"Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before" is a song by the English

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

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 ...

, written by singer

Morrissey Steven Patrick Morrissey (; born 22 May 1959), known professionally as Morrissey, is an English singer and songwriter. He came to prominence as the frontman and lyricist of rock band the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 1987. Since then ...

and guitarist

Johnny Marr Johnny Marr (born John Martin Maher, 31 October 1963) is an English musician, songwriter and singer. He first achieved fame as the guitarist and co-songwriter of the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 1987. He has since performed with numerous ...

. The song was first released on the group's 1987 album ''

Strangeways, Here We Come ''Strangeways, Here We Come'' is the fourth and final studio album by English rock band the Smiths. It was released on 28 September 1987 by Rough Trade Records, several months after the group had disbanded. All of the songs were composed by Jo ...

''. Marr's music features a larger sound, courtesy of a 12-string

Gibson ES-335 The Gibson ES-335 is the world's first commercial semi-hollowbody electric guitar, sometimes known as semi-acoustic. Released by the Gibson Guitar Corporation as part of its ES (Electric Spanish) series in 1958, it is neither fully hollow nor ful ...

, and one of his few guitar solos with the Smiths. Morrissey's lyrics allude to alcohol and deception. Although the song was originally planned to be released as a single in August 1987, the BBC objected to the song's lyrical reference to mass murder in the aftermath of the

Hungerford Massacre The Hungerford massacre was a spree shooting in Hungerford, England, United Kingdom, on 19 August 1987, when 27-year-old Michael Ryan shot dead sixteen people, including an unarmed police officer and his own mother, before shooting himself. The ...

. As a result, "Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before" was only released as a single in America, Australia, and some European markets, while " I Started Something I Couldn't Finish" was chosen to replace the song as the band's new UK single. Despite its censorship by British radio, "Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before" has seen critical acclaim for Marr's guitar work and Morrissey's witty lyricism. It has since appeared on multiple compilation albums and has been ranked by music writers as one of the band's best songs.

Background

"Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before" features, like most Smiths songs, lyrics written by

and music written by

. Marr composed the song's music on a 12-string

, which he commented "gave a really big sound." He explained that the guitar hits in the song's intro were the result of stacking a

Telecaster The Fender Telecaster, colloquially known as the Tele , is an electric guitar produced by Fender. Together with its sister model the Esquire, it is the world's first mass-produced, commercially successful Les Paul had built a prototype solid bod ...

"on top of a

Fender Twin Reverb The Fender Twin and Twin Reverb are guitar amplifiers made by Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. The Twin was introduced in 1952, two years before Fender began selling Stratocaster electric guitars. The amps are known for their characterist ...

with the vibrato on, and tun ngit to an open chord" only to "drop a knife with a metal handle on it, hitting random strings." The song also featured the first guitar solo on a Smiths record; Marr explained in an interview with ''

Guitar Player ''Guitar Player'' is an American popular magazine for guitarists, founded in 1967 in San Jose, California. It contains articles, interviews, reviews and lessons of an eclectic collection of artists, genres and products. It has been in print si ...

'' magazine: Lyrically, ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' described the song as "a whirlwind tour of sex, lies, booze, obsession, mass murder, ndbicycle-related testicular injury". Len Brown of the ''NME'' commented on an alternate meaning to the song's title, " orrisseyeven seems to relish calling a song 'Stop Me If You've Heard This One Before,' in the face of those who perpetually take the piss out of him and reckon that every Smiths song sounds the same."

Release

In addition to its release on ''

'', "Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before" was originally intended to be released as the album's second single. Promotional singles were printed and sent to Radio One. However, the song's single release came in the wake of the

Hungerford massacre The Hungerford massacre was a spree shooting in Hungerford, England, United Kingdom, on 19 August 1987, when 27-year-old Michael Ryan shot dead sixteen people, including an unarmed police officer and his own mother, before shooting himself. The ...

