the world won't listen | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com . Retrieved 24 April 2020.

In effect, the album performed a similar role to 1984’s Hatful Of Hollow. Assembling B-sides, killer radio sessions and a couple of the band’s recent hit singles, that earlier title had bridged the gap between The Smiths’ debut album and Meat Is Murder, while The World Won’t Listen was the perfect stop-gap for fans waiting for the band to follow The Queen Is Deadwith Strangeways, Here We Come. Listen to The World Won’t Listen here.The album was released on 23 February 1987. [6] It first charted on 3 March 1987, remaining in the top 100 for 15 weeks and peaking at No. 2. [15] The World Won't Listen returned to the UK top 100 for two weeks in 1995, following its re-release by WEA. [16] In 2011, The World Won't Listen was included in the Smiths' compilation box set Complete. [12] This marked the first time the album was officially released in the US. The group were still the darlings of the British music press, but articles alleging everything from racist connotations in ‘Panic’ to potential splits began to increase paranoia within the band. Marr wanted a break, but instead, decided to leave the group in the summer of 1987 following the completion of Strangeways. With business affairs in disarray and no clear direction forward without Marr, Morrissey, Rourke, and Joyce decided to split up a short time later. The problem was that in 1987 the impending demise of the band saw Rough Trade falling over themselves to release whatever material they had in their archives – and, let's be honest, a compilation of rarities and B-sides was a guaranteed winner. But, for some unfathomable reason, two albums saw the light of day: _The World Won't Listen_ was a UK release while _Louder Than Bombs_ hit the stores in the US. So I come along several years later and in my ignorance buy them both! Goddard, S, 2009. Mozipedia: The Encyclopaedia of Morrissey and the Smiths. 1st ed. India: Ebury Press. P. 227. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrateded.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p.279. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.

My highlight choices are going to skip over the cuts from The Queen Is Dead and Meat Is Murder, since they overshadow the best use of this release as a collection of B-sides and single-only releases. There's just something about the conciseness of _The World Won't Listen._ "Panic", "Ask", "London", "Bigmouth Strikes Again", "Shakespeare's Sister", "There Is A Light That Never Goes Out", "Shoplifters Of The World Unite", "The Boy With The Thorn In His Side"….the quality is simply unrelenting. The instrumental "Money Changes Everything" does act like a divider between the brilliant and the rest, but undeniably stunning are "Asleep", "Half A Person", "That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore" and "You Just Haven't Earned It Yet, Baby". I even have a soft spot for their cover of Twinkle's "Golden Lights". Goddard, S, 2013. Songs That Saved Your Life - The Art of The Smiths 1982-87. 2nd ed. U.K.: Titan Books. P. 224. The Smiths | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com . Retrieved 24 April 2020.a b Goddard, S, 2013. Songs That Saved Your Life - The Art of The Smiths 1982-87. 2nd ed. U.K.: Titan Books. P. 217.

Craig Gannon – rhythm guitar on "Panic", "Ask", "London", "Half a Person", "You Just Haven't Earned It Yet, Baby" and "Golden Lights", lead guitar on coda of "London", [21] mandolin on "Golden Lights" [22] First released in the UK on 23 February 1987, The World Won’t Listen was originally conceived as a simple compilation album featuring all The Smiths’ singles from 1985’s Shakespeare’s Sister through to the band’s then latest, Shoplifters Of The World Unite, along with their respective flipsides. Goddard, S, 2013. Songs That Saved Your Life - The Art of The Smiths 1982-87. 2nd ed. U.K.: Titan Books. P. 356. Goddard, S, 2013. Songs That Saved Your Life - The Art of The Smiths 1982-87. 2nd ed. U.K.: Titan Books. P. 171. Goddard, S, 2013. Songs That Saved Your Life - The Art of The Smiths 1982-87. 2nd ed. U.K.: Titan Books. P. 222.a b "This Day in 1987: The Smiths, The World Won't Listen | Rhino". www.rhino.com . Retrieved 24 April 2020. Fletcher, T, 2012. A Light That Never Goes Out: The Enduring Saga of the Smiths. 1st ed. U.K: Random House. P. 520. Stephen Street – additional drum machine programming on "London", sound effects on "Asleep", [25] sampling on "Rubber Ring" [26]