Last of the Famous International Playboy's video

Many people don't notice, but that is the great Stephen Street playing the synthesizer in the video. I've always felt he has never gotten his due from Morrissey or the fanbase for the excellent contributions he made to Moz's career (not to mention The Smiths). The songs on Viva Hate quite literally saved Morrissey at a time when he (and the fans) needed it most. I'm so glad he was brave enough to step forward and offer his songs because knowing Morrissey that suggestion could have gone badly. And what a superb collection of songs they turned out to be. Of course, with the help of other very talented people to flesh them out. How lucky could Moz get though? To be in that position after the breakup and have to look no further than a guy who is already a friend and cohort that just happens to have a knack for writing amazing songs that you will become best known for. Amazes me still. The way Moz treated him after the Oujia Board release and "failure" was when I first started to realize that Morrissey was not the man I thought he was. Stephen deserved better and it's possible that "Kill Uncle" would have been even more interesting with Street involved. Who knows?
Two things I've always wondered about this video is how much Morrissey had to do with the decorations on the wall of the boy and what was supposed to have been used image wise on the green screen staging that they are performing on? I figure it was probably some kind of Kray's footage and that Moz was unable to get permission to use it by the deadline for release of the single so they just went with it as is. Maybe the director of the video would know.
 
I am the writer of the anonymous post directly above ^^^ about Stephen Street. I forgot to log in and I must take credit for my work. For better or worse.

swift eclipse
 
Many people don't notice, but that is the great Stephen Street playing the synthesizer in the video. I've always felt he has never gotten his due from Morrissey or the fanbase for the excellent contributions he made to Moz's career (not to mention The Smiths). The songs on Viva Hate quite literally saved Morrissey at a time when he (and the fans) needed it most.

While I think Viva Hate was a fine release, I don't think it "saved" him as such. It came out just six months after Strangeways, the Smiths split was still fresh in everyone's mind, and in reality there was no pressing need for him to come up with a solo album just yet. He could have easily recorded one later in 1988/89 had he wanted to, but I think he rushed into it because he didn't know what else to do - and it came off the back of Street proposing they do some Smiths b-sides together. To record Strangeways and Viva Hate in the same year really is quite an achievement - though I remember many fans at the time grumbling that it "wasn't as good as the Smiths", obviously...

The way Moz treated him after the Oujia Board release and "failure" was when I first started to realize that Morrissey was not the man I thought he was.

I don't quite know what you're getting at here - Quija Board was recorded with Langer and Winstanley; Street was already out of the picture as producer.

Two things I've always wondered about this video is how much Morrissey had to do with the decorations on the wall of the boy and what was supposed to have been used image wise on the green screen staging that they are performing on? I figure it was probably some kind of Kray's footage and that Moz was unable to get permission to use it by the deadline for release of the single so they just went with it as is. Maybe the director of the video would know.

It was Tim Broad though, no longer with us. I have often wondered about the green screen in that video too.
 
Two things I've always wondered about this video is how much Morrissey had to do with the decorations on the wall of the boy and what was supposed to have been used image wise on the green screen staging that they are performing on? I figure it was probably some kind of Kray's footage and that Moz was unable to get permission to use it by the deadline for release of the single so they just went with it as is. Maybe the director of the video would know.

Pretty sure Morrissey would have sanctioned all the box-bedroom 'art', or at least in close consultation with Tim Broad {the director}, 'Blow-Up', 'The Long Good Friday', Elvis, etc. Everything fits.
Speaking of fit; í seem to remember reading someone somewhere say that M. had 'hand-picked' the lead ruff, Jason Rush, after seeing him in 'The Two of Us', the BBC 1987 drama. (Which also features an early performance by Kathy Burke, 'Ouija Board's' phantom clippie).
As for the green-screen; there was none. It was just a studio backdrop, coloured in a pleasingly rich shade of Irish, Wildean green , that the Moz 'band' played in front of. 'Green-screen', in the CGI sense of the term, did not exist in 1989, and even if it did, Morrissey would certainly not have sanctioned the kind of money that it would have cost.
Tim Broad, the director of the promotional film, has gone to his great reward.

