"Suedehead" released 20 years ago today...

[Not Right in the Head]

in the UK (02/27/1988), kicking off Morrissey's solo career with incredible style. Read about it at Passions (http://www.passionsjustlikemine.com/disc/moz-d01sue.htm).

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/8f/MorrisseySuedehead.jpg/200px-MorrisseySuedehead.jpg

PR5LS_LAnWw

I'd love to start a This Day in Smithstory thread, but I'm not the best person for that.

[9 x Fined]

Wow how time flies. MTV used to play this vid at least 5 times a day. I think it's what initially got me interested in the Mozzasaurus.

[Corrissey]

PURE LOVE :sweet:

[William4]

oh tractor moz...:rolleyes::)

[yesiamkali]

Suedehead released 20 years ago today...I cannot believe it. "Where Did All The Time Go; Once Always In For The Kill, Now It's Too Cold, And I feel Too Old...":guitar:

[miryam_moz85]

There is a light that NEVER....
good bless him..!!!http://www.smilies-smilies.de/smilies/schilderIII_smilies/bravo.gif

[fridaynightinoutpatients]

are you serious?

20 years?

wow, the memories.

thanks moz. :)

[kissmyshadestoo]

Man, I feel old now....20 years ago?

I remember I used to get so happy when this video came on....I was trying to soak up as much Smiths/Moz stuff as possible.

[Dow Jones]

oh tractor moz...:rolleyes::)Tractor Moz is the best Moz.

[Corrissey]

Tractor Moz is the best Moz.

I like bongo Moz.

Did you see he crossed the street when it clearly said DON'T WALK?!
Rebel with a cause.

[mozzer7]

I can't believe it has been that long.

[fridaynightinoutpatients]

I like bongo Moz.

Did you see he crossed the street when it clearly said DON'T WALK?!
Rebel with a cause.

hahahahahahaha!!

that's funny. :)

[blackpoolphil]

Because Julia, the past never dies. The past is myself

[joey]

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y69/heyitsmejoey/IMG_1140.jpg


It really is hard to believe it's 20 years young.

[Corrissey]

It really is hard to believe it's 20 years young.

Joey, watching the vid I couldn't help but think of your recent road trip :) Gave it a little more ('personal') meaning for me. I still chuckle at the pic next to OOPS (d'oh!!) :p

Gawd, Morrissey's quiff was high and mighty! :cool: Barn shot esp cool.

[Paulc]

Why wasnt Suedehead a massive no.1 single - what kept it from getting what it deserved?

It is a great moment in his career and should have been more critically and commercially successful than it was - wonderful song, great and simple lyrics, beautiful melodies, perfect pop song length and a video that was both visually stark and captivating.

It also got alot of attention on the radio and on TV and of course, showed Morrissey riding on the crest of the post Smiths wave. I know it was successful- no3 in the uk i think - but i really dont understand why it wasnt an even more MASSIVE hit.

[Worm]

Why wasnt Suedehead a massive no.1 single - what kept it from getting what it deserved?

It is a great moment in his career and should have been more critically and commercially successful than it was - wonderful song, great and simple lyrics, beautiful melodies, perfect pop song length and a video that was both visually stark and captivating.

It also got alot of attention on the radio and on TV and of course, showed Morrissey riding on the crest of the post Smiths wave. I know it was successful- no3 in the uk i think - but i really dont understand why it wasnt an even more MASSIVE hit.

Excellent post.

Everything about that song screamed 'hit'-- the splendid video was even played on daytime MTV!

However, I think it's a great contrast to make with his current singles. I don't mean the quality of the music, I mean the state of the charts. "Suedehead" obviously qualifies as a chart hit no matter how you look at it, but I think if you compare its impact on the public versus the impact of the recent Top Tens, it's easy to see how the meaning of chart success has changed.

In the States people knew about "Suedehead". It wasn't a "hit" by any means but I recall seeing the singles in the shops, the video on TV, and it was a "hit" on the nebulously defined College/Alternative charts. I also remember an article in a Los Angeles newspaper discussing Morrissey's success with "Viva Hate", noting with astonishment that although he was still below the radar, so to speak, he was selling as many albums as people like David Lee Roth (who at the time was actually successful). Morrissey's first few solo releases were not chart smashes but they arguably impacted the scene more than the newer stuff which is gone with the wind almost as soon as it arrives. I'm guessing it's the same in the UK although I don't know.

Again, I'm not arguing that "Suedehead" is better than the new singles, merely following on from some earlier threads to point out that times have changed and this "Greatest Hits" release is kind of silly.

[Vauxhall95]

Did you see he crossed the street when it clearly said DON'T WALK?!
Rebel with a cause.

Word!

That's why the F.B.I. questioned him...

[Scarlet Ibis]

Wow. This made me feel very old. I received the album for my 17th birthday. I left my own party to go listen to it. I was so nervous for him. I wanted it to be good for his sake more than mine. I was rooting for him. He didn't disappoint.

