
Italy LP [CGD RGH20614]

Japan CD [Victor VDP-1199]
Japan CD [1990 reissue on Victor VICP-2005]
Japan CD [1993 reissue on WEA WMC5-546]
Japan CD [1995 reissue on WEA WPCR-305]
Japan CD [2006 reissue on WEA WPCR-12442]
Japan CS [Victor VCL-10030]
Japan LP [Victor VIL-28074]

Portugal LP [Rough Trade 12ROUGH101]

Saudi Arabia CS [Thomsun EN-1439]

Singapore CS [Billboard 1242]

Spain CS [Nuevos Medios 44 246C]
Spain LP [Nuevos Medios 43 245L]

Sweden LP [MNW ROUGH101]

Taiwan CS [Crystal ROUGHC101]

Thailand CS [??]

Yugoslavia CS [RTV Ljubljana KL-1626]
Yugoslavia LP [RTV Ljubljana LL1626]

 

Additional information:
* "Money Changes Everything" is included on all cassettes and Victor-Japan and international WEA cds only.

** "Golden Lights" is only included on Victor-Japan cds and international WEA cd and cassette reissues.

*** The second Australian LP and cassette (450978-1/4) come as a double set and include all songs (28 tracks) from "The World Won't Listen" and "Louder Than Bombs", bar "These Things Take Time". Also, "Money Changes Everything" is replaced by a different instrumental, "The Draize Train". The first LP and cassette have the regular track listing while the bonus LP and cassette contain all the added material. Here's a rundown of the songs in the order they appear: "Panic" / "Ask" / "London" / "Bigmouth Strikes Again" / "Shakespeare's Sister" / "There Is A Light That Never Goes Out" / "Shoplifters Of The World Unite" / "The Boy With The Thorn In His Side (single version) // Asleep" / "Unloveable" / "Half A Person" / "Stretch Out And Wait" (alternate version) / "That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore" (edited) / "Oscillate Wildly" / "You Just Haven't Earned It Yet Baby" / "Rubber Ring // "Is It Really So Strange?" / "Sheila Take A Bow" / "Sweet And Tender Hooligan" / "Girl Afraid" / "William, It Was Really Nothing" / "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now" // "Golden Lights" / "The Draize Train" / "Back To The Old House" / "Hand In Glove" / "Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want" / "This Night Has Opened My Eyes".

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

The Indonesia and Singapore unlicensed cassettes have a unique track listing. The regular 16 tracks are scrambled, and there are two bonus ones: "Pretty Girls Make Graves" and "Reel Around The Fountain" from the debut LP for the Indonesia cassette, and "Girl Afraid" and "Suffer Little Children" for the Singapore one.

 

Artwork information:
Cover photo of anonymous people by Jurgen Vollmer from the 1983 book "Rock'n'Roll Times". This photo was used for the LP format only. The compact disc and cassette have a cropped version of the cover (except on early Australian cds and the Japanese 2006 LP-replica reissue where the LP artwork was used).

Another photo from the same book, this time of 4 girls, was used for the back of the album. The 4 girls look strangely like the Smiths. An untinted version is also found inside the cd booklet.

The 'inside photo' which can be viewed from the left bar is taken from the cd booklet. The LP's inner sleeve has a faded version of it on each side.

 

Etchings on vinyl:
None.

 

Additional release date information:
UK: 23/27 February 1987
UK/Europe WEA re-release: 15 November 1993
Japan WEA 1993 re-release: 10 December 1993
Japan WEA 2006 re-release: 13 September 2006

 

Chart peak information:
UK: 2
Norway: 17

 

Certifications:
UK: Gold on 3 March 1987

 

Promotion:
UK: White label copies of the LP format were sent to radio and record shops for promotion.

Argentina: A white label edition of the LP was used to promote this album.

Australia: The single edition of the LP was promoted with copies with a SAMPLE RECORD sticker on the back. The double edition was stamped on the back of the sleeve with a promo warning.

Brazil: Brazil promo LPs were possibly stamped in ink on the labels and stamped in gold on the back on the sleeve. A 4-track promo EP in a pink and red sleeve (WEA #18, 1.118) as well as a 5-track promo EP (200.4001) both featured "Ask". They most likely were used to promote this album, or perhaps "Louder Than Bombs".

France: Stock copies of the LP were stamped in the corner and dispatched to media.

Israel: Promo LPs had a record company sticker affixed on the back.

Italy: Stock copies of the LP were stamped for promotion. "Shoplifters Of The World Unite" was also included on a 3-track various artists sampler 12" (CGD INT15290) to promote this compilation.

Japan: Promotion of the original release was done via promo LPs and promo CDS. The former had a red promo sticker on the sleeve and the usual extra 3-character promo text printed on the label while the latter, just like the 1990, 1993 and 1995 reissues, have a promo sticker on the case or obi, and promo text on the cds' inner ring. The promo cd for the 2006 reissue in LP-replica sleeves have a white and red promo sticker on the back and 'sample loaned' etched on the cd's inner ring.

 

Quotes:
About the album's artwork, to website True To You in early 2006: "The design that I thought best exemplified The Smiths was the LP version of The World Won't Listen, and I was horrified when it was mauled and chopped for the cassette and CD versions which cropped the image to only show the boy with the puffy cheeks. I couldn't understand why the full image wasn't reproduced, and since then it's always been reprinted as the boy with the puffy cheeks."