Song · The Smiths
“I Started Something I Couldn't Finish” by The Smiths
From the album Strangeways, Here We Come (1987)
“I Started Something I Couldn't Finish” by The Smiths appears on 2 radio countdowns from 2 stations in 1987. It was first released in 1987 on the album Strangeways, Here We Come. Its best result is #40 on the John Peel's Festive Fifty of 1987. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #90 alternative song of 1987.
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"I Started Something I Couldn't Finish" grew out of a jam during the "Sheila Take a Bow" sessions and landed on Strangeways, Here We Come, the Smiths' 1987 album, with Johnny Marr, Morrissey and Stephen Street producing. Marr, on guitar and piano, hangs the whole thing on a riff with a strutting glam-rock swagger, while Andy Rourke's bass and Mike Joyce's drums keep it rolling.
Nobody planned it as a single. Then the BBC banned "Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before" for its talk of mass murder in the wake of the Hungerford Massacre, and this one went out in November 1987 instead, the first Smiths single to arrive after the split had been announced. It stalled at 23 in the UK, a modest showing, but critics have since given Marr's guitar work and Morrissey's wit their due.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | 41 | KROQ Los Angeles, CA | KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1987 | 107 |
| 1987 | 40 | John Peel (BBC Radio 1) | John Peel's Festive Fifty of 1987 | 50 |
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