The Smiths – The Boy With The Thorn In His Side

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Genre:	Rock
Style:	Indie Rock
Year:	1985

Tracklist

		The Boy With The Thorn In His Side	3:17
		Rubber Ring	3:55
		Asleep	4:10

Credits (9)

Stephen Street
Engineer
Caryn Gough
Layout
Truman*
Model [Cover Star]
Johnny Marr
Music By
The Smiths
Orchestrated By
Grant Showbiz
Other [Special Thank To]

Notes

"Rubber Ring" has a voice sample at the end saying, "You are sleeping, you do not want to believe." This sample is taken from a flexi-disc included with the book "Breakthrough: An Amazing Experiment in Electronic Communication with the Dead" published in 1971. The voice is that of Dr. Konstantin Raudive of Latvia who was a researcher investigating the "electronic voice phenomenon", which supposedly captured the voices of spirits of the the dead as researchers read statements to them in controlled environments. Raudive is translating back for us what the researcher's former mentor, Swiss parapsychologist Dr. Gephardt Frye (deceased) supposedly said from beyond the grave (in Swedish and German). The translator only says "You are sleeping" once; on "Rubber Ring", the sample is repeated to make it, "You are sleeping, you do not want to believe. You are sleeping."

Versions

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39 versions

Image	,	–			In Your Collection, Wantlist, or Inventory	Version Details	Data Quality
	The Boy With The Thorn In His Side 12", 45 RPM, Single, CBS	Rough Trade – RTT 191	UK	1985	UK — 1985
	The Boy With The Thorn In His Side 7", 45 RPM, Single, Stereo	Megadisc – MD 5294	Netherlands	1985	Netherlands — 1985	Recently Edited
	The Boy With The Thorn In His Side 12", 45 RPM, Maxi-Single	Virgin – 80208, Rough Trade – 80208	France	1985	France — 1985	Recently Edited
	The Boy With The Thorn In His Side 7", 45 RPM, Single, EMI, Push-out Centre	Rough Trade – RT 191	UK	1985	UK — 1985	Recently Edited
	The Boy With The Thorn In His Side 12", 45 RPM, Stereo	Sire – 92 03920, Rough Trade – 92 03920, Warner Bros. Records – 92 03920	Canada	1985	Canada — 1985	Recently Edited
	The Boy With The Thorn In His Side 12", 45 RPM, Single, Stereo	Megadisc – MD 125294	Netherlands	1985	Netherlands — 1985	Recently Edited
	The Boy With The Thorn In His Side 12", 45 RPM, Single, SRC	Sire – 0-20392, Sire – 9 20392-0 A	US	1985	US — 1985	Recently Edited
	The Boy With The Thorn In His Side 12", 45 RPM, Single	Nuevos Medios – 41 159 M, Nuevos Medios – 45 159, Rough Trade – 45 159	Spain	1985	Spain — 1985	Recently Edited
	The Boy With The Thorn In His Side 7", 45 RPM, Single	Virgin – VIN 45162, Rough Trade – VIN 45162	Italy	1985	Italy — 1985	Recently Edited
	The Boy With The Thorn In His Side 12", 45 RPM, Mini-Album	Rough Trade – 15RTL-3009	Japan	1985	Japan — 1985	Recently Edited
	The Boy With The Thorn In His Side 12", 45 RPM, White Label, EMI	Rough Trade – RTT 191	UK	1985	UK — 1985	Recently Edited
	The Boy With The Thorn In His Side 12", 45 RPM	Rough Trade – 608.7000, Rough Trade – 79.500	Brazil	1985	Brazil — 1985	Recently Edited
	The Boy With The Thorn In His Side 7", Single, 45 RPM	Rough Trade – RT 191	Portugal	1985	Portugal — 1985	Recently Edited
	The Boy With The Thorn In His Side 12", 45 RPM	Rough Trade – RTANZ 12010	Australia	1985	Australia — 1985	Recently Edited
	The Boy With The Thorn In His Side 7", Single, 45 RPM	Rough Trade – RTANZ012	Australia	1985	Australia — 1985	New Submission
	The Boy With The Thorn In His Side 7", Single, 45 RPM, Promo	Rough Trade – RTANZ012	Australia	1985	Australia — 1985	New Submission
