| "The Last of the Famous International Playboys" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Morrissey | ||||
| from the album Bona Drag (compilation) | ||||
| Released | 31 January 1989 | |||
| Format | 7", 12", CD, cassette | |||
| Length | 3:37 | |||
| Label | HMV (UK) | |||
| Morrissey singles chronology | ||||
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"The Last of the Famous International Playboys" was the third single released by Morrissey. It reached number 6 in the UK Singles Chart. The song was not featured on one of Morrissey's main studio albums, but can be found on the compilation album Bona Drag along with the B-side "Lucky Lisp". The artwork for the single features Morrissey, aged 7, up a tree in Chorlton-on-Medlock, Manchester — literally a boy at play. "The Last of the Famous International Playboys" is notable for featuring three of Morrissey's former colleagues in The Smiths — Andy Rourke, Mike Joyce and one time former Smiths rhythm guitarist Craig Gannon — all of whom also appear on the B-side, "Lucky Lisp".
The song mythologizes the notorious pair of vicious London gangsters known as the Kray twins (Ronnie and Reggie Kray), who held a tight rein on the East End of London during the 1960s. A few years after its original release and Top Ten UK chart appearance in 1989, "The Last of the Famous International Playboys" was brought into the public limelight again when Morrissey was reported to have sent a wreath to Ronnie Kray's funeral in 1995.
The title and lyrics of "The Last of the Famous International Playboys" could also allude to John Millington Synge's 1907 play The Playboy of the Western World — a work which similarly deals with the popular glorification of violence and crime. The title also alluded to the Nancy Sinatra film The Last of the Secret Agents; Sinatra was an icon, and later friend, of Morrissey's since his youth.
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NME gave the single a negative review, with Stuart Maconie saying the track was "'Panic' without the magnetism and the blinding self-confidence" and finished by saying "I would still chain myself to a disused railway line in Bacup for him, but the lad can do better"[1]
The song was performed live by Morrissey on his 1991, 1992, 2007 and 2011 tours.
| Country | Record label | Format | Catalogue number | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK | HMV | 7" vinyl | POP1620 | |
| UK | HMV | 12" vinyl | 12POP1620 | |
| UK | HMV | Compact disc | CDPOP1620 | |
| UK | HMV | Cassette | TCPOP1620 |
The song was covered in 1994 by the Bent Backed Tulips, otherwise known as alt-pop band Dramarama. The version was acoustic, sung and played entirely by John Easdale, Dramarama's singer/songwriter. Its release was limited to a 7" vinyl single, and served as the B-side to "Tie Me Down".
Finnish band Russian Love made a cover version of the song on their fifth album, Gala Brutale, released by Zen Garden in 1996.
Pop punk band J Church covered the song on their album Nostalgic for Nothing.