Stop Me

Stop Me is a compilation album by English band The Smiths. It compiles the band's then-latest (but not last) three singles and their B-sides in reverse-chronological order. Stop Me was released in January 1988 by their Japanese record company, RCA Victor.

About the album

In 1987 The Smiths' UK record company, Rough Trade, planned to release three singles from the newly recorded Strangeways, Here We Come album. In August 1987 "Girlfriend in a Coma" was scheduled to be released as planned when news broke that the band had split up. This presented Rough Trade with a problem as no new material would be available to complement the other singles on their B-sides. It was decided to release the singles as planned, using archive material for B-sides. Singer Morrissey remained involved in the singles' sleeve design.

The second single off Strangeways, Here We Come was scheduled to be "Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before", an up-tempo pop-rock song. The song contains the lines

and Rough Trade deemed it unwise to release the song in the wake of the Hungerford massacre, fearing a BBC Radio ban. In the UK, "I Started Something I Couldn't Finish" was chosen instead, but other countries (United States, Canada, Australia, Netherlands) opted to keep "Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before", releasing it in 7", 12" and CD single formats.

Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before

"Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before" is a 1987 song by The Smiths.

Smiths original

The Smiths' song, written by the usual combination of Morrissey and Johnny Marr, came out on the group's 1987 album Strangeways, Here We Come.

The song was originally supposed to be released as a single and a music video was filmed by the director Tim Broad, and opens with a picture of the poet Oscar Wilde hanging on a brick wall, and features scenes of the group-iconic Salford Lads Club and surrounding areas being bicycled through by the lads and friends. Because of a reference to "plan a mass murder" in one lyric it was banned from daytime airplay by the BBC because of the then recent Hungerford massacre, so the band decided not to release it in the UK, however it was released in various other regions including North America, Europe, Australia and Japan.

"Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before" was subsequently included on the compilation album Stop Me and on The Very Best of The Smiths. The song is also included in the music game Rock Band 3.

Billy Ocean (album)

Billy Ocean is the 1976 debut album from Billy Ocean, featuring the hit singles, "Love Really Hurts Without You", "L.O.D. (Love on Delivery)" and "Stop Me (If You've Heard it All Before)". All three songs appeared in the UK Singles Chart in 1976.

Track listing

All tracks composed by Ben Findon and Leslie Charles; except where indicated

Arranged by Ben Findon, Billy Ocean and Graham Preskett

References