We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful

"We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful" is a single by English singer Morrissey released in April 1992 by HMV. It was released as the first single from his Your Arsenal album, preceding the album by three months, and was the first Morrissey single to be co-written with guitarist Alain Whyte and produced by glam rock guitarist Mick Ronson, known for his work with David Bowie as one of the Spiders from Mars.

"We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful"
Single by Morrissey
from the album Your Arsenal
Released27 April 1992
GenreAlternative rock
Length2:30
LabelHMV (UK)
Songwriter(s)Morrissey, Alain Whyte
Producer(s)Mick Ronson
Morrissey singles chronology
"My Love Life"
(1991)		 "We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful"
(1992)		 "You're the One for Me, Fatty"
(1992)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]

Peaking at No. 17 in the UK Singles Chart, the song shows a harder edge to Morrissey's sound and moves away from the lighter pop of his 1991 album Kill Uncle.

The Swedish synthpop band Universal Poplab covered the song on their 2004 debut eponymous album, in a duet with the Swedish pop singer Håkan Hellström.

Reel Big Fish covered the song on their 2005 album We're Not Happy 'til You're Not Happy, replacing the lyric "And if they are Northern" with "And if they are No Doubt".

Morrissey claimed that the lyrics were about the music scene in Manchester, with bands contesting for success. James lead singer Tim Booth has admitted the song is about the success James had as a fellow Manchester band, once performing it at a festival in place of Morrissey.[2][3]

On hating it when his friends became successful, he said: "When my old friend Simon Topping [the frontman of Manchester band A Certain Ratio] appeared on the cover of the NME, I died a thousand deaths of sorrow and lay down in the woods to die."

Critical reception

Andrew Collins in NME gave a very negative review of the single, writing that "this is by far and away the ex-Smith's WORST single" and described the music as "the sound of five men bashing around in the darkness in search of a tune" before finishing the review by announcing "Moz is history, and we'd all do well to learn it."[4] In a retrospective review, Ned Raggett of AllMusic wrote, "It may be a mouthful, but as delivered it becomes a wonderfully funny, intentionally bitchy sentiment for this EP's lead track."[1]

Track listings

7" vinyl and cassette
  1. "We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful"
  2. "Suedehead" (live London 4/10/91)

12" vinyl (UK)
  1. "We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful"
  2. "Suedehead" (live London 4/10/91)
  3. "I've Changed My Plea to Guilty" (live London 4/10/91)
  4. "Pregnant for the Last Time" (live London 4/10/91)

CD (UK)
  1. "We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful"
  2. "Suedehead" (live London 4/10/91)
  3. "I've Changed My Plea to Guilty" (live London 4/10/91)
  4. "Alsatian Cousin" (live London 4/10/91)

12" vinyl and CD (USA)
  1. "We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful"
  2. "Suedehead" (live London 4/10/91)
  3. "I've Changed My Plea to Guilty" (live London 4/10/91)
  4. "Pregnant for the Last Time" (live London 4/10/91)
  5. "Alsatian Cousin" (live London 4/10/91)
Country Record label Format Catalogue number
UKHMV7" vinylPOP1629
UKHMV12" vinyl12POP1629
UKHMVCompact discCDPOP1629
UKHMVCassetteTCPOP1629

Etchings on vinyl

British 7" and 12": I DO NOT KNOW ANYONE THAT IS HAPPY DO YOU/none [5]

Musicians
  • Morrissey: voice
  • Alain Whyte: guitar
  • Boz Boorer: guitar
  • Gary Day: bass guitar
  • Spencer Cobrin: drums

Live performances

The song was debuted on the second US leg of his tour promoting the Kill Uncle album. The first half of the song was performed during the aborted gig at Pauley Pavilion, Los Angeles, in 1991, in which 48 people were injured as the crowd rushed the stage.[6] It was then performed in concert for the duration of his tour in 1992 promoting Your Arsenal. Fellow Manchester band James performed it as a set opener when standing in for Morrissey at Glastonbury, with frontman Tim Booth stating beforehand that "this is our Morrissey impression".

See also

References
  1. Raggett, Ned. "We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful Review". AllMusic. Retrieved October 29, 2012.
  2. "1990s Indie Icons James Are Set To Topple Adele from The Number One Spot – We Spoke To Frontman Tim Booth | NME". NME | Music, Film, TV, Gaming & Pop Culture News. 2016-03-22. Retrieved 2021-01-14.
  3. "Tim Booth of James on 'Living in Extraordinary Times' ...and saving Batman". Vanyaland. 2019-07-08. Retrieved 2021-01-14.
  4. NME We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful Review
  5. Passions just like mine
  6. https://articles.latimes.com/1991-11-03/local/me-1598_1_pop-singer
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