The Smiths UN RELEASED BLUE STRANGEWAYS HERE WE COME 12" PROOF SLEEVE MORRISSEY

	£		250
	$		331

UN-RELEASED BLUE SLEEVE FRONT AND BACK



The Smiths.
"Strangeways Here We Come"
Cardboard "Proof" Sleeve. U.K Issue ROUGH 106
Sleeves were issued by condor litho printers whom were Rough Trades Official printers of these proof sleeves.
Printed on card stock i.e. what a normal lp's from the 80's would have been printed on and the card measures 25" by 13" and shows the front and back of this iconic sleeve which features a murky shot of East of Eden co-star Richard Davalos. Davalos is looking at James Dean, who is cropped from the image,and as history now tells us was the last studio album released by the smiths before Marr left the band.  .
The sleeve is very different to the version that was finally passed for the released. The cover sleeve difference is BOTH back and front are BLUE totally different to the released version of the cover firstly at the back there is no bar code and its all Blue where the ACTUAL RELEASE has Brown buildings and Blue sky and at the front the cover is a rich Blue THE RELEASED COVER WAS BROWN with the smiths name in Brown and the title in silvery gold colour  as i'm sure you will see from the pictures if you compare it to your own standard copy... plus the image of Richard Davalos is sharper and the colours brighter in contrast to the released sleeve. 
 Also with this proof comes the alternate colour designed inner sleeve bag which is different to the released inner sleeve.
Only 5 of these sets were printed. 
The condition of the sleeve is  Excellent as i have kept them in professional storage boxes in a cool,dark and damp free environment. Also an added bonus is all my items come from a smoke and pet free home. 
Up for auction is a proof sleeve for the above release for the sole purpose of seeing what the sleeve would look like aesthetically before they went to print. These mock sleeves were printed up for Jo Slee who was the art co-ordinator for Rough Trade Records. I came across these pieces of historic art around 1998 and was just bold over by the history of it all its not everyday you come across items like these and there so stunning to look at and hopefully my pictures will try to allay this to you.
I purchased these items from a person who i cannot name but they did work at Rough trade up and till they closed in the 1990's. These pieces of art pop history are genuine, not re-worked prints i can and will 100% guarantee this and anything else i will be selling.
Hopefully these items will appeal to you as much as they did to me over a decade ago and i think there's something here for every kind of enthusiast and every type of collector from the completest to the occasional collector but i must stress that these individual proofs are very rare and were not made in the 100's they were very limited mostly to only 6 or 7 of each and others that i own are less than that number as they were only made so that Caryn Gough,Jo slee and Morrissey could view them to see if they had the finished product they all liked or to view alternate versions of sleeve. These are very rare items indeed and it's unusual to find any bands proof sleeves never mind The Smiths proof sleeves. Here's a chance to be the envy of the Smiths collecting world.



Strangeways, Here We Come is the fourth and final studio album by English rock band The Smiths, released in 1987, reaching No. 2 on the album chart and staying on the chart for 17 weeks. All of the songs on the album were composed by Johnny Marr, with lyrics written and sung by Morrissey. The album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America on 19 September 1990.
The sleeve for Strangeways, Here We Come, which was designed by Morrissey, features a murky shot of East of Eden co-starRichard Davalos. Davalos is looking at James Dean, who is cropped from the image. Dean was a hero of Morrissey's, about whom the singer wrote a book called James Dean Is Not Dead. Five years later, when designing the sleeve for WEA's Best compilations, Morrissey again chose Davalos as a cover star, and Davalos is looking at Dean, who is once again cropped. As revealed in Jo Slee's collection of Smiths and Morrissey sleeve artwork, Peepholism, Davalos was not the original choice for cover star. Morrissey wanted to use a still ofHarvey Keitel in Martin Scorsese's I Call First (also known as Who's That Knocking at My Door), but Keitel declined to allow him to use the image. In 1991 Keitel relented, and the image was used on T-shirts and stage backdrops for Morrissey's 1991 solo tour. The album takes its title from Manchester's notorious (and now renamed) Strangeways Prison, whilst the line "Borstal, here we come" is taken from Billy Liar. "Strangeways, of course, is that hideous Victorian monstrosity of a prison operating 88 to a cell," Morrissey has satirically explained. On the title, Marr has said "I've learned to love the title... it was a bit overstating things somewhat. A little bit obvious. But it's OK. I was always intrigued by the word Strangeways. I remember as a kid, when I first heard that the prison was really called that, I wondered had it not occurred to anybody to change the name? It's still befuddling, really." Morrissey has also stated, "Really it's me throwing both arms to the skies and yelling 'Whatever next?'"

The artwork proof sleeves will be posted flat all carefully packaged to help prevent damage.
 All items and/or multiple items over the value of £20 will be sent recorded mail. Sorry no exceptions can be made as then we are all covered if things get damaged or lost GOD FORBID that would be tragic.
If i have missed something out that you need to know however large or small please email via ebay and i will get back to you as soon as i can with an answer.
Thanks to all who read this and good luck to you all in collecting and life.