Trust me #115
What Difference Does It Make by The Smiths
Nick Grimshaw played What Difference Does It Make? by The Smiths on his 6Music show last month. Hearing the song blasting out of my car speakers while driving through the rain caused me to appreciate it even more. I often get that feeling whenever I hear something on the radio, especially in the car. I immediately made a mental note to write a blog on the song.
I love the story around the formation of The Smiths - Johnny Marr showed up at Morrissey's door in May 1982 to invite him to start a band. Marr was only 18 and aware of Morrissey (5-years older) through his book on the New York Dolls. The two got on and quickly set about recording some rough demos. They quickly created a spark and were on fire by January 1984 when What Difference Does It Make? was released as their 3rd single.
What Difference Does It Make? was first demo'd in December 1982. Marr and bass player Andy Rourke visited Rough Trade in London to physically hand The Smiths demo tape over to Geoff Travis. The tape had previously been rejected by EMI and Factory. I'm currently reading Document & Eyewitness: An Intimate History of Rough Trade, by Neil Taylor (order here). It's fascinating how quickly the label could turn things around if they believed in a band.
By May 1983, Rough Trade had released Hand In Glove as the debut single by The Smiths. I find this quite remarkable, it was only one year since Marr had knocked on Morrissey's door!
The follow up, This Charming Man, didn't come out until October 83, but after that The Smiths got into the habit of releasing a single every few months until they split. They were prolific, Marr writing the music to accompany Morrissey's lyrics. Or vice versa.
Back to What Difference Does It Make? Marr's guitar playing is instantly more powerful than the previous two singles, with an extra edge and bite to the jangle. His riff is repeated almost from start to finish. Drums crash in behind, the bass holds things down and Morrissey comes in.
All men have secrets and here is mine, so let it be known
What an opening line! Morrissey goes on to sing still I'd leap in front of a flying bullet for you, just before he sings the song title hook in the chorus for the first time. It's not just Marr's guitar that sounds more powerful, Morrissey sounds completely in the zone.
The Smiths sound utterly glorious, riding through another verse and chorus. The burst and shimmer in Marr's guitar to go into another chorus after Morrissey sings well I'm still fond of you, oh-ho-oh is sublime. It becomes another hook, with Morrissey returning to it a couple of times before the instrumental section.
Marr's distinctive guitar sound came from his black Rickenbacker 330. In a 2022 interview with Reverb on the most important guitars of his career, he said;
"Like most musicians of a certain age in Manchester, I got it from a shop called A1 Repairs and I bought it with my first Smiths publishing advance ... And I guess sonically, the best example of that Ricky is What Difference Does It Make? When you hear the intro to that, that's my 330, tracked up."
Stephen Street is the producer I tend to associate with The Smiths, however John Porter should get more credit, working with them from early on and latterly producing the mesmerising How Soon Is Now? He certainly seemed to get and enhance The Smiths sound.
Porter seems to have been pretty selective (and open - if that makes sense!) with who he has worked with over the years. Usually just 2-3 projects per year, but there are plenty of Grammy nominee/winning albums in his portfolio. Artists range from Ozzy and Ryan Adams, to B.B. King and Carlos Santana.
The Smiths played (and debuted?) the song on a May 83 Peel Session and the version was released on their 84 compilation album Hatful of Hollow.
Looking back at The Smith discography, they released a remarkable 17 singles from debut Hand in Glove (May 1983) through to Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me (December 1987). It is little wonder that they inspired so many fans; their look, quality, quantity and consistency was incredible.
What Difference Does It Make? is added to my Trust Me playlist; search for Everything Flows - Trust Me on Spotify or CLICK HERE. Check below for all previous blogs in my Trust Me series.
