Bona Drag

Bona Drag
Studio album by Morrissey
Released	15 October 1990
Recorded	1987–1989
Genre	Alternative rock
Length	49:45
Label	HMV Major Minor (reissue)
Producer	Stephen Street; Clive Langer & Alan Winstanley
Morrissey compilation chronology
Viva Hate (1988) Bona Drag (1990) Kill Uncle (1991)
Singles from Bona Drag
"Piccadilly Palare" Released: 9 October 1990

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Pitchfork	(9.8/10)[2]
PopMatters	(10/10)[3]
Blender	[4]
Entertainment Weekly	B+[5]
Q	[6]
Robert Christgau	B+[7]

Bona Drag is a studio album by Morrissey released on 15 October 1990. The album features an array of Morrissey's most popular songs from his early solo career, most of which had not been released on any previous album. The album name meaning nice outfit is an example of the subculture slang Polari explored further on the album's first track "Piccadilly Palare". The album was certified Gold by the RIAA on 6 December 2000.

About the album

After releasing Viva Hate in March 1988, Morrissey modified his method of releasing music. Instead of choosing to produce an immediate follow-up album, he decided to release a string of independent singles in the hopes of achieving success in that market. Morrissey initially planned to release a second album after releasing a few holdover singles.

As such, he released "The Last of the Famous International Playboys", "Interesting Drug", and "Ouija Board, Ouija Board" over the course of 1989. The first two of these became top ten hits. However, by the end of 1989 it became apparent that he would not be able to put out an album of new material soon enough.

Morrissey decided to scrap the idea of a full-length LP and release a compilation of singles and B-sides instead. Thus, the Bona Drag project was born. "November Spawned a Monster" was released in May 1990 to modest success; the album and the single "Piccadilly Palare" followed, both released on the same day that October.

Composition

Bona Drag features nearly all of the strong pieces of material written by Morrissey in the first three years of his solo career. The tracks include four top ten hits. Morrissey included two tracks on this compilation from his Viva Hate album: "Suedehead" and "Everyday Is Like Sunday".

The album is also significant for including the first tracks by Morrissey to chart in the United States. "Piccadilly Palare" and "Ouija Board, Ouija Board" both reached number 2 on the Modern Rock chart. "The Last of the Famous International Playboys" went to number 3, "November Spawned a Monster", number 6, and "Interesting Drug", number 11. Bona Drag launched Morrissey's career in the US, and in many ways it marked the turning point after which he became less popular in the UK but achieved increasing success in America.

The album sleeve is taken from Morrissey's "November Spawned a Monster" promotion video. Morrissey's shirt colour was altered from black to red in the photo.

20th anniversary reissue

In July 2010, EMI announced Bona Drag would be reissued on 27 September 2010, with the original track listing plus six officially unreleased studio outtakes. The front artwork would have the shirt changed from red to the original black, and the back and inner artwork would be updated with previously unseen photos chosen by Morrissey. It would be released on the resurrected Major Minor imprint.^[8] The re-issue eventually came out on 4 October, entering the UK charts at number 67.^[9] Music blog Pitchfork Media awarded the release a score of '9.8' and a "Best new reissue" tag, calling Bona Drag "the most enduring success of Morrissey's solo career".^[2]

Track listing

All songs by Morrissey/Street, except where noted.

LP

2010 re-release

The 2010 re-release features the following additional tracks:

• "Happy Lovers at Last United" (Outtake from "Everyday Is Like Sunday" sessions)
• "Lifeguard on Duty" (Outtake from Viva Hate sessions)
• "Please Help the Cause Against Loneliness" (demo) (Outtake from Viva Hate, previously covered by Sandie Shaw)
• "Oh Phoney" (Outtake from Bona Drag sessions) (Morrissey/Armstrong)
• "The Bed Took Fire" (early version of "At Amber")
• "Let the Right One Slip In" (alternate long mix) (Morrissey/Alain Whyte)

The following changes have been made to the original album:

• "Ouija Board, Ouija Board" has been edited in the middle section
• "Piccadilly Palare" has an extra verse, as has circulated on bootlegs
• "Interesting Drug" fades into "November Spawned a Monster"
• "Suedehead" edited to remove guitar fade on the intro.

Etchings on vinyl

"AESTHETICS VERSUS ATHLETICS"/none

Personnel

• Morrissey – voice
• Vini Reilly – guitar, keyboards
• Craig Gannon – guitar
• Kevin Armstrong – guitar
• Stephen Street – keyboards, guitar, bass guitar
• Andy Rourke – bass guitar
• Matthew Seligman – bass guitar
• Andrew Paresi – drums
• Mike Joyce – drums

Guest musicians

• Graham "Suggs" McPherson – additional vocals on "Piccadilly Palare"
• Kirsty MacColl – backing vocals on "Interesting Drug"
• Mary Margaret O'Hara – additional voice on "November Spawned a Monster"

Technical staff

• Stephen Street – producer
• Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley – producer

References