The Queen Is Dead

For other uses, see The Queen Is Dead (disambiguation).

The Queen Is Dead
Studio album by
the Smiths
Released16 June 1986 (1986-06-16)
RecordedSummer & Winter 1985
Studio
  • Jacob (Farnham, Surrey)
  • RAK (London)
  • Drone (Manchester)
Genre
Length36:48
LabelRough Trade
Producer
The Smiths chronology
Meat Is Murder
(1985) 		The Queen Is Dead
(1986) 		The World Won't Listen
(1987)
Singles from The Queen Is Dead
  1. "The Boy with the Thorn in His Side"
    Released: 23 September 1985
  2. "Bigmouth Strikes Again"
    Released: 19 May 1986
  3. "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out"
    Released: 12 October 1992

The Queen Is Dead is the third studio album by the English rock band The Smiths, released on 16 June 1986, by Rough Trade Records. The album was produced by the band's singer, Morrissey, and their guitarist, Johnny Marr, working predominantly with engineer Stephen Street who engineered The Smiths' previous album, Meat Is Murder (1985).[3] Marr wrote several songs while the Smiths toured Britain in early 1985, working out arrangements with bassist Andy Rourke and drummer Mike Joyce during soundchecks.[4] The album title is taken from American writer Hubert Selby Jr.'s 1964 novel, Last Exit to Brooklyn.[5] The cover art features the French actor Alain Delon in the 1964 film L'Insoumis.[6]

The Queen Is Dead spent 22 weeks on the UK Albums Chart, reaching the number two position.[7] It reached number 70 on the US Billboard Top Pop Albums chart and was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in late 1990. The Queen Is Dead received widespread critical acclaim and was included in multiple best album lists. Rolling Stone ranked the album 113th on its 2020-updated list of the ""500 Greatest Albums of All Time"".[8] In its 2013 list, NME named The Queen Is Dead the greatest album of all time.[9]

  1. ^ Gallucci, Michael (13 March 2017). "The Smiths Albums Ranked in Order of Awesomeness". Diffuser.fm. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  2. ^ Jackson, Josh (13 July 2016). "The 50 Best Post-Punk Albums". Paste. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
  3. ^ "The Full Story Behind The Smiths' 'The Queen Is Dead'". NME Music News, Reviews, Videos, Galleries, Tickets and Blogs | NME.COM. 16 June 2016. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  4. ^ Kent, Nick. "Isolation". Mojo Classic: Morrissey and the Story of Manchester. 2006
  5. ^ Luerssen, John D. (2015). The Smiths FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the Most Important British Band of the 1980s. Backbeat Books. p. 237. ISBN 978-1-4803-9449-0.
  6. ^ "The Smiths "The Queen is Dead"". 2 November 2014.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference :2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. 31 December 2023. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
  9. ^ "The Smiths' 'The Queen Is Dead' tops NME's list of 500 greatest albums of all time | NME". NME Music News, Reviews, Videos, Galleries, Tickets and Blogs | NME.COM. 22 October 2013. Retrieved 22 April 2020.