He was the lead singer of The Smiths, one of the most influential alternative bands in the 1980s. The group split up in 1987 and Morrissey started a successful solo career.
His first solo album, Viva Hate was released only six months after The Smiths split, in March 1988. The album's first single "Suedehead" peaked at #5, a higher position than any Smiths single had ever achieved. In 1990, Bona Drag, a collection of his solo singles and b-sides, including popular songs such as "The Last of the Famous International Playboys" and "Everyday is Like Sunday" (which also appears on "Viva Hate")
His second album 1991's Kill Uncle was not as well received as his first, with neither single achieving the Top 20. In 1992, the Mick Ronson-produced Your Arsenal was released and included singles such as "Tomorrow" and "We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful". A live album, Beethoven Was Deaf, followed in 1993.
In 1994, Morrissey released Vauxhall and I, which contained "The More You Ignore Me, The Closer I Get", his biggest hit in the United States, where it peaked at #46. Later that year, Morrissey also recorded a one-off project with Siouxsie of Siouxsie and the Banshees: they sang in duet on the single Interlude.
After "Vauxhall and I", Morrissey released Southpaw Grammar (1995) and Maladjusted (1997), both of which failed to produce a UK Top 20 single.
A period of musical inactivity followed in the late 90s and early 2000s, which was due to failure in finding a suitable label, according to a 2004 interview with Jools Holland. After seven years without a new album release, You Are the Quarry was released on May 17, 2004 (but one day later in the USA). The first single, Irish Blood, English Heart, was released internationally on May 10, 2004. The single reached number three in its first week of sales in the UK singles chart. To date, this is the highest placing chart position for Morrissey in his entire career as both a solo artist and the lead singer of The Smiths (the 2006 release You Have Killed Me also debuted at number three in its first week in the charts). It has sold over a million copies, making the album his most successful, solo or with The Smiths.
Ringleader Of The Tormentors, produced by former David Bowie producer Tony Visconti, was released in April 2006. The album went straight to the top of the UK Album charts.
Morrissey released a new Greatest Hits collection in February 2008, including two new songs: All You Need Is Me and That’s How People Grow Up, both released as singles. Morrissey is now signed to Decca Records.
In 2009, Morrissey released his latest album, Years of Refusal, which was produced by Jerry Finn, his final production credit before his death. Later in the year, Morrissey released the B-sides collection Swords.
2009 also saw the re-releases of Maladjusted and Southpaw Grammar, two of his most critically maligned albums. The Maladjusted re-release ditched two of its singles, Papa Jack and Roy's Keen, in favour of several other tracks from the period, such as I Can Have Both. Sorrow Will Come in the End, written about Morrissey's vicious legal battle with Smiths drummer Mike Joyce, was also re-instated to the UK edition. Southpaw Grammar retained all of its original tracks, albeit re-sequenced, but recieved the addition of other tracks from that time period, including the new album closer Nobody Loves Us.
Two other Morrissey releases came in 2009; The HMV/Parlophone Singles '88-'95 and Swords, the former a 3 CD compilation of singles and B-sides from Viva Hate through to Vauxhall and I, the latter a compilation of B-sides from You Are The Quarry, Ringleader of the Tormentors, and Years of Refusal.
A new Very Best Of collection was released in 2011, accompanied by a UK tour.
Morrissey's eleventh solo album, 'Low in High School', was released on November 17th, 2017. ' Low in high School' was produced by Joe Chiccarelli same producer as Morrissey’s ‘World Peace is None of Your Business’.
Morrissey's twelth studio album "California Son" is released on 24 May 2019 on the singer's label étienne and licensed on BMG, the album is a collection of cover versions. It is recorded in 2018 by Joe Chiccarelli, a frequent collaborator of Morrissey.
Morrissey's new studio album, I Am Not A Dog On A Chain, is scheduled for March 2020 release by BMG. The album was recorded in St-remy, France, with producer Joe Chiccarelli.
Little Man What Now?
Morrissey Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Television show
You spoke in silhouette
(But they couldn't name you)
Although the panel were
Very polite to you
But I remembered you
From Friday nights 1969
Too old to be a child star
Too young to take leads
Four seasons passed
And they axed you
Nervously juvenile
(Won't smile!)
What became of you?
Did that swift eclipse torture you?
A star at eighteen
And then-suddenly gone
Down to a few lines
In the back page of a teenage annual
Oh but I remembered you
I looked up to you
The lyrics to Morrissey's song "Little Man What Now?" are filled with nostalgia for a time long gone. The song is about a television show from 1969 that the singer used to watch on Friday nights. He describes the show as "murdered every line", suggesting that it wasn't very good. In the song, Morrissey remembers one of the child actors from the show who had a small part and who couldn't even be named by the panel. He wonders what became of this actor and whether being a star at such a young age and then suddenly disappearing was torturous.
Through these lyrics, Morrissey is reflecting on the fleeting nature of fame and how easily it can come and go. He is also suggesting that those who once had fame and lost it may have experienced a particular kind of pain. This theme is especially poignant given Morrissey's own struggles with fame and his tendency to retreat from the public eye.
Overall, "Little Man What Now?" is a song that is both wistful and mournful. Morrissey is looking back on a time when he was young and the world was full of possibilities, but he is also acknowledging the hardships and disappointments that can come with growing up.
Line by Line Meaning
An afternoon nostalgia
A moment of sentimentality from the past
Television show
A program on TV
You spoke in silhouette
You appeared in a dark silhouette during the show
(But they couldn't name you)
The panel didn't know your name
Although the panel were
Even though the panel members were
Very polite to you
They were courteous to you
But I remembered you
I didn't forget you
From Friday nights 1969
From Friday nights in 1969
ATV - you murdered every line
You were terrible at delivering your lines on the TV show ATV
Too old to be a child star
You were too old to continue as a child star
Too young to take leads
You were too young to play lead roles
Four seasons passed
Four years went by
And they axed you
And they ended your career in the show business
Nervously juvenile
You were anxious and inexperienced
(Won't smile!)
You refused to smile
What became of you?
What happened to you?
Did that swift eclipse torture you?
Did your sudden fall from stardom hurt you?
A star at eighteen
You were famous at the age of eighteen
And then-suddenly gone
And then you disappeared suddenly
Down to a few lines
Your name appeared only in a few lines
In the back page of a teenage annual
In the last pages of a magazine for teenagers
Oh but I remembered you
But I still remembered you
I looked up to you
I admired you
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: STEVEN MORRISSEY, STEPHEN BRIAN STREET
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind