Cover Stories: No. 1 - The Smiths

What Difference does it make?
The Smiths
Single cover, January 1984

Morrissey was the man making the calls on the iconic, yet often bewildering, artwork that graced all of The Smiths' releases.

His photo selection was as ambiguous as his lyrics, tantalisingly hinting at what he was actually warbling on about.

This single featured a still from the creppy 1965 film The Collector, which was about a chap who collected hot chicks - rather than say, stamps - and kept them locked in his basement.

Gracing the cover is actor Terence Stamp holding a pad soaked in chloroform, which is what his character utilised to woo the ladies for his collection.

So...do you like my pad?

Stamp originally objected to his image being used, forcing The Smiths' record label to pull the single and Morrissey to dress up like Stamp for a hastily-produced replacement cover.

Of course dear old Morrissey wouldn't hold anything as vile as chloroform so he's pictured instead with a much more genteel glass of milk. The likeness, however, is uncanny.

Got milk?

Immediately regretting the switch, Morrissey approached Stamp again who eventually relented, allowing the original to be reinstated.

These days, the Morrissey version is the more desirable amongst, ahem, the collectors, and as such is also incredibly rare.