From the NME.
The first-ever demo by The Smiths has surfaced online after the 1982 recording was placed on YouTube, apparently by their original bassist.
Snippets of ‘I Want A Boy For My Birthday’ had circulated among the band’s fan community for several years. But the version seemingly posted by early bassist Dale Hibbert is the first time the full three-minute version has been heard.
‘I Want A Boy For My Birthday’ is a cover of ’60s girl group The Cookies, who released their original version as a B-side in 1963.
Morrissey and Johnny Marr made their version in 1982 on Marr’s TEAC tape recorder so that Hibbert could learn it for the band’s first official demo recordings.
Hibbert left the band after The Smiths’ first gig as Morrissey and Marr were unhappy with his playing. He was replaced by Andy Rourke, who became the band’s permanent bassist.
The existence of the demo was only uncovered in 2013 in Simon Goddard’s Smiths biography Songs That Saved Your Life. Marr said in the book: “I’d never heard the song before, but I thought ‘Great, this will freak them out!’ I was really happy to encourage it.”
Hibbert left the music industry after The Smiths. He went on to run a bar in Manchester and now runs a vegetarian café, Kava, in Todmorden, West Yorkshire, with his wife Svet.
The leaking of the demo comes as Morrissey prepares to release his new album ‘I Am Not A Dog On A Chain’ in March. Marr recently released ‘Single Life’, a box set which compiles the ten 7″ singles he’s released as a solo artist.
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THE SMITHS How Soon Is Now? (Rare 1985 Portuguese wide centered 7" vinyl single, also including Well I Wonder, in a thin card picture sleeve. The sleeve displays some general wear whilst the vinyl displays only light signs of play, overall an excellent example TM/RT176)
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THE SMITHS Girlfriend In A Coma (1987 UK 3-track 12" single, with 'Everybody Is A Flasher At Heart' & 'And Never More Shall Be So' etched in the run-out grooves. Also includes a version of Cilla Black's Work Is A Four-Letter Word & I Keep MineHidden, the last song the band recorded, Shelagh Delaney picture sleeve with black die-cut inner. The sleeve shows some minor shelfwear & the vinyl grades Very Good with a number of light cosmetic marks and few signs of play RTT197)
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THE SMITHS Hatful Of Hollow (Original 1984 UK Rough Trade 16-track vinyl LP, featuring the 1983 John Peel & David Jensen Show sessions, along with the singles Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now and William It Was Really Nothing, housed in a gatefold picture sleeve with hype sticker attached, complete with full glossy lyric inner. The sleeve shows minimal wear and the vinyl is Near Mint ROUGH76)
- The Smiths - Hatful Of Hollow - 180gm - EX - UK - vinyl LP - £25.00, $31.50, €30.25 (New Item) (arrived 14-Feb-2025 10:35)on February 22, 2025 at 10:16 pm
THE SMITHS Hatful Of Hollow (2012 UK/EU issue of the classic 1984 16-track LP pressed on 180gram Vinyl, featuring a collection of 1983 John Peel & David Jenson Show sessions plus hit singles such as Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now & William, It Was Really Nothing. Comes housed in a deluxe gatefold picture sleeve with the lyric inner. The sleeve & the vinyl are in superb Excellent condition)
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