This single is the first one to credit Warner Bros as the publishers. The credits found on the back of the 7" and 12" are slightly different. According to the 7" sleeve the songs were recorded at Matrix in London in February 1984, while the 12" states that the recording was done at Island & Powerplant Studios in London, in March 1984. In fact the a-side was first attempted at Matrix, then recorded at Island Studios along with 12" bonus Girl Afraid. When the single was reissued on cd-single in 1988, the credit was corrected to mention both studios.

UK 7" [Rough Trade RT156]
Rigid sleeve, view front and back from the left menu. Grey labels with yellow text featuring the rubber-stamp Rough Trade logo. There are the two known versions of this format:

• push-out centre
  Initial pressing of the 7" has a push-out centre, as requested by Morrissey.
  RT 156 A-2U-1-1-12 / RT 156 B-1U-1-1-1
  RT 156 A-2U-1-1-10 / RT 156 B-1U-1-1-12
  RT 156 A-2U-1-2-2 / RT 156 B-1U-1-1-8

• solid centre
  Later pressings, or perhaps pressings for a foreign market such as Ireland, have a solid centre.
  RT 156 A-2U-1-3-13 / RT 156 B-1U-1-2-20
  RT 156 A-2U-1-2-11 / RT 156 B-1U-1-1-1

UK 12" [Rough Trade RTT156]
The 12" features very slightly alternate artwork to the 7" format (view left). The labels are grey with yellow text. The record is slipped inside a white paper inner sleeve. There are two versions of the record out there:

• original pressing with longer version
  Initial pressing of the 12" features a slightly longer version of "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now". It is believed that this may have been a mishap, and quickly corrected. Collectors browsing in record shops are able to recognize this pressing without having to play the record by looking at the matrix number etched between the run-out grooves (RTT 156 A1 on side A). It appears that the credits on the back of the sleeve for most copies of this variation are as on the back of the 7": "recorded at Matrix (London) Feb 1984 □ engineered by Bob Potter" instead of the usual 12" credit "recorded at Island & Powerplant studios (London March 1984)". However, some copies have been found in the "Island" sleeve.
  RTT 156 A1 / RTT 156 B1

• second pressing with intended version
  The version of "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now" on further pressings of the 12" is the same one found on the 7" format and later collected on albums such as "Hatful Of Hollow" and "Louder Than Bombs". The back of the sleeve credits "recorded at Island & Powerplant studios (London March 1984)".
  RTT 156 A2 / RTT 156 B1
  RTT 156 A3 / RTT 156 B1

UK sheet music [Warner Bros Music Ltd and IMP 20284]
The sheet music for this single includes tabs to the three songs featured, and the cover shows a variation on the single's artwork. View here.

UK 7" - jukebox issue [Rough Trade RT156]
The text layout on the label of the "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now" jukebox 7" is the same as the original version described above, but the record has a large opening in the centre. It doesn't come with a picture sleeve unless someone found an orphan one to slip it in.
RT 156 A-2U-1-1-5 / RT 156 B-1U-1-1-5

UK 7" - white label promo [Rough Trade RT156]
The single was mainly promoted with white label copies of the 7" record. These have a push-out centre, unlike the proper test pressings (described below) which also have white labels, but a solid centre. Some if not all were stamped in ink with 'A' on the a-side label. They were distributed inside a black custom die-cut sleeve. Some copies have a photocopy of the stock label on the front of the sleeve and a gold Scott Piering (plugger) sticker beneath it. Some were mailed out with a press release showing a photocopy of the single's artwork on one side and release info, prices and tour dates on the other. Some copies came with a promo postcard showing a close-up of cover star Viv Nicholson's head (see description below).
RT 156 A-2U-1-1-2 / RT 156 B-1U-1-1-3

UK 7" - 'stock' promo + press release [Rough Trade RT156]
Stock copies of the 7" single were also made into promos. These promos have a gold Scott Piering contact info sticker on the back of the sleeve. Copies that were presumably intended for retail come with a press release showing a photocopy of the single's artwork on one side and release info, prices and upcoming tour dates on the other. Copies intended for media come with a different press release, this one 1-sided and printed on white A4 paper. Under the APPEARING logo at the top are given the two formats' track listing, the release date, two paragraphs of release information and an additional paragraph about upcoming concert and television appearances.

UK 12" - promo [Rough Trade RT156]
It appears that stock 12"s may have also served as promos for retail, just like some copies of the second promo 7" variation described above. It is unclear if anything on the sleeve or labels marked them as promos, but they were sent out with a press release showing a photocopy of the single's artwork on one side and release info, prices and upcoming tour dates on the other. Some copies may have also included one or a few promo postcards. Some copies did come with a promo badge, perhaps the one described below.

UK 30cm x 60cm promo poster (12" x 24")
View here.

UK promo postcard
View here. The back has information on the release and on cover star Viv Nicholson, with plugger and Rough Trade contact details.

