"Singles Box" [7"edition]
collectors appendix

 

12x7" box set [Warner UK/Rhino UK 2564-69320-7]
This a clamshell type of box. The top section is attached to the bottom of the box on the left side so it opens like a book. Front and back artwork viewable from the menu on the left. If it hasn't been removed, the front usually has a red rectangular sticker in the bottom left corner advertising the content in yellow and white text. This is the only place on the front where the name "Singles Box" is found.The four sides are white. The top, bottom and left sides all have "The Smiths" in blue (same font and colour as on the front) and "Singles Box" in black. The left spine also has a red Rhino logo and the catalogue number. The right side is only white, without any text. Here is a rundown of the content.

  • A new pressing of the "Hand In Glove" 7" single on Rhino. Because this was also sold separately, it is described in the collectors appendix for "Hand In Glove"
  • A new pressing of the "This Charming Man" 7" single on Rhino. Because this was also sold separately, it is described in the collectors appendix for "This Charming Man"
  • A new pressing of the "What Difference Does It Make?" 7" single on Rhino. Because this was also sold separately, it is described in the collectors appendix for "What Difference Does It Make?"
  • A new pressing of the "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now" 7" single on Rhino. Because this was also sold separately, it is described in the collectors appendix for "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now"
  • A new pressing of the "William, It Was Really Nothing" 7" single on Rhino. Because this was also sold separately, it is described in the collectors appendix for "William, It Was Really Nothing"
  • A new pressing of the "How Soon Is Now?" 7" single on Rhino. Because this was also sold separately, it is described in the collectors appendix for "How Soon Is Now?"
  • A new pressing of the "Shakespeare's Sister" 7" single on Rhino. Because this was also sold separately, it is described in the collectors appendix for "Shakespeare's Sister"
  • A new pressing of the "That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore" 7" single on Rhino. Because this was also sold separately, it is described in the collectors appendix for "That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore"
  • A new pressing of the "The Boy With The Thorn In His Side" 7" single on Rhino. Because this was also sold separately, it is described in the collectors appendix for "The Boy With The Thorn In His Side"
  • A new pressing of the "Bigmouth Strikes Again" 7" single on Rhino. Because this was also sold separately, it is described in the collectors appendix for "Bigmouth Strikes Again"
  • A 7" single imitating the highly collectible "The Headmaster Ritual" 7" unique to Holland, specifically the variation of it featuring the 'cowboy kid' artwork. Unlike the ten singles listed above, this one was not sold separately, at least not originally. UK and USA copies were pressed for Record Store Day of April 2009, but these differed slightly from this box set edition (go to the "Headmaster Ritual" collectors appendix for info on the latter two variations). The front artwork is the same as that of the 7" on which it was modelled, and the back only differs by the catalogue number (MD 5295 instead of MD 5290) and the absence of the line "Licensed from Rough Trade Records". The labels are similar in design but the fonts are not quite the same and some of the text was removed ('Made in Holland', 'MD 7999', STEMRA, etc.) or changed (the catalogue number to MD-5295 , the credits at the bottom, etc). Another major difference is that this new edition has a solid centre instead of a large hole.
  • A 7" single of "Still Ill" made to look like the "Still Ill" UK 7" promo for the band's debut album. Just like the latter item, this one is unique to this box. Its labels are white with a tall 'A' across them just like the original promo 7". The text layout on them is the same, the original catalogue number was not changed, but the credits were adapted to delete the mention of Rough Trade and the Rough Trade logo was removed. Publishers on the right side are now Universal Music, etc. This is the only record in the box without a picture sleeve as it is slipped inside a plain white die-cut record bag.
  • A 14"x14" poster showing the artwork of all the singles in the box except for "Still Ill" which doesn't have any artwork.
  • An insert showing on one side a reproduction of a concert ticket from 30th October 1986 with the box's number stamped into it (because the box set is limited and numbered) and at the bottom a passcode to download the songs in MP3 format from the Rhino UK website. The reverse of this insert has an extensive track listing including full credits and chart performance of each single included in the box.
  • Four badges: one with "the Smiths" in black over white, one with "Handsome" in white over black, one with Jean Marais from the "This Charming Man" single artwork and one with Pat Phoenix from the "Shakespeare's Sister" single artwork.

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UK promo cd [Rhino UK R2008DJ]
A 4-track promo cd featuring "This Charming Man", "How Soon Is Now?", "There Is A Light That Never Goes Out" and "Panic" was given away with the first 100 orders for this box set (view left). It originally served to promote the recent "The Sound Of The Smiths" compilation. The cd comes inside a white paper envelope die-cut to expose its surface which was made to look like the labels of the "Still Ill" UK 7" promo for the band's debut album.

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12x7" test pressings [Warner UK/Rhino UK]
Sets of 12 test presssings, one for each record inside this box set, have made it into the collectors' world. It has been estimated that five sets have been pressed, but this is unconfirmed. The records all have completely white labels with nothing handwritten or printed on them. Each of them is slipped inside a white die-cut record bag with only the original Rough Trade catalogue number handwritten in the top corner on one side.

12x10" acetates [Rhino UK]
10" sized metal-based lacquer reference acetates exist for each of the 7"s in this box set. Unlike the test pressings, these have not been kept as a set and are being traded individually. Each one comes housed in a 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 each disc.

UK CD-r of promo cd
This is the cd-r acetate of the 4-track promo cd described above. The disc is blue and green. More information is needed.