Post-punk and indie rock teens of the 1980s might feel a particular pang in the chest at the realization that The Queen Is Dead is now 40 years old. It remains a pillar of the alt rock genre.
At the heart of the record is the collaboration of guitarist Johnny Marr and lead singer Morrissey, who co-produced and co-wrote all 10 tracks. Along with bassist Andy Rourke and drummer Mike Joyce, they laid down a sound that spoke directly to the emotions of the young, particularly longing. Morrissey’s broken-hearted crooning style matches the jangly shimmer of Marr’s guitar, fashioning infectious sing-along melodies.
Perhaps nothing in their catalogue represents that so much as the album’s penultimate track, “There Is a Light That Never Goes Out.” Ranked in Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, the tune captures the band’s darkly romantic nature, with Morrissey’s narrator rhapsodizing in equal measure about wanting to “see people” and “see life” while simultaneously acknowledging to their love that, “To die by your side/Is such a heavenly way to die.” It puts the band squarely in the tradition of both Gothic romance and early Sixties pop, like “Last Kiss.”
This article is featured in the May/June 2026 issue of The Saturday Evening Post. Subscribe to the magazine for more art, inspiring stories, fiction, humor, and features from our archives.
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