Viva Hate
LP by Morrissey
Released	March 22, 1988
Recorded	Winter 1987
Genre	Prog rock
Length	46 min 09 sec
Record label	EMI
Producer	Stephen Street
Professional reviews
Allmusic.com	4.5 stars out of 5	link
Q	3 stars out of 5	October 2000
Rolling Stone	4 stars out of 5	link
Morrissey Chronology
	Viva Hate (1988)	Bona Drag (1990)

Viva Hate (also known as Education in Reverse) is rock artist Morrissey's debut solo album, released on March 22, 1988. The album, which is in many ways a reflection on growing up in the 1970s, established that Morrissey was to be taken seriously as a solo artist. It was more successful than any of Morrissey's work with The Smiths and was musically innovative; at the same time, guitarist Vini Reilly was displeased with some of the music and Morrissey was displeased with some of the lyrics. The album went on to the top of the charts in England. CD cover of Viva Hate by Morrissey This is an album cover. ... 33â…“ LP vinyl record album The vinyl record is a type of gramophone record, most popular from the 1950s to the 1990s, that was most commonly used for mass-produced recordings of music. ... Morrissey Steven Patrick Morrissey, (born May 22, 1959 in Manchester, England), dropped his forenames to become Morrissey, the lead singer of the highly influential British indie band The Smiths. ... March 22 is the 81st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (82nd in Leap years). ... 1988 is a leap year starting on a Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Musical genres are categories which contain music which share a certain style or which have certain elements in common. ... The progressive rock band Yes performing in 1977. ... A minute is: a unit of time equal to 1/60th of an hour and to 60 seconds. ... The second (symbol s) is a unit for time, and one of seven SI base units. ... A record label is a brand created by companies that specialize in manufacturing, distributing and promoting audio and video recordings, on various formats including compact discs, LPs, DVD-Audio, SACDs, and cassettes. ... The EMI Group is a major record label, based in Hammersmith, London, in the United Kingdom and with operations in over 25 other countries. ... In the music industry, a record producer (or music prodcuer) is responsible for completing a master recording so that it is fit for release. ... Stephen Street is a music producer best known for his work with The Smiths in the 1980s and Blur in the 1990s. ... Q magazine is a music and entertainment magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom. ... This article is about the music magazine. ... 1988 is a leap year starting on a Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Bona Drag is an compilation album by Morrissey released on October 25, 1990. ... 1990 is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Rock and roll (also spelled Rock n Roll, especially in its first decade), also called rock, is a form of popular music, usually featuring vocals (often with vocal harmony), electric guitars and a strong back beat; other instruments, such as the saxophone, are common in some styles. ... Artist is a subjective term which describes a person creative in, innovative in, or adept at, their endeavors. ... Morrissey Steven Patrick Morrissey, (born May 22, 1959 in Manchester, England), dropped his forenames to become Morrissey, the lead singer of the highly influential British indie band The Smiths. ... A debut is the first publication from an artist. ... An album is a collection of related audio tracks, released together commercially in an audio format to the public. ... March 22 is the 81st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (82nd in Leap years). ... 1988 is a leap year starting on a Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... From left: Johnny Marr, Morrissey, Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce. ... Steve Howe playing lead guitar for Yes in 1977 A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. ... The Durutti Column is the ongoing band project of gifted Manchester guitarist Vini Reilly (born August ?, 1953), usually accompanied by the talents of drummer Bruce Mitchell. ... Lyrics are the written words in a song. ...

The album was released a mere six months after The Smiths' final album, Strangeways Here We Come. The title predicts the content: Morrissey's lyrics are sardonic and filled with invective, while some of the tracks deal with the harshness of the breakup of The Smiths. In 1987, the Smiths released their final studio album, Strangeways, Here We Come. ...

From the octave dropping electric guitar that opens the song to the guillotine noise that closes it, it is clear that Morrissey's solo work will differ greatly from that with The Smiths. Although later on Bona Drag he would write and sing pop, from Your Arsenal onward it is clear that Morrissey was interested in a heavier, more rock-oriented sound than he had created with The Smiths, and this trend is established on Viva Hate. In music, an octave (sometimes abbreviated 8ve or 8va) is the interval between one musical note and another with half or double the frequency. ... An electric guitar is a type of guitar with a solid or semi-solid body that utilizes electromagnetic pickups to convert the vibration of the steel-cored strings into electrical current. ... Public guillotining in Lons-le-Saunier, 1878 Guillotine from Baden (reconstruction) The Maiden, an older Scottish design Portrait of Dr. Guillotin The guillotine is a machine used for the mechanized application of capital punishment by decapitation. ... Bona Drag is an compilation album by Morrissey released on October 25, 1990. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Following up on the poorly-received album Kill Uncle, singer Morrissey released the album Your Arsenal in 1992 (see 1992 in music). ...

Songs

"Alsatian Cousin", the track that opens the album, has Morrissey demanding an answer to the question, "Were you and he lovers?" to the tune of heavy, piercing guitars. "Little Man, What Now?" is a somber piece about a failed television star, but with its place on the album it works quite effectively.

The third track, "Everyday Is Like Sunday" was released as the second and final single from the album, peaking at #9 in the United Kingdom. By most counts the standout track on the album, the song remains something of an enigma. Morrissey has said that no-one, including those who covered the song (e.g. Natalie Merchant, whom he later jibed at on the B-side "Have-a-Go-Merchant") understood what it meant. Perhaps it is a reflection on escaping a dead-end town. Perhaps it is a comparison between a coastal resort in winter and the desolation after nuclear fallout. In any case, with its rich orchestration by Stephen Street, the song remains one of the most appealing and enduring tracks from Viva Hate. Natalie Merchant Natalie Merchant (born October 26, 1963 in Jamestown, New York, USA) is a rock and roll musician. ... In recorded music, the terms A-side and B-side refer to the two sides of 7 inch vinyl records on which singles have been released since the 1950s. ... Stephen Street is a music producer best known for his work with The Smiths in the 1980s and Blur in the 1990s. ...

Track four, "Bengali in Platforms", was probably the most controversial song on the album. Morrissey sings, "Life is hard enough when you belong here" and "Shelve your Western plans", seemingly indicating a virulent racism and intolerant attitude toward immigrants to the UK. Still, the criticism of the song belies the fact that it, like the rest of the album, is set in the 1970s and also obscures the fact that the track, with its lazy Mediterranean guitars, is actually musically quite good. This article provides extensive lists of events and significant personalities of the 1970s. ...

Morrissey has refrained from justifying himself in the face of the more fundamentalist interpretations of this song as racist.

"Angel, Angel, Down We Go Together" follows, a track featuring only Morrissey's voice and a string arrangement. Morrissey later said that the track was about his former Smiths band mate Johnny Marr. Johnny Marr (born John Martin Maher, 31 October 1963) is a British guitarist, keyboardist, harmonica player and singer, best known as the man behind the music of The Smiths. ...

"Late Night, Maudlin Street" is the album's epic track, at 7:41. The song is a tragic story involving what may very well be a failed suicide attempt (it contains talk about leaving a hospital, and also contains the line "I got 16 stitches all around my head") The song is in many ways a sequel to The Queen Is Dead 's "I Know It's Over". The Queen Is Dead is an album by The Smiths. ...

"Suedehead", Morrissey's debut and highest charting single, opens the second side of the album. Continuing the theme of life in the 1970s, the song is a track built around a bass and piano line. There is some disagreement over what the outro says. Some claim that he said "It was a good lay" while others state that he says "It was a bootleg."

Morrisey had this to say about the song himself (from It May All End Tomorrow Website)

 What does Morrissey sing at the end of Suedehead ? "It was a good lay". From the Sounds 1988 interview : I mean, did he really sing, "It was a good lay" at the end of "Suedehead," his first solo single? "No, 'It was a bootleg'. I mean, good heavens, in my vocabulary? Please..." Honestly? "Well, have I ever been dishonest?" he laughs. "Do people think it was 'a good lay'?" I do. "And is that quite racy?" Oh, yes. "Well, it was actually 'a good lay'." And was there one? "No, I just thought it might amuse someone living in Hartlepool."[1] 

"Break Up the Family" is another sparse track, however, it is led rhythmically by a driven congo beat. The lyrics are rather life affirming.

"Hairdresser on Fire" was the North American CD bonus track. It is not featured on the vinyl pressings of the album. It was a B-Side to the single "Suedehead." The song features Morrisey's tongue in cheek style, and features bells amongst the arrangement.

