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 ongoing brouhaha over British Prime Minister David Cameron’s liking of The Smiths — something both Morrissey and Johnny Marr, in a rare show of public unity, have forbidden — spilled over onto the floor of Parliament yesterday during the always-entertaining Prime Minister’s Questions.

In a rare show of public unity, Morrissey today threw his support behind Johnny Marr after the guitarist ‘forbid’ conservative U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron from liking The Smiths — although in typical fashion, Moz used the occasion to pen a 1,200-word screed against animal cruelty that also takes shots at Prince William and ‘his fiasco (fiancée) Kate Middleton,’ Bryan Ferry and David Beckham.

Highlights of tonight’s episode of ‘Dark Wave’ on Sirius XM’s 1st Wave include more deep Depeche Mode album cuts, a double dose of The House of Love and a triple serving of The Smiths.

Out on tour in support of their chart-topping third album ‘The Suburbs,’ indie-rock breakthrough act Arcade Fire whipped up a special treat for fans at their Mexico City concert on Oct. 13: a cover of ‘Still Ill,’ the classic track from The Smiths’ 1984 self-titled debut album.

The folks at 24 Hour Service Station, who are putting out Peter Hook’s Freebass project here in the U.S., will provide three lucky Slicing Up Eyeballs readers with a copy of the band’s debut CD, ‘It’s a Beautiful Life.’