[lux girl]

Wow! 20 years ago!
I remember waiting with bated breath for the release...wanted so badly for it to be perfect, and it was.
This song is very special to me as it made me realise that Morrissey would be in my musical life for longer than I expected.
Thanks Morrissey!

[lightupvirginmary]

it's unbelievable. It's absolutely timeless.
No wonder I'm so in love with Moz, he has been there (almost) forever.

[Skinner]

Very nice. I am hoping to visit Fairmount soon. Thanks to this video and Joey's pics for the inspiration :cool:

[AmgoingtoseeMoz]

It might be 20 years old, but like fine wine it gets better with time! A Moz Classic :)!!

[Dave2006]

Why wasnt Suedehead a massive no.1 single - what kept it from getting what it deserved?



It was Kylie - I should be so lucky
http://www.bittersuiteband.com/music_uk-no1-hits-singles.htm

F$%^&*g Stock Aitken & Waterman. Bastards.

[Kewpie]

I didn't have a chance to listen to the song until few weeks later in March 1988.
The island where I'm originally from had only one record shop which sold import vinyls and CDs between 1986-1987.
A weekly radio programme, which first time I heard The Smiths songs, played the song.
I was very shocked to discover that Morrissey had already recorded solo album which confirmed the final coffin in the nail to The Smiths.

[JoyDiv007]

Wow 20 yrs ago. Hard to believe I've been a fan that long. Remember when I saw that video on 120 minutes was great. Taped that show every week and after school monday would rush home to watch it.

[Theo]

Why wasnt Suedehead a massive no.1 single - what kept it from getting what it deserved?


It wasn't a big hit in the USA because it didn't get much airplay. It's as simple as that. Obviously it could've been a Top 10 single in the USA, but a song can only get so far if none of the commercial radio stations will give it a chance to reach more people.

People are posting that it got all kinds of airplay on MTV and whatnot. Not really. On MTV it was pretty much segregated to the 120 Minutes/Post-Modern MTV type programs. Also, I know it's hard to believe, but in the late 1980s many Americans did not have MTV at all. The reason people are posting that it got a lot of play is because they were surprised to see the video/hear the song on mainstream channels at all. It still was not played anywhere that gave it a fair shot to reach the masses. If my recollection is correct, MTV's 120 Minutes was not just on cable at a time when many people still did not have the cable channels, but it was also a program on late Sunday nights when TV in general has low viewership.

I'm only speaking of the USA. The biggest commercial support Morrissey ever got in the USA was around Your Arsenal/Vauxhall & I, but even then he was kept largely segregated. But it was truly the most wonderful memory of Morrissey's push to reach more of the masses in the USA when he was on The Tonight Show w/ Johnny Carson and, because of all the Moz fans in the studio, Johnny Carson and first-guest Bill Cosby had to spend much of the show anticipating Morrissey's performance.

Today, of course, Morrissey gets essentially zero airplay in most American markets, because he's not a hippety-hop artist rapping about Apple Bottom jeans and the boots with the fur. We're left with people posting whole threads about how they think they heard a snippet of "First of the Gang to Die" as backround music in an ESPN montage.

[troubleluvsme]

Wow...20 years!
I was a bratty teenager back then...I'm not a teenager anymore ;)
It stands the test of time :D

[PregnantForTheLastTime]

Wow 20 yrs ago. Hard to believe I've been a fan that long. Remember when I saw that video on 120 minutes was great. Taped that show every week and after school monday would rush home to watch it.

YES! Some weeks I would stay up, most weeks I'd race home to watch it! Who did you like better, Kevin Seal or Dave Kendall? I liked goofy Kevin, and thought Dave was a snotty usurping Brit... uh. I always meant to write in and razz him about how he always wore hats to hide his impending baldness. But I didn't, because I am intrinsically nice.

Wow...20 years!
I was a bratty teenager back then...I'm not a teenager anymore ;)
It stands the test of time :D

Hey, wait... you're from Indy, right? Did you go to LN?

One of these days I will have to scan the pics from my Fairmount pilgrimage. I went in July or August, '89.

[mozzer7]

I'm putting on the single to celebrate.

[Sonica]

good thread for my first post.....
I still remember 1st time I saw the video and heard the song. Immediately love. I became a real fan only few years later (understand me, I was young..), but never forgot the strange (wonderful) feeling I got.

[JoyDiv007]

YES! Some weeks I would stay up, most weeks I'd race home to watch it! Who did you like better, Kevin Seal or Dave Kendall? I liked goofy Kevin, and thought Dave was a snotty usurping Brit... uh. I always meant to write in and razz him about how he always wore hats to hide his impending baldness. But I didn't, because I am intrinsically nice.


I also prefered Kevin. Dave was annoying at times as well. That show introduced me many great bands. Heard these artists on college radio but was surprised to see what some of them looked like.

[Worm]

It wasn't a big hit in the USA because it didn't get much airplay. It's as simple as that. Obviously it could've been a Top 10 single in the USA, but a song can only get so far if none of the commercial radio stations will give it a chance to reach more people. ...

