Marissa Rivera

Favourite track: 'There Is A Light That Never Goes Out'

Thursday June 16, 2016 will be the 30th anniversary of one of the greatest masterpieces of all time...The Smiths - The Queen Is Dead. It's hard to believe it's been 30 years already! It's amazing that at the time The Queen Is Dead was released Johnny was 22 years old and Morrissey was 26 years old. I was a kid when it came out, and yes I still have the original vinyl LP. Actually, I have it in every format LP, cassette, cd, digital. OK, minus 8-Track, it wasn't released in that format. But if it was I'd definitely have it also.

Every time I listen to this album, it amazes me how timeless it is. It was amazing when I was a prepubescent kid in a training bra. Fast forward 30 years, and yes out grew the training bra; and The Queen Is Dead is still fabulous. All of the tracks are amazing in every aspect musically and lyrically. My personal all time favorite is There Is A light That Never Goes Out. Those songs are soundtrack of my life.

Another important point of this great album how its influenced me to travel to Manchester to take that same iconic picture at the Salford Lads Club. I've made the pilgrimage years ago. It was truly amazing to finally go to the place where it all began. Viva The Queen Is Dead!