What Difference Does It Make?

"What Difference Does It Make?" is a song by the English rock band the Smiths, written by singer Morrissey and guitarist Johnny Marr. It was the band's third single and is featured on their debut album, The Smiths. A different version, recorded for the John Peel Show on BBC Radio 1, is included in the compilation album Hatful of Hollow.

"What Difference Does It Make?"
Single by The Smiths
from the album The Smiths
Released16 January 1984
RecordedOctober 1983
StudioPluto Studios, Manchester
Genre
Length
  • 3:51 (album version)
  • 3:25 (single edit)
LabelRough Trade
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)John Porter
The Smiths singles chronology
"This Charming Man"
(1983)		 "What Difference Does It Make?"
(1984)		 "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now"
(1984)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]

The song was one of the band's first significant chart hits, peaking at No. 12 in the UK Singles Chart. However, Morrissey has said "What Difference Does It Make?" is among his least favourite songs of the Smiths'.[2]

Background

The character Ray Smith in the Jack Kerouac novel The Dharma Bums repeatedly says "What difference does it make?" as well as "Pretty girls make graves", the title of another track featured on The Smiths.

Cover artwork

The single cover is a photograph of Terence Stamp, taken on the set of the film The Collector. Originally Stamp denied permission for the still to be used, and some pressings featured Morrissey in a re-enacted scene. In the re-enactment, Morrissey is holding a glass of milk, as opposed to a chloroform pad in the original. However, Stamp later changed his mind, and the covers featuring Morrissey are now very rare and collectible.

Music video

"What Difference Does It Make?" was released without an accompanying music video. Speaking to Tony Fletcher on The Tube in 1984, Morrissey remarked that he felt that the video market was something that was going to "die very quickly", and that he wanted to "herald the death" of it.[3]

Track listing
7" RT146
No.TitleLength
1."What Difference Does It Make?" (single edit)3:25
2."Back to the Old House"3:04
  • in original green sleeve
12" RTT146/CD RTT146CD
No.TitleLength
1."What Difference Does It Make?"3:50
2."Back to the Old House"3:04
3."These Things Take Time"2:20

Personnel

Charts
Chart Peak
position
Ireland (IRMA) 12
UK Singles (The Official Charts Company) 12

Notes
  1. "What Difference Does it Make rating". Allmusic. Retrieved on 29 October 2012.
  2. Critical Discography – What Difference Does It Make? Archived 22 October 2006 at the Wayback Machine
  3. The Tube interview with Tony Fletcher 27 January 1984. Channel 4. The Haçienda, Manchester
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