"So Young/Tell Me" is the debut double A-side single by English rock band

The Stone Roses The Stone Roses were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Manchester in 1983. One of the pioneering groups of the Madchester movement in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the band's classic and most prominent lineup consisted of vocalist I ...

, produced by

Martin Hannett James Martin Hannett (31 May 1948 – 18 April 1991), initially credited as Martin Zero, was an English record producer, musician and an original partner/director at Tony Wilson's Factory Records. Hannett produced music by artists including Joy ...

and released in 1985 on Thin Line. The single went without much notice outside of Manchester, and demonstrates a very different aggressive

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

\ New wave style than the band's later material with Reni in particular showcasing a more exuberant drumming style. "So Young" was originally titled "Misery Dictionary", but the band changed the song's title to make it sound less negative and because they did not want people to think that they were influenced by

The Smiths The Smiths were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1982. They comprised the singer Morrissey, the guitarist Johnny Marr, the bassist Andy Rourke and the drummer Mike Joyce. They are regarded as one of the most important acts to emerg ...

who had similarly titled songs, such as "Miserable Lie" and "

Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now" is a song by English rock band the Smiths. Released as a single in May 1984, it reached No. 10 on the UK Singles Chart, making it the band's first top ten single. It was later included on the November 1984 com ...

". The front cover artwork was produced by John Squire, who smashed an old

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and then glued the parts together. Recorded at Strawberry Studios, the double A-side 12-inch vinyl single was the producer Martin Hannett's first release with tape operator David Wood on Hannett's newly created Thinline Records under the catalogue number THIN001. Ian Brown has since distanced himself from the songs, saying he "wouldn't pay 10p for it now" and that it sounded like "four lads trying to get out of Manchester". The single later appeared as part of the ''Compact Disc Singles Collection'', an 8-CD collection of the band's singles released by Silvertone in 1992. Both songs also featured on the compilation albums ''

The Complete Stone Roses ''The Complete Stone Roses'' is a compilation of singles and B-sides by English rock band The Stone Roses. It was released in 1995 without the band's input by their record company Silvertone, with whom they were embroiled in a protracted legal ...

'' and ''

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Track listing

1985 release

''with So Young/Tell Me on the cover'' ;12-inch vinyl (Thin Line THIN 001) # So Young (3:30) # Tell Me (3:50)

1992 issue

''with just So Young on the cover'' ;CD (Silvertone ORE CD 37) ''only available as part of a box set'' # So Young (3:30) # Tell Me (3:50)

References

{{The Stone Roses 1985 singles The Stone Roses songs Post-punk songs 1985 songs