The Smiths The Queen Is Dead 1986 UK 1st Press On The Rough 96 Labels Very Rare

	£		39
	$		52

I am selling off some of my collection and over the next few months will be listing some very nice and very rare albums and singles from the 50's through to the 90's!! I will be listing The Beatles, Cream, Purple, Zeppplin, The Stones, Small Faces, Floyd, Creedence Clearwater, Beach Boys and many, many more so please add me to your watch list as I may have something you need to help complete you collection!!!!

Artist or Band: The Smiths

Album Title: The Queen Is Dead

Producer(s):  Johnny Marr and Morrissey

Cat Number: Rough 96

Label/Format: Rough

Country of Manufacture: UK

Track list: 

Side 1: The Queen Is Dead; Frankly, Mr. Shankly; I Know it's Over; Never Had No One Ever; Cemetry Gates.

Side 2:  Bigmouth Strikes Again; The Boy With The Thorn In His Side; Vicar In A Tutu; There Is A Light That never Goes Out; Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others.

Matrix Nos: Side 1: Rough-96-A1  Side 2:  Rough-96-B1

Stamper Codes: Side 1: MPO  Side 2: MPO

Other Etchings: Side 1: Fear Of Manchester Side 2: Them Was Rotten Days have been Etched into Both runout grooves

Musicians: Morrissey: Lead Vocals, Backing Voice ("Bigmouth Strikes Again"; credited as Ann Coates). Johnny Marr: Guitars, Orchestration (credited as The Hated Salford Ensemble), String Arrangements, Marimba ("The Boy with the Thorn in His Side"). Andy Rourke: Bass Guitar. Mike Joyce: Drums

Brief Artist & Album Info: "The Queen Is Dead" is the third studio album by English rock band the Smiths. It was released on 16 June 1986 in the United Kingdom by Rough Trade Records and released in the United States on 23 June 1986 through Sire Records.

The album spent Twenty-Two weeks on the UK Albums Chart, peaking at No. 2. It Also reached No. 70 on the US Billboard 200 chart, and was certified Gold by the RIAA in late 1990. It has sold consistently well ever since and has received Unanimous critical acclaim, with NME listing it as the Greatest album of all time in 2013.

"The Queen Is Dead" received Critical acclaim, and is considered to be a Defining album of the 1980s, as well as one of the Greatest albums of All time. In a contemporaneous review of the album, Mark Coleman of Rolling Stone remarked on Morrissey's sense of humour and singled out the singer's performance on "Cemetry Gates" as a Highlight, concluding that "like it or not, this guy's going to be around for a While." Writing in pop magazine Smash Hits, Tom Hibbert gave a Favourable review, stating that "the guitars are Great, some of the words are Marvellous, others like scratchings on a Fifth Form desk", as well as describing Morrissey as "half genius half buffoon". Robert Christgau of The Village Voice wrote that despite his Dislike of the Smiths' previous albums, he held an "Instant attraction" to "The Queen Is Dead", where he found that "Morrissey wears his Wit on his Sleeve, dishing the queen like Johnny Rotten Never did and kissing off a day-job boss who's no Mr. Sellack", which "makes it easier to go along on his moonier escapades". 

"The Queen Is Dead", which leads off the album and notably became an Expressionistic music video directed by Derek Jarman, starts with a Soundbite from Bryan Forbes' 1962 British film The L-Shaped Room. Another instance of Morrissey's fascination with '60s British cinema, the film featured performances by Pat Phoenix (who had already appeared as a cover star on the 1985 single "Shakespeare's Sister") and Cicely Courtneidge as an elderly lesbian veteran of the music halls. The Soundbite is Courtneidge's character nostalgically singing the World War I song "Take Me Back to Dear Old Blighty". The actress had also appeared in a Gala performance for Elizabeth II's Silver Jubilee called "God Save the Queen", and died in 1980.

A few songs, including "The Queen Is Dead" and "Bigmouth Strikes Again", feature Pitch-Shifted backing vocals by Morrissey. Morrissey liked to Experiment with effects on his Voice, so Street ran his voice through a Harmoniser for the backing tracks. Street recalled, "At that time, apart from the Harmoniser, he didn't go for Much backing vocal or harmony work – he's done that More on recent albums – but he did like to Experiment". The backing vocals are attributed to "Ann Coates" on the Record cover (Ancoats is a District in Manchester, just north east of the city centre).

