Bona Drag

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[1]
Blender	^[2]
Chicago Tribune	^[3]
Entertainment Weekly	B+^[4]
NME	8/10^[5]
Pitchfork Media	9.8/10^[6]
Q	^[7]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	^[8]
Uncut	^[9]
The Village Voice	B+^[10]

Bona Drag is a compilation 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.^[11] The re-issue eventually came out on 4 October, entering the UK charts at number 67.^[12] 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".^[6]

Track listing

All songs by Morrissey/Street, except where noted.

LP

Side A
No.	Title	A-side/B-side	Length
1.	"Piccadilly Palare" (Morrissey/Armstrong)	Single A-side	3:28
2.	"Interesting Drug"	Single A-side	3:27
3.	"November Spawned a Monster" (Morrissey/Langer)	Single A-side	5:28
4.	"Will Never Marry"	Edited version of B-side of "Everyday Is Like Sunday"	2:22
5.	"Such a Little Thing Makes Such a Big Difference"	B-side of "Interesting Drug"	2:51
6.	"The Last of the Famous International Playboys"	Single A-side	3:40
7.	"Ouija Board, Ouija Board"	Single A-side	4:25

Side B
No.	Title	A-side/B-side	Length
1.	"Hairdresser on Fire"	B-side of "Suedehead"	3:49
2.	"Everyday Is Like Sunday"	Single A-side	3:34
3.	"He Knows I'd Love to See Him" (Morrissey/Armstrong)	B-side of "November Spawned a Monster"	3:08
4.	"Yes, I Am Blind" (Morrissey/Rourke)	B-side of "Ouija Board, Ouija Board"	3:44
5.	"Lucky Lisp"	B-side of "The Last of the Famous International Playboys"	2:51
6.	"Suedehead"	Single A-side	3:54
7.	"Disappointed"	B-side of "Everyday is Like Sunday"	3:06

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

Charts

Album

Year	Chart	Position
1990	New Zealand Albums	40^[13]
1990	UK Albums Chart	9^[14]
1990	Billboard 200	59^[15]

References

↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Bona Drag – Morrissey". AllMusic. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
↑ Power, Tony (15 September 2004). "Morrissey: Bona Drag". Blender. Archived from the original on 14 September 2010. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
↑ Kot, Greg (15 November 1990). "Morrissey Bona Drag (Sire/Reprise)". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
↑ Arnold, Gina (23 November 1990). "Bona Drag". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
↑ Maconie, Stuart (20 October 1990). "Interesting Drag". NME: 4.
1 2 Plagenhoef, Scott (14 October 2010). "Morrissey: Bona Drag [20th Anniversary Edition]". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 15 October 2010.
↑ "Morrissey: Bona Drag". Q (292). November 2010.
↑ Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian, eds. (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon & Schuster. pp. 561–62. ISBN 0-743-20169-8.
↑ McKay, Alastair (November 2010). "Morrissey: Bona Drag". Uncut (162): 94.
↑ Christgau, Robert (7 May 1991). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
↑ "Bona Drag: 20th Anniversary vinyl and CD editions release information". True To You. 12 July 2010. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
↑ "Official UK Albums Top 100 – 21st January 2012 | The UK Charts | Top 40 | Official Charts Company". Theofficialcharts.com. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
↑ http://charts.org.nz/showitem.asp?interpret=Morrissey&titel=Bona+Drag&cat=a
↑ http://www.officialcharts.com/search/albums/bona%20drag/
↑ http://www.billboard.com/artist/311824/morrissey/chart?page=1&f=305

Morrissey

Discography Personnel

Studio albums	Viva Hate Kill Uncle Your Arsenal Vauxhall and I Southpaw Grammar Maladjusted You Are the Quarry Ringleader of the Tormentors Years of Refusal World Peace Is None of Your Business

Live albums	Beethoven Was Deaf Live at Earls Court

Compilation album	Bona Drag World of Morrissey Suedehead: The Best of Morrissey My Early Burglary Years The CD Singles '88–91' The CD Singles '91–95' The Best of Morrissey Greatest Hits Swords Very Best of Morrissey

Extended plays	At KROQ

Singles	"Suedehead" "Everyday Is Like Sunday" "The Last of the Famous International Playboys" "Interesting Drug" "Ouija Board, Ouija Board" "November Spawned a Monster" "Piccadilly Palare" "Our Frank" "Sing Your Life" "Pregnant for the Last Time" "My Love Life" "We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful" "You're the One for Me, Fatty" "Tomorrow" "Certain People I Know" "The More You Ignore Me, the Closer I Get" "Hold on to Your Friends" "Interlude" "Now My Heart Is Full" "Boxers" "Dagenham Dave" "The Boy Racer" "Sunny" "Alma Matters" "Roy's Keen" "Satan Rejected My Soul" "Irish Blood, English Heart" "First of the Gang to Die" "Let Me Kiss You" "I Have Forgiven Jesus" "Redondo Beach" / "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out" "You Have Killed Me" "The Youngest Was the Most Loved" "In the Future When All's Well" "I Just Want to See the Boy Happy" "That's How People Grow Up" "All You Need Is Me" "I'm Throwing My Arms Around Paris" "Something Is Squeezing My Skull" "Glamorous Glue" (reissue) "Satellite of Love" "World Peace Is None of Your Business" "Istanbul" "Earth Is the Loneliest Planet" "The Bullfighter Dies" "Kiss Me a Lot"

Videos	Hulmerist Live in Dallas The Malady Lingers On Introducing Morrissey ¡Oye Esteban! Who Put the M in Manchester? Live at the Hollywood Bowl Morrissey: 25 Live

Books	The New York Dolls James Dean Is Not Dead Exit Smiling Autobiography List of the Lost

Tours	Kill Uncle Tour Your Arsenal Tour ¡Oye Esteban! Tour

Bands	The Nosebleeds The Smiths

Personnel	Boz Boorer Alain Whyte Jesse Tobias Vini Reilly Stephen Street Mick Ronson Steve Lillywhite Jerry Finn Tony Visconti Solomon Walker

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