For a brief spell in the late eighties and early nineties, video spawned a monster: and its name was Morrissey.
First released in 1990 off the back of albums ‘Viva Hate’ (1988) and ‘Bona Drag’ (1990) the collection is a veritable treat for anyone who enjoys a shapely promotional short. You’ll doubtless love the homoerotic cut and thrust of ‘Last Of The Famous International Playboys’ (in a bedroom green with envy, no less) just as you’ll doubtless love the miserably entertaining cameofest that is ‘Every Day Is Like Sunday’ (featuring Susie Birchill out of Coronation Street and Billie Whitelaw). And elsewhere it’s just as entertaining: the genuinely eerie and unsettling ‘Ouija Board, Ouija Board’ (even if guests Kathy Burke and Joan Simms are playing it for laughs), the pro-animal, cross dressing school boys of ‘Intesting Drug’ featuring busty liberator and former pin-up Diane Alton, and the Death-Valley camparound that is ‘November Spawned A Monster’
Interspersed with shots of fans and performances at the free gig Morrissey played in Wolverhampton it’s a short, sharp reminder that the promotional video can serve a purpose beyond that of simple eye-candy – and although bereft of additional features its 45 minutes of pure class.
Also released on EMI DVD: The Malady Lingers featuring the promotional shorts for ‘Glamorous Glue’, ‘Certain People I Know’, ‘You’re The One For Me, Fatty’, ‘Sing Your Life’ and ‘Pregnant For The Last Time’.