Bigmouth Strikes Again
Money Changes Everything

UK 7" [Rough Trade RT192]
UK 7" [Rhino UK RHN192; 2008 reissue]
Australia 7" [CBS RTANZ015]
France 7" [Virgin 90259]
Holland 7" [Megadisc MD5286]
New Zealand 7" [CBS RTANZ015]

Bigmouth Strikes Again
Money Changes Everything
Unloveable

UK 12" [Rough Trade RTT192]
Australia 12" [CBS RTANZ12012]
Holland 12" [Megadisc MD125286]
Portugal 12" [Transmedia TM/RTT192]
Spain 12" [Nuevos Medios 41-196M]
Sweden 12" [MNW RTT192]

Bigmouth Strikes Again
Panic
Money Changes Everything
The Draize Train
Unloveable

Greece 12" [Virgin VG2071Z]

Additional information:
"Bigmouth Strikes Again" was released later in 1986 in Greece as an EP featuring tracks from the UK "Bigmouth Strikes Again" and "Panic" singles. View artwork at the left of this page. The 12" is sometimes mistaken for a Russian release because of the Greek text on its cover (Greek and Russian alphabets are both cyrillic-derived).

The 2008 reissue of the 7" single by Rhino UK was also included in the "Smiths Singles box" which compiled the band's first 10 UK singles (plus two bonuses). On each of the five weeks leading to the release of the latter box, two singles from it were put up for sale individually. Collectors could therefore buy two single reissues every week, or wait at the end of the programme to get all of them in the box, alongside the two bonus 7"s.

Artwork information:
James Dean photographed in 1948 by Nelva Jean Thomas. Incorrectly credited to David Loehr in the sleeve notes. Loehr supplied the photo (as well as the one used on the "Strangeways Here We Come" album), hence the mix-up.
This is one of only two singles with only the word "Smiths" on the cover. The other single is "Panic".

Etchings on vinyl:
UK 7" and 12":
BEWARE THE WRATH TO COME / TALENT BORROWS, GENIUS STEALS
The a-side etching was seen on a banner in "Hobson's Choice", one of Morrissey's loved movies. The b-side etching is a line from Oscar Wilde.

Additional release date information:
UK: 22 May 1986
Greek EP: August 1986
UK 2008 reissue: 8 December 2008

Chart peak information:
UK: 26
Holland: 26

Promotion:
UK: White label copies of the 12" format were distributed to radio for promotion of this single. Some copies included a 12"x24" promo poster, others a press sheet and a promo photo. A very limited number of stock copies of the 7" were also sent to media with a plugger sticker on them.

Australia: Promos were produced in both 7" and 12" formats. The 7" had an added promo warning printed on the now standard red and green labels, and the record sleeve was stamped in gold on the back. The promo 12" sleeves were also stamped, but the records' labels were unaltered. A various artists sampler cassette titled "What's Instore" (SAMP113C) was also sent to radio to promote this single.

France: Stock copies of the 7" were stamped with a promo warning so they could be used for promotion of the single. The stamp states "Disque gratuit interdit a la vente", the words forming an embossed circle in the top left corner of the sleeve.

Greece: Some stock copies of this 12" were stamped SAMPLE NOT FOR SALE on the a-side label.

New Zealand: Stock copies of the 7" were distributed with a DEMONSTRATION RECORD sticker on the b-side label.

Quotes

"I would call it a parody if that sounded less like self-celebration, which it definitely wasn't. It was just a really funny song."
- Morrissey in Melody Maker 26 September 1987

Reviews

"The Smiths' self-mockingly-titled 'Big Mouth [sic] Strikes Again' is another guitar-laden dazzler. How anyone can croon lines like 'Sweetheart, I was only joking when I said/You should be bludgeoned in your bed' and convey warmth, vulnerability, and irony at the same time is a continuing mystery. Also check out the 12-inch's flip, a pretty ballad called 'Unloveable'."
- Creem

"The Smiths' 'Bigmouth Strikes Again' finds Morrissey making the unlikely claim, 'Now I now how Joan of Arc felt,' and moaning, 'I've got no right to take my place in the human race.' Fortunately, guitarist Johnny Marr kicks ass, and the whole group rocks harder than they did on the last album."
- Spin

"It's as disappointing as baked beans for Christmas dinner. OK, so the main parts are all present and correct, but does the light of Sandie's life still expect us to swallow it whole? 'And now I know how Joan of Arc felt,' he oscillates mildly. On the evidence, Joan Collins seems more likely."
- Danny Kelly, New Musical Express, 17 May 1986