Next month, the new 700-page biography of The Smiths by music writer Tony Fletcher finally comes out in the U.S. — the book, which promises “the complete story” of the iconic band, hit stores in the U.K. in early September — and publisher Crown Archetype has given us a dozen copies to give away to Slicing Up Eyeballs readers.

A new 700-page biography of The Smiths by music writer and biographer Tony Fletcher will be published in the U.K. next week — but not in the U.S. until December — and promises, through “extensive research, dozens of interviews and unprecedented access,” to tell “the complete story” of the iconic Manchester band.

Fans of The Smiths are reveling in an unexpected Christmas gift this week with the appearance of a bootleg LP featuring 16 unreleased studio outtakes, including the scrapped original recording of ‘Sheila Take a Bow,’ a reggae-like take on ‘Girlfriend in a Coma’ and two previously unheard instrumentals.

The short career of enigmatic Liverpool indie-pop act The La’s will be celebrated this spring with Callin’ All, a four-disc, 91-track box set that compiles singles, b-sides, unreleased outtakes and live material — and no fewer than six versions of ‘There She Goes,’ the band’s signature tune.