There was something I hated about The Boy With The Thorn In His Side when it was released as the ninth single by The Smiths - it had a promo video.This was the band that had vowed never to make such a thing. Indeed Morrissey had been vehement in the early days of the band that videos were the perfect example of image over substance. And those of us who really championed the band and held them up as something truly unique in an increasingly shallow and materialistic world felt badly let down at the time. Especially when the promo was such a tame affair:-
But over time, I've been able to divorce the song from the promo debacle and accept that while its not as immediate as some of their earlier 45s, this is another wonderful bit of music written by Johnny Marr with a Morrissey lyric that is a clever attack on those in the music press and wider industry who still didn't believe he or the band were genuine articles.
mp3 : The Smiths - The Boy With The Thorn In His Side
Released in September 1985, it reached #25 in the singles charts - so much for the idea that a promo video would be of some help. A marginally different version would appear on the LP The Queen Is Dead some nine months later, which neatly allows me to offer you this cover version by yesterday's TVV featured artist:-
mp3 : Bis - The Boy With The Thorn In His Side
Taken from The Smiths Is Dead, a CD put together in 1996 to commemorate the 10th Anniversary of the release of The Queen Is Dead.
Happy Listening
5 comments:
Not sure I really understand this comment as The Smiths had already made videos. This Charming Man for instance was one of the most iconic videos of the eighties with Morissey swinging the flowers around.
Anon...
The promo for 'This Charming Man' was made by Channel 4 to show on the TV series 'The Tube'. Only in later years did it come to be regarded as an 'official' video.
Morrissey in particular was vehemently opposed to the making of music videos paid for by record labels and up until the release of 'Thorn', The Smiths had refused all efforts by Rough Trade to do so, prefering instead to promote their 45s with appearances on all sorts of TV shows.
Here's a couple of quotes from 1984:-
"The Smiths will never make a video because our music speaks for iteslf. I think that by now people have accepted the fact that they are never going to see us in a video - ever"
"We will never make a video as long as we live"
The first was Andy Rourke and the second was Morrissey.
That they did such an about-turn was a big shock to many fans.
Although time has dulled the feeling to the point where I can't now understand why it ever bothered me, I too remember the sensation of utter bathos espying the video for this one dull autumn morning on GMTV, just before the weather with Wincey. Still not sure why they bothered, although the will-this-do? tedium of the Girlfriend In A Coma video is actually worse, IMHO. And this may sound heretical, but Jarman's There Is A Light vid is total bobbins too! So there.
yrs aye
DMcA
You think you've got problems! I just popped in for the excitingly billed IT'S FRIDAY....I'M IN LOVE WITH GREAT SCOTTISH SINGLES (Part xx).
oops!!!
thought no-one had noticed it was published and then removed.
Tune in next Friday.......
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