, in which 16 people were murdered, and the BBC refused to play the song on the grounds that the lyric ''"plan a mass murder"'' was offensive. As a result, the song was not released as a single in the UK and " I Started Something I Couldn't Finish" was selected instead. "Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before" was ultimately released as a single in other regions, including the United States, Australia, Germany, and others. The cover of the single is a picture of British actor and singer

Murray Head Murray Seafield St George Head (born 5 March 1946) is an English actor and singer. Head has appeared in a number of films, including a starring role as the character Bob Elkin in the Oscar-nominated 1971 film ''Sunday Bloody Sunday''. As a mus ...

from a

still A still is an apparatus used to distill liquid mixtures by heating to selectively boil and then cooling to condense the vapor. A still uses the same concepts as a basic distillation apparatus, but on a much larger scale. Stills have been used ...

of the 1966 film ''

The Family Way ''The Family Way'' is a 1966 British comedy-drama film about the marital difficulties of a young newlywed couple living in a crowded house with the husband's family. Based on Bill Naughton's play '' All in Good Time'' (1963), the film began life ...

'' (a movie that would also be the source of the photograph on the cover of "I Started Something I Couldn't Finish"). Morrissey later stated: The song was later featured on the compilation albums '' Stop Me'' and '' The Very Best of The Smiths''. The song is also included in the music video game ''

Rock Band 3 ''Rock Band 3'' is a 2010 music video game developed by Harmonix. The game was initially published and distributed by MTV Games and Electronic Arts, respectively, in late October 2010. Mad Catz took over both roles and re-released the title on N ...

''. Though the band broke up before they could tour any songs from ''Strangeways, Here We Come'', Morrissey performed the song live alongside fellow ex-Smiths

Andy Rourke Andrew Michael Rourke (born 17 January 1964) is an English musician, best known as the bassist of the Smiths. He is known for his melodic approach to bass playing. Career Rourke's father was Irish while his mother was English. He received an a ...

, Mike Joyce, and

Craig Gannon Craig Gannon (born 30 July 1966) is an English guitar player, best known as the second guitarist in the Smiths. He is now a composer for film and television. Career Born in Manchester, Gannon had played in bands with friends since he was 12 ye ...

as the opening song of his infamous debut solo concert at Wolverhampton's Civic Hall in December 1988.

Music video

A music video was produced by the director

Tim Broad Tim Broad was a British film director, best known for his music videos for the singer Morrissey. In a 1990 interview, he was described as Morrissey's closest friend. Broad directed the video for The Smiths' songs " Girlfriend in a Coma" and "Sto ...

. It opens with a picture of

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...

hanging on a brick wall, and features Morrissey and a group of Morrissey lookalikes cycling around Manchester and Salford, including famous locations such as the

Salford Lads' Club Salford Lads' Club is a recreational club in the Ordsall area of Salford, Greater Manchester, England. The club, on the corner of St. Ignatius Walk and Coronation Street, was established in 1903 as a boys' club but today welcomes people of both ...

. Morrissey was hesitant to take part in the videos, but was implored by Rough Trade's

Geoff Travis Geoff Travis (born 2 February 1952) is the founder of both Rough Trade Records and the Rough Trade chain of record shops. A former drama teacher and owner of a punk record shop, Travis founded the Rough Trade label in 1978. Biography Travis wa ...

to participate in order to boost the album's singles. Morrissey recalled in his autobiography, "Tim Broad steps in to make sense of it all, hotch-podging two videos for both 'Girlfriend in a Coma' and 'Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before'. The results for both are frustratingly unwatchable, although Tim did his beast with such a mealy-mouthed budget."

Critical reception

"Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before" has seen critical acclaim since its release. David Browne of ''

'' called the track "the album’s most propulsive number" and opined, "Marr's piercing solo at the end of the song not only is one of the record's emotional highlights — it also proves it's best the band split up rather than attempt to replace him."

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, occ ...

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

called the song a "classic," while Douglas Wolk of ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...

'' commented, "Their final single couldn't have had a cleverer title than 'Stop Me if You Think You've Heard This One Before'." ''

'' ranked the song as the 14th best Smiths song, while ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' named it the band's 16th best. ''Consequence'' ranked the song as the band's 28th best, calling it "a testament to The Smiths' power in 1987". ''Guitar'' named the song as the band's 20th greatest guitar moment.

