The Queen is Dead

Featuring Morrissey's sharp lyricism, Johnny Marr's chorus-steeped guitar and the propulsive rhythms of Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce, the 1986 single is a chaotic ...

The very idea of the monarchy and the Queen of England is being reinforced and made to seem more useful than it really is.” ‘The Queen Is Dead’ was one of the very last tracks to be put to tape and was recorded on the same day [failed attempt to get Linda McCartney](https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/five-songs-linda-mccartney-wings/) to record a piano part and a technical glitch that forced the band to re-record the single at London’s Wessex Studios, ‘The Queen Is Dead’ was released on June 16th, 1986. [1986,](https://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/the-full-story-behhind-the-smiths-the-queen-is-dead-from-the-band-6822) Marr explained that it was heavily influenced by his fascination with America’s underground garage scene of the 1960s: “I had an idea to do a song that had the aggression of the Detroit garage bands, ‘cos I’m such a Stooges fan,” he said. [The Smiths’](https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/tags/the-smiths/) iconic recordings, few are more demonstrative of the Manchester outfit’s collective vision than ‘The Queen Is Dead’. Featuring Morrissey’s sharp lyricism, Johnny Marr’s chorus-steeped guitar and the propulsive rhythms of Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce, the 1986 single is a chaotic swirl of fervent anti-traditionalism, garage riffs and effects-driven madness.