Morrissey A-Z: "Piccadilly Palare"

BookishBoy

Well-Known Member



Today's song is this Morrissey/Armstrong composition, released as a single in October 1990 and reaching #18 on the UK chart.

What do we think?
 
Love this one. I was waiting for the P's to imProve. All of the early singles are great and this one was very quotable.
"You wouldn't understand/Good sons like you/never do"
Great music, too. The simple repetitive melody seems to be loitering with intent. Going back and forth, not too far, but suggestively..
10/10
 



Today's song is this Morrissey/Armstrong composition, released as a single in October 1990 and reaching #18 on the UK chart.

What do we think?

For me this song is very special
One of my all-time fave songs. It was always great hearing this live with his first run of gigs with the Boys . Morrissey, at last, could be a NY Doll ( by that I mean, his band were scrappy and ready for action) . It makes me giggle all these people, getting excited that AW is coming back. Its hilarious. The harsh truth is BB and AW were both mocked to high heaven all through the 90s in the UK . I liked them, the music press missed the point.

Just like Hateful of Hollow, for some captured the early smiths perfectly. For me Bona Drag is the perfect Morrissey record., the fact this song holds its own , on that lp shows how good it is . The songs on that lp hold their own, against the smiths songs (every single song)
How many has Johnny done that equal smith's level brilliance? Not having a go at Johnny, just saying.
Still, after this song came out there was a huge step down in song quality. AS I say, even a bad Morrissey song , is better than most peoples best songs.
 
I never cared for this one, sadly, from the moment I first played the 12-inch on the day it came out. For me it's the only weak song on Bona Drag. And I know Morrissey's often a terrible judge of his own output, but he may well be right about this one: "a student work of novelty that wears off before noon." (Having said that, as with "Pashernate Love", the vocal melody of this song lives on in my brain and regularly makes an appearance...)

Also, worth remembering just how incredibly out of place this was in the UK chart for that one week at number 18, surrounded as it was by songs like "Groove Is in the Heart" and "Kinky Afro" and "Groovy Train"...
 
Fantastic single. Pure fun and joy. Quotable lyrics galore and a great story, at that.
 
"A student work of novelty"

what a load of crap . Still you were probably quite happy with The Farm ( they were utterly shite)

Im essence it was the blue print for songs like NF Diosco and First Of The Gang To Die etc, ... That is to say a soul that gets lost in a shabby scene.

It did have a Kinks feel ( but then the Smiths were simply a post bowie/post punk Kinks. As a friend of mine often says).

The fact the Morrissey released this , rather than getting The Funky Drummer on every song and going on TOTP in flares, is part of the reason he is so good.. He travels his own path, he beats his own drum (matron!), he sails his own ship .

I think what made this all the more great , is the pashion he imbued it with live. Those gigs were beyond fantastic. Anyone who thinks any of his post 2000 gigs hold a cnadle to those early 90s gigs , haven't a clue. In their own special way , they were , almost, as good as the smiths. Not the music , not quite the passion . But they were strange days with its own magic
 
Moz Masterpiece :rock:
I can vividly recall the day I bought this, approximately 16:10 back in Oct 90. The weather was overcast but dry.
Surely the time has come to sing this live again.
30 years of hurt, never stopped me dreaming.
 
Such an amazing song, with a realised story mixed with great, bouncy instrumentation, that doesn’t dampen any of the emotional qualities of the track. The vocal performance is excellent, too: Moz showing he could still do a Smithsian leap between octaves. As stated, the lyrics are wonderful, oozing with kitchen sink social commentary: one of his finest tackles for the genre. An underrated single, and, as @BookishBoy stated, sadly fell out of favour in the (my phrase) week of the Baggywagon (though “Kinky Afro” is a classic).
10/10
 
I don't think this is quite as good as some of the previous singles, but it's better than Morrissey gives it credit for. Being from that era probably doesn't hurt its reputation.

While the record company didn't rate it enough to make a video, it is still stronger and more commercial than the vast majority of singles he released in the 90s.

It was a positive that the full length version was later released, but it would have fit better on a rarities comp.

In the poll on the Hoffman board it ranked 37th from 264 solo songs.
 
great song,great music,great voice,great lyrics.too many greats for a saturday morning.
9 picadillies/10 palares.
 
This song got me into Polari, although I'm straigh. Again, musically it bears 100% Madness vibes, which is a good thing for me.
 
I remember not being terribly excited by this single, but that has more to do with his very strong start than anything else in retrospect.
Listening to it now, it still sounds fresh with its strong vocal harmony, a reasonably good buy :) .
It certainly deserves its spot on the Bona Drag LP.

As for the slang in the lyrics, does anybody know the meaning of this line:
So bona to vada OH YOU
your lovely eek and
your lovely riah
 
I remember not being terribly excited by this single, but that has more to do with his very strong start than anything else in retrospect.
Listening to it now, it still sounds fresh with its strong vocal harmony, a reasonably good buy :) .
It certainly deserves its spot on the Bona Drag LP.

As for the slang in the lyrics, does anybody know the meaning of this line:
So bona to vada OH YOU
your lovely eek and
your lovely riah
Ask Frank...

He’s up with the polari gen 🆒
 
I remember not being terribly excited by this single, but that has more to do with his very strong start than anything else in retrospect.
Listening to it now, it still sounds fresh with its strong vocal harmony, a reasonably good buy :) .
It certainly deserves its spot on the Bona Drag LP.

As for the slang in the lyrics, does anybody know the meaning of this line:
So bona to vada OH YOU
your lovely eek and
your lovely riah
So good to see you with your lovely face and hair
 
I never cared for this one, sadly, from the moment I first played the 12-inch on the day it came out. For me it's the only weak song on Bona Drag. And I know Morrissey's often a terrible judge of his own output, but he may well be right about this one: "a student work of novelty that wears off before noon." (Having said that, as with "Pashernate Love", the vocal melody of this song lives on in my brain and regularly makes an appearance...)

Also, worth remembering just how incredibly out of place this was in the UK chart for that one week at number 18, surrounded as it was by songs like "Groove Is in the Heart" and "Kinky Afro" and "Groovy Train"...
I don't remember any of these other chart songs you mentioned.
It just proves how much useless shit is dropped on this world every day.
 
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