Bona Drag
Cover art for the original 1990 CD release
Compilation album by
Morrissey
Released15 October 1990
Recorded1987–1989
GenreAlternative rock
Length49:45
LabelHMV
Major Minor (reissue)
ProducerStephen Street; Clive Langer & Alan Winstanley
Morrissey chronology
Viva Hate
(1988)		 Bona Drag
(1990)		 Kill Uncle
(1991)
Singles from Bona Drag
  1. "Piccadilly Palare"
    Released: 9 October 1990
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Chicago Tribune[2]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[3]
Los Angeles Times[4]
NME8/10[5]
Pitchfork9.8/10[6]
Q[7]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[8]
Uncut[9]
The Village VoiceB+[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 outfits 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. In 2010, the album was remastered and expanded to include six bonus tracks.

Background

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. Morrissey explained, "People will view it suspiciously in England but not in the rest of the world where all those funny little singles were never released. It was initially for the rest of the world, but EMI were determined to release it here."[11]

Composition

Bona Drag features all of Morrissey's solo singles up to that point, two of which ("Suedehead" and "Everyday Is Like Sunday") were taken from his first solo album Viva Hate, while the others were making their first ever appearance on an album. Four of these singles were Top Ten hits. The album also includes several B-sides, none of which had appeared on an album before.

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 jacket colour was altered from black to red.

20th anniversary reissue

In October 2010, the album was reissued on the resurrected Major Minor label, with six officially unreleased studio recordings. The artwork was edited and inner artwork updated with previously unseen photos chosen by Morrissey.[12] It entered the UK charts at number 67.[13] The reissue notably included several edits, including removing a verse from 'Ouija Board Ouija Board' and restoring a previously cut verse to 'Piccadilly Palare'.

Track listing

All songs by Morrissey and Street, except where noted.

LP

Side A
No.TitleWriter(s)A-side/B-sideLength
1."Piccadilly Palare"Morrissey, ArmstrongSingle A-side3:28
2."Interesting Drug" Single A-side3:27
3."November Spawned a Monster"Morrissey, LangerSingle A-side5:28
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-side3:40
7."Ouija Board, Ouija Board" Single A-side4:25
Side B
No.TitleWriter(s)A-side/B-sideLength
1."Hairdresser on Fire" B-side of "Suedehead"3:49
2."Everyday Is Like Sunday" Single A-side3:34
3."He Knows I'd Love to See Him"Morrissey, ArmstrongB-side of "November Spawned a Monster"3:08
4."Yes, I Am Blind"Morrissey, RourkeB-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-side3:54
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 a verse removed ("The glass is moving, no, I was not pushing that time")
  • "Piccadilly Palare" has an extra verse, as has circulated on bootlegs ("A cold-water room")
  • "Interesting Drug" fades into "November Spawned a Monster"
  • "Suedehead" edited to remove guitar fade on the intro.

Personnel

Guest musicians

Production

Charts

Chart performance for Bona Drag
Chart (1990) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[14] 57
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[15] 40
UK Albums (OCC)[16] 9
US Billboard 200[17] 59

Certifications and sales

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[18] Silver 60,000^
United States (RIAA)[19] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Bona Drag – Morrissey". AllMusic. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  2. ↑ Kot, Greg (15 November 1990). "Morrissey: Bona Drag (Sire/Reprise)". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  3. ↑ Arnold, Gina (23 November 1990). "Bona Drag". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  4. ↑ Willman, Chris (25 November 1990). "Morrissey: 'Bona Drag' Reprise". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  5. ↑ Maconie, Stuart (20 October 1990). "Interesting Drag". NME. p. 41.
  6. ↑ Plagenhoef, Scott (15 October 2010). "Morrissey: Bona Drag [20th Anniversary Edition]". Pitchfork. Retrieved 15 October 2010.
  7. ↑ Segal, Victoria (November 2010). "Morrissey: Bona Drag: Special Edition". Q. No. 292. p. 120.
  8. ↑ Sheffield, Rob (2004). "Morrissey". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 560–561. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  9. ↑ McKay, Alastair (November 2010). "Morrissey: Bona Drag". Uncut. No. 162. p. 94.
  10. ↑ Christgau, Robert (7 May 1991). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  11. ↑ "Bona Contention". Vox. November 1990.
  12. ↑ "Bona Drag: 20th Anniversary vinyl and CD editions release information". True To You. 12 July 2010. Archived from the original on 4 February 2012. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
  13. ↑ "Official UK Albums Top 100 – 21st January 2012 | The UK Charts | Top 40 | Official Charts Company". Theofficialcharts.com. Archived from the original on 9 July 2011. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
  14. ↑ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 194.
  15. ↑ "Charts.nz – Morrissey – Bona Drag". Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  16. ↑ "Search results for "bona drag"". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  17. ↑ "Morrissey – Chart history | Billboard". Billboard. Archived from the original on 22 September 2016. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
  18. ↑ "British album certifications – Morrisey – Bona Drag". British Phonographic Industry.
  19. ↑ "American album certifications – Morrissey – Bona drag". Recording Industry Association of America.
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