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While I think Viva Hate was a fine release, I don't think it "saved" him as such. It came out just six months after Strangeways, the Smiths split was still fresh in everyone's mind, and in reality there was no pressing need for him to come up with a solo album just yet. He could have easily recorded one later in 1988/89 had he wanted to, but I think he rushed into it because he didn't know what else to do - and it came off the back of Street proposing they do some Smiths b-sides together. To record Strangeways and Viva Hate in the same year really is quite an achievement - though I remember many fans at the time grumbling that it "wasn't as good as the Smiths", obviously...



I don't quite know what you're getting at here - Quija Board was recorded with Langer and Winstanley; Street was already out of the picture as producer.



It was Tim Broad though, no longer with us. I have often wondered about the green screen in that video too.

I simply meant that following the breakup of The Smiths, Morrissey's lifeline was gone. The very thing he lived for. Street gave him hope for the future. This, after all, is a man who wrote and sang the lines "I've got the twenty-first century breathing down my neck, I must move fast, you understand me..." If you think he was just gonna be cool with hanging out 'til '88 or '89 to do something new then you don't know Moz. When it came to Smiths releases six months was a long time. Remember, M and M always saw themselves as a singles band with an eye on constant output.
Stephen was ousted due to the poor showing of this song. It's well documented. Even though other Street songs were put on releases later he was no longer the guy of choice and it was done callously and Stephen has said so.
 
Pretty sure Morrissey would have sanctioned all the box-bedroom 'art', or at least in close consultation with Tim Broad {the director}, 'Blow-Up', 'The Long Good Friday', Elvis, etc. Everything fits.
Speaking of fit; í seem to remember reading someone somewhere say that M. had 'hand-picked' the lead ruff, Jason Rush, after seeing him in 'The Two of Us', the BBC 1987 drama. (Which also features an early performance by Kathy Burke, 'Ouija Board's' phantom clippie).
As for the green-screen; there was none. It was just a studio backdrop, coloured in a pleasingly rich shade of Irish, Wildean green , that the Moz 'band' played in front of. 'Green-screen', in the CGI sense of the term, did not exist in 1989, and even if it did, Morrissey would certainly not have sanctioned the kind of money that it would have cost.
Tim Broad, the director of the promotional film, has gone to his great reward.

.

I figured that Moz was responsible for the artwork. I just wonder if he was hands on with how it was constructed. Like did he literally help put it on the wall. I can see him enjoying something on that level. Design being a central interest. I don't think he was "above" doing something like this. And you are absolutely wrong about the green screen or chroma key not existing in '89. It had been around long before then and was not expensive at all when this video was made. In fact, a reasonably good buy. Google is your friend. Wildean green? Sheesh. Give me a break.
 
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Pretty sure Morrissey would have sanctioned all the box-bedroom 'art', or at least in close consultation with Tim Broad {the director}, 'Blow-Up', 'The Long Good Friday', Elvis, etc. Everything fits.
Speaking of fit; í seem to remember reading someone somewhere say that M. had 'hand-picked' the lead ruff, Jason Rush, after seeing him in 'The Two of Us', the BBC 1987 drama. (Which also features an early performance by Kathy Burke, 'Ouija Board's' phantom clippie).
As for the green-screen; there was none. It was just a studio backdrop, coloured in a pleasingly rich shade of Irish, Wildean green , that the Moz 'band' played in front of. 'Green-screen', in the CGI sense of the term, did not exist in 1989, and even if it did, Morrissey would certainly not have sanctioned the kind of money that it would have cost.
Tim Broad, the director of the promotional film, has gone to his great reward.

.
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great informative post. 'Wildean green' love that ! I think the green was chosen on purpose in the same way
the art work for the single's color choice was also as green as Wilde's carnation !





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great informative post. 'Wildean green' love that ! I think the green was chosen on purpose in the same way
the art work for the single's color choice was also as green as Wilde's carnation !





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As usual you are wrong. That is a green chroma key screen used for post production images. A completely different green than on the art work. Seriously WTF?
 
Stephen was ousted due to the poor showing of this song. It's well documented. Even though other Street songs were put on releases later he was no longer the guy of choice and it was done callously and Stephen has said so.

