The Queen Is Dead

The Queen Is Dead was released by Rough Trade in June 1986 and was produced by Morrissey and Johnny Marr, with Stephen Street engineering. Sessions ran from July to December 1985 at RAK Studios in London, Jacobs Studio in Farnham and Drone Studios in Manchester, and a legal dispute with the label delayed release by almost seven months.

Much of the material grew out of writing sessions at Marr's house in Bowdon. The album reached number two on the UK chart, went Gold in the US, and has topped critics' polls, including NME's 2013 list of the greatest albums of all time. Rolling Stone placed it 113th on its 2020 list.