How Soon Is Now? (6:45)

“How Soon Is Now?” is a 1984 song written by Morrissey and Johnny Marr and first released by their band The Smiths. Johnny Marr described it as “possibly our most enduring record. It’s most people’s favourite, I think”, however, it is not generally considered to be representative of the band’s style.

Originally a B-side with “Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want” on the 12” single version of “William, It Was Really Nothing” in 1984, the song was subsequently featured on the compilation album Hatful of Hollow and on U. S., Australian and Warner UK editions of Meat Is Murder. It was belatedly released as an A-side in the United Kingdom in 1985, reaching #24 on the singles chart.

Although a club favourite, “How Soon Is Now?” did not chart as well as writers Morrissey and Marr had expected. Most commentators put this down to the fact that the song had been out on vinyl in a number of forms before being released as a single in its own right. The original track ran for nearly 7 minutes; however, the 7” single edit cut the length down to under four minutes. The complete version is generally used on compilations.