UK badge
A grey badge with the "The Smiths" in yellow was officially produced by Rough Trade for some unknown purpose (retail? promotion?). It is assumed to be associated with this single because of the colours and font used in its design.

UK 7" - test pressing [Rough Trade RT156]
Three different test pressings of this format have been reported. Two of these are one-sided (no music on b-side despite the presence of grooves). All have solid centres. White labels with a push-out centre are promos, described further up this page. Both are usually found in black paper sleeves.

• alternate version of title track - one-sided
  This variation has plain white labels and features the 3:50 version of "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now". The name of the band, song title, label, catalogue number are often handwritten on the a-side label, and some copies were also stamped with the letter A in a circle.
  RT 156 A-1U-1-1-1

• alternate version of title track - two sided
  The a-side of this is as above, but the b-side features "Suffer Little Children" instead of test tones. Some copies have release info handwritten on the front label, others don't. This has been seen in a white custom die-cut sleeve, but it is not impossible that some may be found in black ones.
  RT 156 A-1U-1-1-1 / RT 156 B-1U-1-1-1

• intended version of title track - one-sided
  The label on this version is stamped '27 APR 1984' and features the basic 3:34 version of the title track. It is usually found inside a black custom die-cut sleeve.
  RT 156 A-2U-1-1-1

• alternate version of title track
  This version features the longer version of the title track mentioned in the paragraph above describing the stock 12".
  RTT.156 A1 / RTT-156 B1

• intended version of title track
  This version features the basic 3:34 version of the title track.
  RTT-156 A2 / RTT-156 B1

UK 7" - 2008 reissue 7" test pressing [Rhino UK RHN156]
The white label test pressing of this item has so far only been sold as a set with the test pressings of the other 7"s included in the "Singles Box". It is therefore described in the latter item's collectors appendix.

UK 7" - 2008 reissue 10" acetate [Rhino UK RHN156]
The 10" metal-based lacquer reference acetate for the 2008 7" reissue listed above comes housed in a 12" grey Heathmans Mastering sleeve with printed custom studio labels on the front (white with Heathmans Mastering logo on top, band name, title, catalogue numbers and '21/9/2008'). The matrix number is handwritten in the centre of the disc.

UK proof of alternate 12" sleeve
A proof of the 12" picture sleeve has made it into the hands of at least one collector. It shows the front and back side by side, with proofing bar. This differs from the actual 12" artwork in the credits found at the bottom, on the back side. They include "words by Morrissey", credit Matrix as the recording studio instead of Island & Powerplant Studios, and mention the name of engineer Bob Potter. The latter two differences are usually found in the 7" credits but not in the 12" ones.

UK proof of 7" sleeve
This ones show the 7" sleeve final artwork, front and back side by side, including the flaps that go from the front over the back.

Australia CD5 [Festival D1073]
Although CBS had passed on releasing this single when it first came out in 1984, Festival followed in the steps of Rough Trade UK and reissued it on cd-single in 1988. However they didn't quite follow the Rough Trade designs and the packaging was done more cheaply than in the UK, so the Australian cd-singles almost look like bootlegs from the era. The front artwork was cropped to fit the jewelcases (the UK cd-singles were released in the thin cases that used wider artwork) and the colours were not reproduced as well. Fortunately the cd label's 2-colour horizontal stripe design remained as in the UK.

Denmark promo 7" [Rough Trade RT156]
This single was promoted in Denmark with copies of the UK 7" with orange Danish press release and a postcard showing a close-up of cover star Viv Nicholson's face (see UK promo postcard above for description).

France 12" [Virgin 80110]
The sleeve of the French 12" is similar to the UK one with a few minor differences in catalogue number and credits at the back. The label is a beautiful silver with black text. The inner sleeve is a plain white one.

France 12" promo [Virgin 80110]
Stock copies of the 12" 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 upper right corner of the sleeve.

Germany 7" [Intercord INT110.166]
The 7" sleeve is similar to its UK counterpart, but it is made of paper. The backs adds the Intercord logo, credits and catalogue number. The label is the generic blue Intercord one.

Germany 12" [RT Deutschland RTD015T]
Once again the Rough Trade Deutschland 12" is a much more beautiful item, closer to the standards of UK releases than the Intercord 7". The sleeve is nothing unusual bar the mandatory local credit variations, but the record's label is very striking, all black with orange text.

Germany 7" promo + info sheet [Intercord INT110.166]
Promos of this single were stock copies with a white circular 'Promotional Copy' sticker on the front, dispatched to media with a yellow and white 1-sided INFO sheet. The track listing, running times and catalogue number are given in the yellow border at the top of the press sheet, the date "06/84" at the bottom of the release information in paragraph form and the Intercord logo and contact information in the yellow border at the bottom. These 7"s may have had an additional green sticker affixed to one of the labels.