"Ordinary Boys" is a ballad performed in 6/8.

"I Don't Mind If You Forget Me" is a Smiths-style jangle. While the music is up-beat, the lyrics are somber, a passive-agressive statement with him basically saying that he does not care whether or not the person in question remembers him at all. This article is about the English rock band, for other uses of Smith or Smiths, see Smith The Smiths were a hugely influential British rock group and indie music pioneers. ...

"Dial A Cliche" is another 6/8 ballad. The song is driven more by an accoustic guitar, with an electric guitar providing the harmony. The song hints to being about how he doesn't fit into the norm, and simply doesn't want to be.

"Margaret on the Guillotine" is about the effects Margaret Thatcher's Conservative party on British society, asking the question, "When will you die?" It ends with the sound of a guillotine coming down. However, due to the subject of this song, his house was searched by police [2]. The Right Honourable Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, LG, OM, PC, FRS (born 13 October 1925), is a British stateswoman and was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990, also Leader of the Opposition from 1975, and the only woman to date to hold the former... The Conservative Party is the largest political party on the centre-right in the United Kingdom. ...

Track listing

1. "Alsatian Cousin"
2. "Little Man, What Now?"
3. "Everyday Is Like Sunday"
4. "Bengali in Platforms"
5. "Angel, Angel, Down We Go Together"
6. "Late Night, Maudlin Street"
7. "Suedehead"
8. "Break Up the Family"
9. "Hairdresser on Fire" (later pressings only; originally a B-side to "Suedehead")
10. "The Ordinary Boys"
11. "I Don't Mind if You Forget Me"
12. "Dial-a-Cliché"
13. "Margaret on the Guillotine"

Resources

• It May All End Tomorrow - Lyrics and Song Information Database
• All Music Guide - Viva Hate

• It May All End Tomorrow - Lyrics FAQ
• It May All End Tomorrow - Margaret on the Guillotine Lyrics page

	Morrissey
Albums: Viva Hate | Kill Uncle | Your Arsenal | Vauxhall and I | Southpaw Grammar | Maladjusted | You Are the Quarry Morrissey Steven Patrick Morrissey, (born May 22, 1959 in Manchester, England), dropped his forenames to become Morrissey, the lead singer of the highly influential British indie band The Smiths. ... Image File history File links Steven Morrissey Template:CopyrightFreeUse File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Kill Uncle is an album by Morrissey, released on March 5, 1991. ... Following up on the poorly-received album Kill Uncle, singer Morrissey released the album Your Arsenal in 1992 (see 1992 in music). ... Vauxhall and I is a 1994 album by Morrissey, generally considered his best. ... Southpaw Grammar is the eighth solo album by the singer Morrissey, formerly of Mancunian band the Smiths. ... Maladjusted is an album by rock artist Morrissey, released on August 12, 1997. ... You Are The Quarry is an album by Morrissey, the former lead singer of the Smiths. ... Live albums: Beethoven Was Deaf | Live at Earls Court How Soon Is Now? / First Of The Gang To Die / November Spawned A Monster / Dont Make Fun Of Daddys Voice / Bigmouth Strikes Again / I Like You / Redondo Beach / Let Me Kiss You / Subway Train/Munich Air Disaster 1958 / There Is A Light That Never Goes Out / The More... Compilations: Bona Drag | World of Morrissey | My Early Burglary Years | Suedehead: The Best of Morrissey Bona Drag is an compilation album by Morrissey released on October 25, 1990. ... Whatever Happens I Love You Billy Budd Jack The Ripper Have-A-Go Merchant The Loop Sister Im A Poet Youre The One For Me, Fatty Boxers Moonriver My Love Life Certain People I Know The Last Of The Famous International Playboys Well Let You Know Spring... My Early Burglary Years Released: September 1998 1. ... See also: The Smiths | His Master's Voice | Sire Records | Sanctuary Records From left: Johnny Marr, Morrissey, Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce. ... His Masters Voice, often abbreviated to HMV, is a famous trademark in the music business, and for many years was the name of a large record company. ... Sire Records was an American record label. ... Sanctuary Records is an independent record company formed by Rod Smallwood, the manager for Iron Maiden. ...