Bassist Simon Gallup and keyboardist Matthieu Hartley were added to the band's lineup. Gallup replaced Michael Dempsey, which relieved Smith as he felt Dempsey's basslines were too ornate and that they weren't gelling socially. Hartley's synth work added a new dimension to the band's newly ethereal sound, although Smith and he clashed over complexity (Hartley enjoyed complex chords; Smith wanted single notes). Like Dempsey, Hartley made a departure from the group, the latter after Seventeen Seconds.

This record was repackaged in the UK (on the A&M label) with Faith as Happily Ever After --- available as a double album or a single CD.

In 2000 Q magazine placed Seventeen Seconds at number 65 in its list of the 100 Greatest British Albums Ever.

2005 RE-RELEASE

Seventeen Seconds was reissued in the UK 25 April 2005 (April 26 in the U.S.) as part of Universal's Deluxe Edition series. The new edition featured a remastered version of the album on the first disc, while the second contained demo and live tracks. Four of these rarities are recorded by the one-off Cult Hero, a group that featured Smith's postman Frank Bell as lead singer and which performed 70's style rock along the lines of Easy Cure. Disc 2 contains versions, either in demo or live form, of all 10 songs on the first disc. There are no never-before-heard tracks on the disc.

There also exists a one-CD reissue. It was released on September 5, 2005 in the UK and April 4, 2006 in the US. The CD features the original album, but does not contain the bonus disc. It is also released in the standard jewel case, and not a digipak. In some countries, the "Deluxe Edition" has become a collector's item and the production has phased out, being replaced by the more economic one-CD version.

TRACK LISTING

All songs written by Smith / Gallup / Hartley / Tolhurst.

Original 1980 release

1. "A Reflection" (Instrumental) - 2:09
2. "Play for Today" - 3:39
3. "Secrets" - 3:19
4. "In Your House" - 4:06
5. "Three" - 2:36
6. "The Final Sound" (Instrumental) - 0:52
7. "A Forest" - 5:55
8. "M" - 3:03
9. "At Night" - 5:54
10. "Seventeen Seconds" - 4:01

2005 Deluxe Edition

Disc one

Original album, as above

Disc two

1. "I'm a Cult Hero" (vinyl single by Cult Hero)
2. "I Dig You" (vinyl single by Cult Hero)
3. "Another Journey by Train" (instrumental home demo)
4. "Secrets" (instrumental home demo)
5. "Seventeen Seconds" (live)
6. "In Your House" (live)
7. "Three" (alt studio mix)
8. "I Dig You" (Cult Hero live)
9. "I'm a Cult Hero" (Cult Hero live)
10. "M" (live)
11. "The Final Sound" (live)
12. "A Reflection" (live)
13. "Play for Today" (live)
14. "At Night" (live)
15. "A Forest" (live)

BAND

• Robert Smith - guitars, vocals
• Matthieu Hartley - keyboards
• Laurence Tolhurst - drums
• Simon Gallup - bass
• Frank Bell - Lead singer for Cult Hero, and tracks 1,2,8 and 9 on the Deluxe Seventeen Seconds' second disc.

PRODUCTION

• Producers: Robert Smith, Mike Hedges
• Co-producers: Chris Parry, Simon Gallup, Laurence Tolhurst and Matthieu Hartley
• Engineers: Mike Hedges, David Kemp
• Assistant engineer: Martyn Webster

TRIVIA

• The song Seventeen Seconds was used as the title song of Episode 25 of season two of Grey's Anatomy.