I didn't mean to imply that it was in heavy rotation. In the grand scheme it was a blip. But I saw it myself played several times over the course of a week, in peak viewing hours, and not relegated to the 120 Minutes ghetto (midnight on Sundays). IIRC this is partly explained by the fact that Julie Brown liked The Smiths and may have had some say in which videos were played in her time slot. Was it a smash hit played once an hour? No. It made an impact, though. It was seen.


1987/88 were good years for what the American market termed "alternative" music. New Order, The Cure, R.E.M., Depeche Mode, and Love and Rockets all enjoyed various levels of mainstream success and Morrissey benefited from that (especially with Sire/Warners backing him). I remember advertisements for "Viva Hate" at places like Wherehouse Music, and there was a free magazine given out at chain music stores like that one and others like Sam Goody which reprinted a shorter, 3-4 page version of his first NME interview after The Smiths split. Sandwiched between Van Halen and Soul II Soul was Morrissey complaining about Geoff Travis. The same article was used for Spin, I believe, which featured Anton Corbijn's magnificent shot of Morrissey on the cover.

MTV (sort of) got behind him in 1992, as well. At that time I wasn't watching MTV very often so I don't know how the videos fared but they gave him a guest spot on their "Hangin' With MTV" show, the precursor to TRL or whatever. That was as mainstream as it got back then. He was also on Jay Leno and Saturday Night Live. On the latter, I haven't watched the tape in years but I think he played "Suedehead" as the second song.

[Worm]

YES! Some weeks I would stay up, most weeks I'd race home to watch it! Who did you like better, Kevin Seal or Dave Kendall? I liked goofy Kevin, and thought Dave was a snotty usurping Brit... uh. I always meant to write in and razz him about how he always wore hats to hide his impending baldness. But I didn't, because I am intrinsically nice.

There was also the 30-minute show, "Post Modern MTV", which wasn't bad. They played more of the well-known "alternative" acts, whereas I think 120 Minutes had more freedom to play more out-there material.

I didn't like any of the VJs. Kevin Seal was funny at times. I used to have an amusing video snippet where he was reading the news about Morrissey's questioning by British authorities after "Margaret On The Guillotine", laughing his way through it as if to say "This guy is crazier than I am."

Overall, though, I just felt they were slapping the same misleading label on very different styles of music. It was a process of homogenization. If you liked one band you presumably liked six others. They pigeonholed people like Morrissey as the usual fey British makeup 'n' misery type (thanks, Fat Bob!) which irritated me without end.

[Sandro]

hello to everyone, i'm new to this forum. i'd like to thank the user "Not Right in the Head" for posting a remainder of Moz first Solo Single! I still remember when I bought that single on CD in London. This single still means "so much" to me. it's not only "memories" of the past, it's something really deep inside of me! 20 years have flown away, and I still love that song and the Album VivaHate, one of my favourites!

[Not Right in the Head]

hello to everyone, i'm new to this forum. i'd like to thank the user "Not Right in the Head" for posting a remainder of Moz first Solo Single! I still remember when I bought that single on CD in London. This single still means "so much" to me. it's not only "memories" of the past, it's something really deep inside of me! 20 years have flown away, and I still love that song and the Album VivaHate, one of my favourites!

No problem, and welcome to SoLow!

BTW, Viva Hate's 20th anniversary comes up in a week and a half, and I plan to start a thread for that one, too, if nobody beats me to it. :D

[boyleastlikelyto]

Very nice. I am hoping to visit Fairmount soon. Thanks to this video and Joey's pics for the inspiration :cool:

It is absolutely amazing! The water tower is different now and the Dairy Queen is gone, but most everything else is the same. The old lady at the James Dean museum is awesome. She remembers when Mozzer was there and can tell you a story or two about his stay there. They don't allow cameras inside though. Also go to the record store on Main st. the old lady there also has a story to tell and a big display of pics from when he was there. She might even have a 7" copy of 'Irish Blood..' or 'First of the Gang..' left. I picked up a copy of both two summers ago when I made my pilgrimage. Visit nearby Gas City as well. Enjoy.

[blackdog]

great song
still one of my fav songs morrissey has done, including the smiths

might put it on now:cool:

[CARDIFF CITY FC]

only seems like yesterday walking into the local HMV store to purchase a copy .doesen't time fly

My all time fav Moz solo record

[Worm]

No problem, and welcome to SoLow!

BTW, Viva Hate's 20th anniversary comes up in a week and a half, and I plan to start a thread for that one, too, if nobody beats me to it. :D

Can we have a headlines thread?

Viva Hate: Still Dampening Your Will To Live After All These Years!

EDIT: Random useless note...did you know that the photo for "Suedehead" was taken at the Smiths' London Palladium gig in 1986? It was snapped at the moment he looked up at the spotlights during the encore, "Bigmouth Strikes Again". So Morrissey's first single sleeve is a photo of him as a Smith.

[IDon'tOweYouAnything23]

Gutted to the core I wasn't alive when it was released

It actually makes me want to cry that i missed The Smiths era, I can only gain admiration purely from the music, can't imagine how amazing it would have been live and kicking during those glory days.