Track listing

All tracks written by

and

Mark Ronson version ("Stop Me")

Background and release

In 2007, the song was re-composed as "Stop Me" with additional lyrics from the song "

You Keep Me Hangin' On "You Keep Me Hangin' On" is a song written and composed by Holland–Dozier–Holland. It was first recorded in 1966 by American Motown girl group the Supremes, reaching number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. American rock band Vanilla Fudge ...

" by

The Supremes The Supremes were an American girl group and a premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s. Founded as the Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successful ...

by British DJ

Mark Ronson Mark Daniel Ronson (born 4 September 1975) is a British-American DJ, songwriter, record producer, and record executive. He is best known for his collaborations with artists such as Duran Duran, Amy Winehouse, Adele, Lady Gaga, Lily Allen, Robbi ...

featuring

Daniel Merriweather Daniel Paul Merriweather (born 17 February 1982) is an Australian R&B recording artist. Merriweather's debut solo album, '' Love & War'', was released in June 2009. It entered the UK Albums Chart at number two. It was preceded by two sing ...

on the vocals. Merriweather admitted in an interview with ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' that he was not very familiar with the original before he recorded Mark Ronson's revised version. He explained: "Mark said, 'I want you to sing on this – it's my favourite Smiths song,' so I listened to it. I'd heard it once before, but I was never a Smiths fan. But I thought it was beautiful."Cole, Jenny (2007) "Mark Ronson – Stop Me: track review" OMH Media: musicOMH The song was later released as a single on 2 April 2007 on

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

with the shortened name "Stop Me", and it was included on the compilation album ''

Version Version may refer to: Computing * Software version, a set of numbers that identify a unique evolution of a computer program * VERSION (CONFIG.SYS directive), a configuration directive in FreeDOS Music * Cover version * Dub version * Remix * ''Ve ...

''. The single includes a cover version of

Queens of the Stone Age Queens of the Stone Age (commonly abbreviated QOTSA) is an American rock band formed in 1996 in Palm Desert, California. The band was founded by vocalist and guitarist Josh Homme, who has been the only constant member throughout multiple line- ...

's "

No One Knows "No One Knows" is a song by American rock band Queens of the Stone Age written by band members Josh Homme and Mark Lanegan. It was the first single and second track from their third album, ''Songs for the Deaf'', and was released on November 26 ...

" with vocals by

Domino Kirke Domino Suzy Kirke-Badgley (born 17 December 1983) is a British-American singer, doula, and actress. Life and career Kirke is of English and Iraqi-Jewish heritage. She was named after Domino Harvey, whom her mother met when Harvey was a young g ...

. The single reached number two on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. The music video, released at the same time as the song, features a man who finds a pair of trainers that control him and force him to run along the motorway near the

Blackwall Tunnel The Blackwall Tunnel is a pair of road tunnels underneath the River Thames in east London, England, linking the London Borough of Tower Hamlets with the Royal Borough of Greenwich, and part of the A102 road. The northern portal lies just south ...

. This version was released in the United Kingdom. The international version showed people crying animated tears. The song featured prominently in the opening scenes of the premiere of the second half of ''

Nip/Tuck ''Nip/Tuck'' is an American medical drama television series created by Ryan Murphy that aired on FX in the United States from July 22, 2003, to March 3, 2010. The series, which also incorporates elements of crime drama, black comedy, family dra ...

s fifth season. The song also featured on the 2013

show reel A showreel (also known as a demo reel, sizzle reel, or work reel) is a short video showcasing a person's previous work used by many kinds of people involved in filmmaking and other media, including actors, animators, lighting designers, editors, a ...

for

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

-based

b-boy Breakdancing, also called breaking or b-boying/b-girling, is an athletic style of street dance originating from the African American and Puerto Rican communities in the United States. While diverse in the amount of variation available in ...

crew,

Art of Movement Art of Movement (AOM) is a Seattle-based b-boy crew founded in 2002 by brothers Junior and Tony Orduna. The crew received attention due to member Jay Park's popularity as a singer and rapper. Cha Cha Malone is a producer and composer, and wo ...

, uploaded by Korean-American singer and member of the crew,

Jay Park Jay Park ( Korean name: Park Jae-beom (Hangul: 박재범; Hanja: 朴載範); born April 25, 1987) is an American rapper, singer-songwriter, record producer, dancer and entrepreneur of based in South Korea. He is a member of the Seattle-based ...