	The Boy With The Thorn In His Side 12"	Rough Trade – RTT191	Sweden	1985	Sweden — 1985	New Submission
	The Boy With The Thorn In His Side 12", Single, 45 RPM	Rough Trade – RTT 191	Germany	1985	Germany — 1985	New Submission
	The Boy With The Thorn In His Side 7", 45 RPM, Single, EMI, Solid Centre	Rough Trade – RT 191	UK	1985	UK — 1985	New Submission
	The Boy With The Thorn In His Side 12", 45 RPM, Mini-Album, Promo	Rough Trade – 15RTL-3009	Japan	1985	Japan — 1985
	The Boy With The Thorn In His Side 7", 45 RPM, Single	Rough Trade – RT 191	Ireland	1985	Ireland — 1985	Recently Edited
	The Boy With The Thorn In His Side 7", 45 RPM, Single	Rough Trade – RT 191	Sweden	1985	Sweden — 1985	Recently Edited
	The Boy With The Thorn In His Side 7", Promo, Test Pressing, White Label, EMI	Rough Trade – RT 191	UK	1985	UK — 1985	New Submission
	The Boy With The Thorn In His Side 12", Single, SRC, label variation	Sire – 0-20392, Rough Trade – 0-20392	US	1985	US — 1985
	The Boy With The Thorn In His Side 12", 45 RPM	Rough Trade – RTANZ 12010	New Zealand	1985	New Zealand — 1985
	The Boy With The Thorn In His Side 7", 45 RPM, Single, MPO Solid Centre	Rough Trade – RT 191	UK	1985	UK — 1985	New Submission
	The Boy With The Thorn In His Side 12", 45 RPM, Single, EMI pressing	Rough Trade – RTT 191	UK	1985	UK — 1985	Recently Edited
	The Boy With The Thorn In His Side 12", 45 RPM, Single, Promo	Rough Trade – RTANZ 12010	Australia	1985	Australia — 1985	New Submission
	The Boy With The Thorn In His Side 12", 45 RPM, Single	Rough Trade – RTT 191	Ireland	1985	Ireland — 1985	New Submission
	The Boy With The Thorn In His Side 7", 45 RPM, Single, MPO Push-out Centre	Rough Trade – RT 191	UK	1985	UK — 1985	New Submission
	The Boy With The Thorn In His Side 12", 45 RPM, Single, Misprint, EMI pressing	Rough Trade – RTT 191	Sweden	1985	Sweden — 1985
	The Boy With The Thorn In His Side 12", 45 RPM, Single, Allied Pressing	Sire – 0-20392, Sire – 9 20392-0 A	US	1985	US — 1985
	The Boy With The Thorn In His Side 12", Single, 45 RPM, Black Die-cut Cover	Rough Trade – RTT 191	Germany	1985	Germany — 1985
	The Boy With The Thorn In His Side 12", 45 RPM, Single,	Rough Trade – RTT 191	UK & Ireland	1985	UK & Ireland — 1985	New Submission
	The Boy With The Thorn In His Side CD, Single	Rough Trade – RTT 191CD	UK	1988	UK — 1988
	The Boy With The Thorn In His Side CD, Single	Rough Trade – D 1075, Festival Records – D 1075	Australia & New Zealand	1990	Australia & New Zealand — 1990	Recently Edited
	The Boy With The Thorn In His Side 7", Single, Repress, Limited Edition	Rhino Records (2) – RHN191	UK	2008	UK — 2008	Recently Edited
	The Boy With The Thorn In His Side 7", Single, Remastered, Test Pressing	Rhino Records (2) – RHN191	UK	2008	UK — 2008	Recently Edited
	The Boy With A Thorn In His Side 7", 45 RPM, Test Pressing	Warner Bros. Records – TSRSD 2017	USA & Europe	2017	USA & Europe — 2017	New Submission

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Reviews

Sorg_Los Jan 17, 2025
referencing The Boy With The Thorn In His Side (12", 45 RPM, Single, CBS) RTT 191
Does anyone happen to have only the cover of this version (RTT 191) for sale? That would be awesome :) Please contact me per PM!
Rosenberg Jan 13, 2021
referencing The Boy With The Thorn In His Side (12", 45 RPM, Mini-Album) 15RTL-3009
I'm not a big fan of The Smiths but track "Asleep" is really beautiful. Nice Japanese pressing, good dynamics, almost no surface noice. Open sound and great cover art.

