Album · Morrissey
Viva Hate by Morrissey
Viva Hate is an album by Morrissey, released in 1988. 5 songs from it have charted on rock radio countdowns, with 115 countdown appearances in total. The biggest is “Suedehead”, on 56 lists with a best position of #4.
Viva Hate, Morrissey's first solo album, came out on His Master's Voice on 14 March 1988, barely half a year after the Smiths' final album, Strangeways, Here We Come, and he started recording it just two months after the band fell apart. No long mourning period, then.
Stephen Street, who had worked on several Smiths records, stepped up to write the music, produce and play bass, and Vini Reilly of the Durutti Column brought his delicate, glassy guitar. The sound is lighter and airier than the Smiths, all shimmer and melancholy. "Suedehead" is a sulky, gorgeous pop single, "Everyday Is Like Sunday" is gray and drizzly and lovely, and "Late Night Maudlin Street" takes its time, a long, wistful drift. Morrissey sounds wounded and witty in equal measure, which is exactly how his fans wanted him.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
Songs from Viva Hate on radio countdowns
| # | Song | Strength | Lists | Best | #1s | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Suedehead | 56 | #4 | – | 1988–2023 | |
| 2 | Everyday Is Like Sunday | 56 | #5 | – | 1988–2026 | |
| 3 | I Don't Mind If You Forget Me | 1 | #36 | – | 1988 | |
| 4 | Late Night Maudlin Street | 1 | #22 | – | 1988 | |
| 5 | Angel, Angel, Down We Go Together | 1 | #878 | – | 1991 |
Only songs that appear on at least one countdown are listed. Release data from MusicBrainz.