1. “Suedehead” – Morrissey
(From the album Viva Hate)
1988
Following the dissolution of The Smiths, Morrissey quickly launched his solo career, forming a songwriting partnership with producer Stephen Street and heading into the studio with Street and guitarist Vini Reilly (of the Durutti Column) and drummer Andrew Paresi to begin work on Morrissey’s solo debut album Viva Hate. While Viva Hate did not exactly sound like the work of The Smiths, most notably because of the use of synthesizers, the sound of Morrissey’s solo debut also did not stray too far afield of the final Smiths’ album Strangeways, Here We Come. This makes sense both from a commercial standpoint (The Smiths were as popular as ever when they broke up) and from a creative one (Stephen Street had produced the Strangeways, Here We Come album). Indeed, the beginning of the songwriting partnership between Morrissey and Street has its origins in Johnny Marr’s decision to leave The Smiths. After Marr left the group Street sent Morrissey some demo tracks he had written as potential B-sides for the Strangeways, Here We Come singles. Morrissey liked them and decided to enlist Street as his new creative partner for his solo debut. The lead single for Viva Hate, released a month ahead of the album and Morrissey’s first solo work, was the song “Suedehead”. Musically “Suedehead” featured a guitar part written by Street and played by Reilly that was reminiscent of Johnny Marr’s style of playing without openly copying it and it gave the song a sound that was both familiar, yet different, for fans of The Smiths to associate with Morrissey as a solo artist. Lyrically, Morrissey delved into the suedehead subculture, a dressier 70’s offshoot of the skinhead movement, and explored the troubled relationship between the song’s protagonist and their suedehead lover. “Suedehead” was an immediate success, peaking at #5 in the UK, which was a higher chart position than any single released by The Smiths. This success meant that any lingering doubts about whether Morrissey could succeed without Marr were put to rest and that the release of Viva Hate was highly anticipated. Morrissey earned attention from other quarters as well (namely the Special Branch counter-terrorism unit of the London Metropolitan Police) due to the album’s closing track “Margaret On The Guillotine”, which spoke of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s death as a “wonderful dream”. Still, with the possible exception of the Special Branch (and likely Margaret Thatcher), Viva Hate was well received and much of that positive reception was built off the success of “Suedehead”.
Follow all the posts at the Alternative Reality site: www.alternativealbumsblog.wordpress.com
Alternative Reality: An Alternative Music Blog 