Fiona’s next Smiths selection gives us a break from the melancholy — the 1986 single ‘Ask’ is one of the peppiest songs in the band’s catalog.

That was by design. Morrissey worried that a dour single would be viewed as more of the same following the band’s recent releases. So the band came up with this bright anthem about getting past the crippling shyness usually depicted in his lyrics.

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