Germany 12" promo with press sheet [RT Deutschland RTD015T]
Stock copies of the German 12" were made into promos by being distributed with a 1-sided press sheet. The press sheet has a Rough Trade Records GmbH address header, 2 paragraphs of release and band information, and is printed on white paper.

Germany 12" test pressing [RT Deutschland RTD015T]
A white label test pressing of the 12" has made it into the hands of at least one collector. The record features a plain white label with the name of the band and the catalogue number on it.

Holland 7" [Ariola RT156]
The Dutch 7" single is very similar to its British counterpart. One has to take the record out of its sleeve to find the more obvious differences. Unlike the UK, the Dutch record has a large hole in the centre, instead of the UK's push-out or solid centres. The label is mustard yellow with dark brown text. The layout is the classic Rough Trade UK layout, but the label features the additional mention of STEMRA and catalog number 08-010818-00. The latter number and a brief Megadisc/Ariola credit were also added to the back of the sleeve, which would otherwise be identical to the UK 7" sleeve back.

Holland 12" [Ariola/Megadisc RTT156]
The Dutch 12" is particularly interesting to collectors as three different versions of it have been spotted. The order in which they were pressed is unknown.

• The labels on the most common version are mustard yellow with dark brown text, just like the 7" labels. The text layout is the classic Rough Trade UK one. The back of the sleeve is closer to yellow.

• The labels on the second version are the same as above, but the text is light grey instead of dark brown, which makes it much more difficult to read. The back of the sleeve is closer to orange.

• The colours of the labels on the third version were reversed, so the text is yellow over grey. The back of the sleeve is closer to orange.

Japan 12" [Tokuma Japan 15RTL-6]
The Japanese 12" is packaged very much like the UK 12". The front of the sleeve adds the catalogue number in small characters in the top right corner. The back layout is almost the same but the catalogue number was corrected, the credits were extended with Japanese ones and a Rough Trade logo was added in the bottom left corner. The labels are grey with yellow text organised in the classic Rough Trade UK layout. The obi is orange-yellow with white text. Its back space is used to advertise the Japanese Smiths catalogue at that point in time: the "This Charming Man", "What Difference Does It Make?" and "Hand In Glove" by Sandie Shaw 12"s and the self-titled debut album. The record is slipped inside a round-bottom anti-static inner sleeve. A one-sided paper insert is also included, featuring a photo of the band with Morrissey with his arms in the air (as if signalling that it's five minutes to two o'clock), lyrics to the title track in Japanese and what looks like a bio.

Up to this point Tokuma Japan had released domestically every single the Smiths had put out on 12" format in the UK. Unfortunately they would stop after this one, skip the next four singles and release just one more, "The Boy With The Thorn In His Side" near the end of 1985. It is a shame that they didn't keep up with Rough Trade UK because Japanese 12" singles are of very high quality and make beautiful collectors items.

Japan 12" promo [Tokuma Japan 15RTL-6]
The promotional version of the previous item is identical to the stock one, but with two exceptions: it has the usual 3-character promo mark in black above 'A SIDE' on the label, and a white 'SAMPLE NOT FOR SALE' sticker in the top right corner of the sleeve.

Philippines 7" [DVNA Products RTR-86/1]
It is quite a surprise that a Smiths single was released in the Philippines so early in the band's career. Perhaps the single's success in the UK prompted DVNA Products to release it in the Philippines. The record has never been seen in a picture sleeve. It features a large centre hole and the labels are grey with yellow text organised along the classic Rough Trade UK layout. This item is rarely seen without someone's signature or handwriting on one of the labels. It is actually rarely seen in good condition, probably because of the lack of a picture sleeve.

Portugal 12" [Transmedia TM/RT156]
The Portuguese 12" is very similar to its British counterpart. The colours and text layout are the same on the labels and on the back of the sleeve. Only minor Transmedia credit alterations mark this as a Portuguese pressing.

Spain 12" [Nuevos Medios 41-092M]
The Spanish 12" seems to have been pressed in the UK as the inscriptions between the run-out grooves are the same. The packaging, colours and text layout on the labels and on the back of the sleeve are the same as on the British edition. Only the addition of additional Nuevos Medios credits and logos mark this as a Spanish pressing.

Sweden 7" [MNW RT156]
This item, like many other Swedish releases, is almost identical to its British equivalent. The vinyl was apparently pressed in the UK (the matrix etchings between the run-out grooves are the same). The sleeve graphics are identical except for the additional 'SIB Sweden' logo on the back, in the lower right corner. Instead of thick card, the sleeve is made of thinner paper with a skin-like texture. The record's center is a solid one instead of a push-out type. The label looks the same, but it is white with black text, and features the additional 'n©b' logo under the Rough Trade one. No label is given, but most Swedish releases are on MNW. "n©b" isn't a label, but the company that manages publishing rights in Sweden.