Street was gone before the release of ‘Interesting Drug’ when after a dispute over future royalties or some such thing he attempted to place an injunction to prevent the single being released. Danny Kelly covered it in the NME where I seem to remember him making the quip about ‘Street Is Murder’ which I chuckled at at the time. So Street was out for a decent chunk of time before ‘Ouija Board.’ Fact.
 
The Morrissey/Street compositions are fantastic.

I've just read Johnny Marr's book where he thought it was strange Rouke and Joyce were playing with Morrissey despite the legal goings on.
 
It's certainly true that Morrissey was fortunate to have Street as a collaborator and producer.

I also think that Morrissey upped his own game though and, more perhaps than at any other time, was also pretty strict when it came to quality control. Several of the weaker songs were jettisoned early on and they made a very strong album together. Typical (and admirable) of Morrissey to refuse the record company's request to include Hairdresser on Fire though, even when it was his crucial debut album.
 
Street was gone before the release of ‘Interesting Drug’ when after a dispute over future royalties or some such thing he attempted to place an injunction to prevent the single being released. Danny Kelly covered it in the NME where I seem to remember him making the quip about ‘Street Is Murder’ which I chuckled at at the time. So Street was out for a decent chunk of time before ‘Ouija Board.’ Fact.

Now that you mention it I remember this situation involoving monetary discrepancies (as usual with Moz) but Street was still in place as principal songwriter for Moz despite the injunction. Evidenced by the FACT that he wrote Ouija after that and it was released as a single because these things were cleared up enough for everyone to move on. Nothing changes the FACT that Street was unceremoniously discharged even though he was arguably Morrissey's best musical director apart from Marr.
 
Now that you mention it I remember this situation involoving monetary discrepancies (as usual with Moz) but Street was still in place as principal songwriter for Moz despite the injunction. Evidenced by the FACT that he wrote Ouija after that and it was released as a single because these things were cleared up enough for everyone to move on. Nothing changes the FACT that Street was unceremoniously discharged even though he was arguably Morrissey's best musical director apart from Marr.

Did he write Ouija Board after Interesting Drug was released or was it written around the same time and then later recorded? Because Street neither played on it nor produced it, so it doesn't seem like they fully moved on after the Interesting Drug dust-up.
 
Now that you mention it I remember this situation involoving monetary discrepancies (as usual with Moz) but Street was still in place as principal songwriter for Moz despite the injunction. Evidenced by the FACT that he wrote Ouija after that and it was released as a single because these things were cleared up enough for everyone to move on. Nothing changes the FACT that Street was unceremoniously discharged even though he was arguably Morrissey's best musical director apart from Marr.

Nope, Street was gone as soon as he laid that injunction. They never worked together again. FACT. Journalists Who Lie was also a Morrissey/Street composition so going by your logic they continued to work together after Ouija Board??? No of course they didn't, the reality was Morrissey had stockpile of Street tunes that he put lyrics to, they NEVER actually worked together after the injunction was taken out over Interesting Drug. FACT.
 
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Nope, Street was gone as soon as he laid that injunction. They never worked together again. FACT. Journalists Who Lie was also a Morrissey/Street composition so going by your logic they continued to work together after Ouija Board??? No of course they didn't, the reality was Morrissey had stockpile of Street tunes that he put lyrics to, they NEVER actually worked together after the injunction was taken out over Interesting Drug. FACT.

Well, they did actually work together again. Stephen Street went into the studio to work on At Amber.

It's true that they didn't write together again though.
 
Well, they did actually work together again. Stephen Street went into the studio to work on At Amber.

It's true that they didn't write together again though.

Studio work on At Amber is news to me but I'm glad you agree with me that they never wrote another song together after the injunction. the injunction was the death knell of their working relationship.
 
Studio work on At Amber is news to me but I'm glad you agree with me that they never wrote another song together after the injunction. the injunction was the death knell of their working relationship.

The Bed Took Fire was written and recorded during Playboys/Drug sessions in late 88 so it actually features Rourke/Joyce/Gannon/Street. Morrissey wasn't happy with the song so it was abandoned, but then oddly revived it a year later during the Langer/Winstanley Bona Drag sessions - perhaps because they were short of a b-side. Out of courtesy Morrissey did invite Street into the studio to help work on the new mix, which as we know became At Amber, but he certainly wasn't being invited back into the fold.
 
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