Critical reception

"Stop Me" gained considerable praise and reference, as well as controversy from loyal Smiths fans despite its chart success being the highest UK chart position for a Smiths song.McCaighy, Stuart (2007) "Mark Ronson – Stop Me: Track Review" ThisisfakeDIY: DIY Records The music review site ThisisfakeDIY gave the single a 5-star rating, citing that its popularity stemmed from its abstraction from a typical Smiths song, resembling a "sweeping, orchestral pop song with horns to boot … soulful, evocative vocals ... a stirring mix". This song was number 80 on ''

''s list of the 100 Best Songs of 2007. The cover received a mixed review from musicOMH reviewer Jenny Cole, who remarked that the notion of "

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

ing up a Smiths track" was a "travesty", and queried that "

would no doubt hate the idea of someone who has previously worked with

Christina Aguilera Christina María Aguilera (; ; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and television personality. Known for her four-octave vocal range and ability to sustain high notes, she has been referred to as the " Voice of ...

and

Robbie Williams Robert Peter Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer and songwriter. He found fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995, and achieved commercial success after launching a solo career in 1996. His debut stud ...

" re-composing his songs. However, the reviewer remarked that despite its composition "in a mad way it works … Electronic, cheery and danceable, it's really not half bad" but that the addition of The Supremes to the song was "just mad".

Other versions

A slightly shorter edited version (where the lyrics start at the first verse) was released to mainstream radio in October 2007.Mainstream Radio
Promo Only, October 2007 A

remix A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...

Kissy Sell Out Kissy Sell Out (born Thomas Bisdee on 18 June 1984 in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, England) is a British/Canadian DJ, producer, graphic designer, label manager of San City High Records and Stepper Man, part-time astrophysicist and science column ...

features on

Ministry of Sound Ministry of Sound or Ministry of Sound Group is a multimedia entertainment business based in London with a nightclub, shared workspace and private members' club, worldwide events operation, music publishing business and fitness studio. James ...

2008 compilation ''The Annual''. Trance DJ

Paul Oakenfold Paul Mark Oakenfold (born 30 August 1963), formerly known mononymously as Oakenfold, is an English record producer, remixer and trance DJ. He has provided over 100 remixes for over 100 artists including U2, Moby, Madonna, Britney Spears, Mass ...

also remixed the song exclusively for his 2007 compilation album ''

Greatest Hits & Remixes ''Greatest Hits & Remixes'' is a compilation album by British electronic producer and disc jockey Paul Oakenfold, featuring both old and new tracks and remixes from Oakenfold, released in 2007 commemorating his 100th official remix. The album ...

''. Live versions by Mark Ronson and/or Stu Zender featuring Merriweather have appeared on ''

Late Night with Conan O'Brien ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Conan O'Brien. NBC aired 2,725 episodes from September 13, 1993, to February 20, 2009. The show featured varied comedic material, celebrity interviews, and music ...

'' (in July 2007),

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

and ''

Jimmy Kimmel Live! ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' is an American late-night talk show, created and hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC. The nightly hour-long show debuted on January 26, 2003, at Hollywood Masonic Temple in Hollywood, Los ...

''. After the win and performance of Ronson at the 2008 edition of the

Brit Awards The BRIT Awards (often simply called the BRITs) are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia" (in the early days the awards were sponsored ...

, "Stop Me" climbed as high as number 31 on the

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

Top 100 and re-entered the

UK Top 75 Singles The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

chart at number 51.

Track listings

*CD maxi single # "Stop Me" - 3:54 # "Stop Me" (A Chicken Lips Malfunction) - 7:05 # "Stop Me" ( Dirty South remix) - 8:24 # "No One Knows" - 4:40 *CD single # "Stop Me" # "No One Knows" *10" vinyl # "Stop Me" # "No One Knows"

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Notes

References

{{Authority control 1987 singles 1987 songs 2007 singles Daniel Merriweather songs Mark Ronson songs Music videos directed by Matt Lenski Sire Records singles The Smiths songs Song recordings produced by Mark Ronson Song recordings produced by Stephen Street Songs written by Johnny Marr Songs written by Morrissey