CONDITION

Labels: The Green with White and Gold Printing Rough 96 Labels are Both in SUPERB condition. The is no Writing, Label Lifts, Tears or Marks anywhere. There are no signs of Spindle Wear or Spider Marks. The White and Gold printing is in Outstanding condition is Unfaded and look Superb against the dark Green backdrop. Considering their Age they are in Remarkable condition and I Truly cannot find Fault with them. I would be happy to grade them as Excellent ++!!!! This Record has Obviously been Very well Cared for and Has had NO more than a Handful of plays.

Vinyl: Plays throughout absolutely SUPERB with no Pops, Clicks or Jumps. The record still Retains that glossy sheen though there are One or Two surface marks and thumbnails to be seen, these in NO way interfere with the superb sound quality. This Album plays up to and  Beyond its High visual grading with hardly anything of note to fault. It offers strong, distortion-free sound, all frequencies are sharp and clear – sound quality is very high with a wide dynamic range and very detailed sound. A typical polished production from Johnny Marr and Morrissey. Minimal surface sound and No tracking issues. This play-grade proved a real pleasure when playing this fast disappearing album, this being the first example I have had for some time, and possibly the best all-round one for me yet. It will prove Very difficult to find a better copy and merits a very strong recommendation. I would grade both sides as Excellent ++!!!!

Cover/Sleeve: This is an Unlaminated Gatefold Sleeve and the cover was designed by Morrissey, and is based on a still from the 1964 French movie L'Insoumis, starring Alain Delon.There are no Creases, Writing, Splits, Tears, Marks or Knocks anywhere. Everything is absolutely Perfect. The Spine is in Beautiful condition, as are All of the Edges, including the Opening. All of the Colours and Printing are Unfaded and the Inside looks as if it's Never seen the light of day.. This Cover is Faultless. It Genuinely is in Stunning condition. This Cover is Incredibly difficult to find in Excellent or Better condition simply because of it's design and age. However I will have No problem with grading it as Excellent ++!!!!

Cover/Sleeve Summary: Not seen often. This one is in Beautiful condition. This classic cover (As Described) should please Many collectors.

Inner Sleeve: The Printed Inner Sleeve is also in Perfect order Without a Mark on it and is graded as Excellent!!!!

Album Played For Grading: I play/grade ALL records I offer before submitting, I also play them in their entirety unless clearly stated otherwise. I do NOT play snippets or joining grooves to check for sound quality and quietness I play from the beginning to end. I use a Linn LP12 Sondek turntable with Ittok Mk II arm and Ortofon Quintet Black moving coil cartridge and Linn Lingo, with my Linn system and Forest Totem Speakers. This system is guaranteed  to pick up any distortion or interference within the sound.

Grading: In my opinion I REFUSE to believe that there is ANY record that can be truly graded as Mint, the BEST that could be offered is Mint- (minus)!!!! Especially so from the 50's, 60's, 70's or up to the present date!!!! Even copies bought new today would have some form of imperfection on the Record or Cover!!!! Under that assumption I will NEVER use the word Mint in any of my descriptions and Mint- is the HIGHEST grade I would ever use. So I will only offer Excellent, Good or Poor with a -(minus), +(plus) or ++(plus,plus)!!!!

Postage: All of my records will be professionally packaged. I use Dependapack Vinyl Record Mailers that have locking tab closures with strong locking tab record wraps. I also use corrugated record stiffeners and extra strong tape marked with Handle With Care. This is to ensure your Valuable Record/s are protected whilst in transit. I will add a nominal fee of .40p to my postage and packaging for this service. Any Record valued at £100 or more I would prefer to send by Special Delivery/International Signed For.

INTERNATIONAL BIDDERS PLEASE NOTE!!

I am NOT here to make a Profit on the Post. However MOST buyers (and rightly so) pay for Economy Postage which goes by Ship and not Plane. I have been instructed by the Post Office that Economy Postages can take UP to 10 weeks (and beyond) to reach some destinations. If you pay for Economy then that HAS to be the method I will ship your Item. Should at any time I (mistakenly) Overcharge I will Immediately Refund the payment. My Word is my Bond so please have Faith. I had to put this statement up because at the moment I seem to be paying more to send my Items than I'm actually charging. Unfortunately I have NO control over Postage rates.

NOTICE: I received a message a few day ago from and eBay member informing me that this is Not a 1st Pressing but a Very early 2nd Pressing from the Same year. The message stated that there is an EMI version that came out slightly earlier. I have looked absolutely everywhere for a copy/reference of this but can Not find any anywhere.