The World Won't Listen is a compilation album by the English rock band the Smiths, released on 23 February 1987 by Rough Trade Records. The album is the second of three compilation albums—the others being Hatful of Hollow and Louder Than Bombs—released by the Smiths while they were still an active band. It reached No. 2 on the UK Albums Chart, staying on the charts for 15 weeks. In the United States Louder Than Bombs was released in place of The World Won't Listen.
Background
The album is a collection of the band's singles and select B-sides from 1985 to 1987. Additionally, the scrapped single "You Just Haven't Earned It Yet, Baby" (which was passed over for "Shoplifters of the World Unite") and the near-single "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out" (a single candidate from The Queen Is Dead that was passed over in favour of "Bigmouth Strikes Again") were included. The compilation was succeeded three months later by Louder Than Bombs. Originally intended solely for US release, Rough Trade chose to also release Louder Than Bombs in the UK. It featured a similar, but extended track listing to The World Won't Listen. The World Won't Listen contains two versions of songs that do not appear on Louder Than Bombs: the single version of "The Boy with the Thorn in His Side" and the single edit of "That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore". Additionally, The World Won't Listen contains different versions of two songs that would appear on Louder Than Bombs: "Stretch Out and Wait" features an alternate vocal, and "You Just Haven't Earned It Yet, Baby" appears in a slightly different and longer mix.
After WEA acquired the Smiths' back catalogue in 1992, all Smiths albums were re-released in the UK in 1993 at mid-price, including The World Won't Listen, which was expanded to include a cover of "Golden Lights" and the original Rough Trade cassette edition bonus track "Money Changes Everything" (the "Bigmouth Strikes Again" B-side, also later released on the deluxe edition of The Sound of The Smiths). In the US, the albums were also re-released in 1993, although The World Won't Listen was not included among them.
Artwork and packaging
The CD sleeve for The World Won't Listen is based on the cassette version of the sleeve layout; the original album featured a larger picture of a 1960s fairground scene, of which this is a crop. The sleeve was designed by Morrissey, using a photo by Jürgen Vollmer from the book Rock 'N' Roll Times: The Style and Spirit of the Early Beatles and Their First Fans.
Release
The album was released on 23 February 1987. The World Won't Listen returned to the UK top 100 for two weeks in 1995, following its re-release by WEA. In 2011, The World Won't Listen was included in the Smiths' compilation box set Complete. and "That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore", harmonica on "Ask", mandolin on "Golden Lights", marimba on "The Boy with the Thorn in His Side"
- Andy Rourke – bass guitar, cello on "Shakespeare's Sister" and "Oscillate Wildly"
- Mike Joyce – drums, tambourine on "Stretch Out and Wait"
- Craig Gannon – rhythm guitar on "Panic", "Ask", "London", "Half a Person", "You Just Haven't Earned It Yet, Baby" and "Golden Lights", lead guitar on coda of "London", mandolin on "Golden Lights"
Additional musicians
- Kirsty MacColl – backing vocals on "Ask" and "Golden Lights"
- John Porter – sound effects on "Ask", drum machine and bass on "Golden Lights"
- Stephen Street – additional drum machine programming on "London", sound effects on "Asleep", sampling on "Rubber Ring"
Production
- Johnny Marr – producer (track 7)
- Johnny Marr, Morrissey and Stephen Street – producers (track 3 and 12)
- Morrissey and Marr – producers (tracks 4, 6, 10–11, 17)
- John Porter – producer (tracks 1–2, 9, 16, 18)
- The Smiths – producers (tracks 5, 8, 13–15)
Charts
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
|+Chart performance for The World Won't Listen
!scope="col"|Chart (1987)
!scope="col"|Peak<br />position
|-
!scope="row"|Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)
| style="text-align:center;"|25
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
!scope="row"|UK Albums Chart
| style="text-align:center;"|2
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
|+
!scope="col"|Chart (2025)
!scope="col"|Peak<br />position
|-
! scope="row"| Croatian International Albums (HDU)
| style="text-align:center;"| 36
|}
Certifications
Tribute
British artist Phil Collins produced an exhibition at the Dallas Museum of Art that included a three-part video project titled The World Won't Listen, which was filmed in Turkey, Indonesia and Colombia. The video features young people performing karaoke versions of songs by The Smiths.