A rare live version of each album track from The Smiths’ legendary 1987 album The Queen Is Dead will be shared on streaming services each week until the newly mastered and expanded 5LP edition of the album is released on October 20.
The title track, recorded at Irvine Meadows, Laguna Hills on 28 August 1986, is already available, and label Warner Brothers is also inviting fans to share their memories of each track on the album. The best submissions are being displayed at www.officialsmiths.co.uk.
Fans can participate by posting their memories on Twitter or Instagram with a hashtag relevant to the specific track – for example:
#FranklyMrShankly or #ThereIsALightThatNeverGoesOut.
The Queen Is Dead will be released on digital and streaming formats as well as the 5LP box and deluxe 3CD/1DVD and 2CD editions – all of which feature the 2017 master of the original album:
The 5LP box features the 2017 master of the album, additional recordings and the ‘Live In Boston’ recording.
“You cannot continue to record and simply hope that your audience will approve, or that average critics will approve, or that radio will approve,” says Morrissey. “You progress only when you wonder if an abnormally scientific genius would approve – and this is the leap The Smiths took with The Queen Is Dead.”
Johnny Marr adds: “The Queen Is Dead was epic to make and epic to live.”