Boys Don't Cry

Released as a standalone UK single on 12 June 1979, it was later the title track of the US album Boys Don't Cry. Dempsey played bass, Smith sang and played guitar, and Tolhurst played drums. The lyric is about a man hiding his heartbreak, and Smith told NME it came from being told not to show emotion.

A version with re-recorded vocals came out in April 1986 and reached number 22 in Britain. It reached number 22 again after a streaming re-release on 30 January 2026. The 1986 video features three child actors, with the band seen as shadows, and it is Dempsey's only appearance after leaving the group. It is the band's most streamed track on Spotify, with more than a billion plays by January 2026. Billboard placed it fourth in 2019 and Mojo third in 2023. BBC Radio 4's Soul Music devoted an episode to it in 2018. The Guardian ranked it fourth in 2024, calling it bittersweet and noting that films, novels and Frank Ocean's record label have taken its name. It added that Andrew Ridgeley of Wham! apparently counts it as his favourite song of all time.

Live

It appears in 1,080 setlists on setlist.fm, and the thousandth live performance came at the OVO Arena Wembley on 13 December 2022.