Source Wiki:
"The Boy with the Thorn in His Side" is a song by the English rock band the Smiths. It was released as a single in September 1985, reaching No. 23 in the UK Singles Chart. A slightly remixed version appeared on their third album The Queen Is Dead in June 1986.

This was the first single by the Smiths to be accompanied by a promotional music video, something the band had previously resisted. They also performed the song on an episode of Top of the Pops. The main difference between the single version and the album version is in the use of synthesised strings. They are largely absent from the single version, only appearing in the song's coda. In 2003, Morrissey named it his favourite Smiths song.[1]
ferla.natasha Sep 22, 2020
referencing The Boy With The Thorn In His Side (12", 45 RPM) 608.7000
I have a Brazilian promo print of this record that is not listed here.
Pavol_Stromcek Dec 15, 2019
referencing The Boy With The Thorn In His Side (12", 45 RPM, Single, EMI pressing) RTT 191
Just noticed something strange about my pressing of this - the songs were actually sped up a little. I played this on a turntable confirmed as having accurate speed (via the RPM app), and directly compared "The Boy..." and "Rubber Ring" against the versions on an original RT World Won't Listen CD, and sure enough, both songs were a little faster on the 12" compared with the CD. Has anyone else noticed this?
Slamdance_Cosmopolis Oct 14, 2018
referencing The Boy With The Thorn In His Side (12", Single, SRC, label variation) 0-20392
Any idea when this version was pressed? This is the version I have and I bought this when it was released.
mrartiefufkin Jan 27, 2016
referencing The Boy With The Thorn In His Side (12", 45 RPM, Single, CBS) RTT 191
My version does not include a ℗ line credit to Warner Bros. Music and its unlikely that any would as the ℗ line refers to the owner of the sound recording, which was Rough Trade at the time. Rough Trade often left the ℗ line credit off the Smiths singles. The © line credit to Warners on the label, which is common on many of the Smiths releases, is technically an error by Rough Trade as the © line should designate the owner of the artwork and packaging (presumably Rough Trade). Rough Trade seemed to erroneously use the © line to acknowledge Morrissey & Marr's publishing rights were assigned to Warner Bros. Music.
mrartiefufkin Jan 27, 2016
referencing The Boy With The Thorn In His Side (7", 45 RPM, Single, EMI, Push-out Centre) RT 191
I have this version with the push-out centre but with different matrix/runouts on each side. The are similar to the UK 7"listed with the solid centre but with a couple of small changes - all hand etched and slightly different catalogue numbers:
Matrix / Runout (Side A, hand-etched): RT 191 A2
Matrix / Runout (Side A, hand-etched): ARTY BLOODY FARTY
Matrix / Runout (Side A, hand-etched): MPO
Matrix / Runout (Side B, hand-etched): RT 191 B2
Matrix / Runout (Side B, hand-etched): “IS THAT CLEVER” JM
Matrix / Runout (Side B, hand-etched): MPO
Loanesloan Nov 23, 2014
referencing The Boy With The Thorn In His Side (7", 45 RPM, Single, EMI, Push-out Centre) RT 191
Matrix: A-1U-1-1 & B-1U-1-1-15
Christopher_Jion Sep 26, 2005
Edited 19 years ago
referencing The Boy With The Thorn In His Side (7", 45 RPM, Single, Stereo) MD 5294
"Asleep" is possibly the saddest song ever written in the history of music. Its a total suicide song. The first time I heard it when I was a teenager - I just cried my eyes out. Its amazing how Morrissey and Marr could write words and sounds and could connect directly with your heart.

I'd challenge anyone to find a sadder, more depressing song.
I've searched long and hard, and I haven't found one that can compare.

This song just might be The Smiths at their purest.