Image by Salvatore Vuono / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
1985 – How Soon is Now – The SMITHS
1985 was another great year in music. It was the year of Live Aid, and the year Dire Straits released their album Brothers in Arms, one of the first ever albums to be released in a new format called Compact Disc. Strangely enough, I have no recollection of CDs back then, but I was still purchasing LP records at the time.
How Soon Is Now by The Smiths, had been previously released as a B-side in 1984, in spite of that, it is my choice for 1985 because it was released as a single that year, reaching number 24 in the UK Singles Charts.
It is a song of discontent and longing. I remember hearing it in clubs at the time, and relating to how Morrissey must have felt when he wrote it, but it’s not just those sad desperate lyrics that give the song its dark power, add Johnny Marr’s excellent guitar work throughout, and you’ve got an extra layer, which gives the song an amazing and powerful atmosphere.
Alannah Murphy is a former rock musician turned writer, currently working on a rock'n'roll novel set in London. 
