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Piccadilly Palare

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"Piccadilly Palare"
Single by Morrissey
from the album Bona Drag
B-side
  • "Get Off the Stage"
  • "At Amber"
Released8 October 1990 (1990-10-08)
Length3:26
LabelHMV
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Morrissey singles chronology
"November Spawned a Monster"
(1990) 		"Piccadilly Palare"
(1990) 		"Our Frank"
(1991)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]

"Piccadilly Palare" is a song by the English singer Morrissey, released as a single in October 1990 by HMV. The song features one of Morrissey's former colleagues from the Smiths, Andy Rourke on bass guitar, marking the last time any former member of the Smiths would collaborate with Morrissey. Backing vocals were provided by Suggs, lead vocalist of the ska and pop band Madness. "Piccadilly Palare" reached number 18 on the UK Singles Chart and number five in Ireland.

Song information

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As with "November Spawned a Monster", Morrissey chose to write about a subject unusual in pop music, namely male prostitution around the Piccadilly area of London. The title of the song refers to the cant slang language Polari, first used by male prostitutes in the 19th century and then taken up by homosexuals in the 1960s to disguise sexual activities which were illegal in the UK until 1967. Morrissey explained, "There was something oddly romantic about the whole thing. It spelt 'freedom'. Catching a coach and spending a day in Piccadilly was extraordinary".[2]

Morrissey wrote in his 2013 autobiography that he disliked the song. He called it "...a student work of novelty that wears off before noon".[3] In 1990, he said of the song:

It's not a particularly strong record. It's not overwhelming, the subject is even slightly dated. "Piccadilly Palare", which will receive blanket horrendous reviews, is a song about male prostitution. But I'm not running around in the street saying 'Look at me singing about male prostitution, isn't that incredibly unique!' I don't want plaudits for examining a new subject, but I will say that even coming across a pop record with a reasonably unique situation is in itself interesting.[4]

Critical reception

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NME gave "Piccadilly Palare" a positive review, saying "It's amazing what a slap across the wrist can do for the creative juices."[5] Ned Raggett of AllMusic called the song "another glam-touched chugger, its emotional heft provided by the wounded, bitter lyrics."[1]

Track listings

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7-inch vinyl and cassette

  1. "Piccadilly Palare"
  2. "Get Off the Stage"

12-inch vinyl and CD

  1. "Piccadilly Palare"
  2. "At Amber" (Morrissey/Street) Produced By Stephen Street
  3. "Get Off the Stage" (Morrissey/Rourke)

Musicians

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Charts

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Chart (1990) Peak
position
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[6] 51
Ireland (IRMA)[7] 5
UK Singles (OCC)[8] 13
US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[9] 2

Release details

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Country Record label Format Catalogue number Notes
UK HMV 7-inch vinyl POP1624
UK HMV 12-inch vinyl 12POP1624
UK HMV Compact disc CDPOP1624
UK HMV Cassette TCPOP1624

References

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  1. ^ a b Raggett, Ned. "Piccadilly Palare Review". AllMusic. Retrieved October 18, 2012.
  2. ^ Kent, Nick (March 1990). "Morrissey Interviewed by Nick Kent". The Face.
  3. ^ Rollingstone
  4. ^ "Bona Contention". Vox. November 1990.
  5. ^ Brown, James (3 October 1990). "Piccadilly Palare". NME. Archived from the original on 14 July 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  6. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 7, no. 43. 27 October 1990. p. IV–V. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
  7. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Picadilly Place". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  8. ^ "Morrissey: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
  9. ^ "Morrissey Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
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