There is a cover version that never goes out

(The Erlend Oye and Neuroticfish electronic reinterpretations deserve some note on that level too but Schneider TM kills em both.)

I played that Schneider TM a lot when it came out, haven't listened to it since. Pretty sweet. Of the other ones I only listened to Noel Gallagher and I'm sure that's the worst one

Thanks for the thread tip, Raggett! You've worked hard here it seems.

I saw the Gallagher once and it was stupid and pointless.

Oye is an ugly jerk, so not him.

I would probably vote for one sung by a beautiful girl. If there is one then tell me which one it is and I'll watch it.

Morrissey's version at the end of his Manchester video (2004!) is quite good I think.

The original Smiths demo, in G rather than E, is worth hearing - M. has to stretch to sing the chorus.

Also any Smiths live take brings out the lead guitar better than the record (where that lead part is on keyboard).

Actually my favourite alternative version is the INSTRUMENTAL Smiths rehearsal - remember the slow opening, the repeatedly bashed and tested toms, the halting chords, before they cruise off?

Alexander Sjöström/Saga Fredriksson:

This one is really the Lucksmiths' cover. They do better with their own "There is a boy that never goes out."

I would probably vote for one sung by a beautiful girl. If there is one then tell me which one it is and I'll watch it.

Try the Stand Up It's Thursday Night one, then. A rather different version musically.

I will!

The Lucksmiths' version is dull and wooden, as one would expect.

I'd like to hear the original Smiths demo version. Where would I find it?

I've only heard it once: Simon Goddard played it to the audience at a Smiths conference in 2005. Within two years, he promised us all, all this material will be out. He was, of course, wrong.

Gah! I came across this trove of rare recordings recently - I was hoping it'd be buried in there somewhere. I read once that those conferences were filled with fans standing around on their own, hugging the walls and too shy to talk to anyone. Not at a Smiths event, surely?

(I've never dared go to one myself)

I'm only aware of one conference, and I did read a trashy, semi-literate Guardian story about, written - well, typed - by one Gr*ace D*nt, that said that. It was utterly false. The only people standing on their own and hiding behind the potted plants were the journalists.

re. your trove of rare recordings: I clicked on the links, but how does one access the music? is it possible to get music directly off it? I don't have so much experience with these things.

It's an awful site for navigating around, but I did manage to get Thank Your Lucky Stars, which is really good. Click 'download' on the top row, then click on the sleeve of the one you're interested in, and then ctrl-clicking the green 'MP3' symbols beside the song names loaded them down track-by-track straight onto my desktop

And it's free??

There doesn't appear to be a catch, no

Thanks for that, Ismael -- I am trying to imagine what the hell the Irvine Meadows show in 1986 must have been like.

Greg Baldwin and the Aesthetics:

Molly and Alice:

My friend in HS maintained that Biz's cover of this was the best song of all time.

Biz Markie?!?!

What would have Biz Markie's version been like, really.

Miley:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_CmGK2UDWw