Song · Morrissey
“The Last of the Famous International Playboys” by Morrissey
Released 1989
“The Last of the Famous International Playboys” by Morrissey appears on 11 radio countdowns from 10 stations between 1989 and 2022. It was first released in 1989. Its best result is #10 on the Studio Brussel De Eindafrekening 1989. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #17 alternative song of 1989, #2,459 alternative song of all time and #148 of the '80s.
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Morrissey's "The Last of the Famous International Playboys" arrived in 1989, his third release since the Smiths fell apart in 1987, and the credits read like a half-reunion: Andy Rourke on bass, Mike Joyce on drums and Craig Gannon on guitar, the first of his solo singles to feature his old bandmates. Neil Taylor adds guitar, and Stephen Street, who produced it, wrote the music and plays keyboards.
Street's tune borrows its opening from Bowie's "The Man Who Sold the World" and its lurch from the Fall, and Morrissey hangs on it a lyric sparked by the Kray Twins, the East End gangsters of the 1960s, and by a press that turns violent men into glamorous celebrities. Reviews were mixed at first, but it went to number six in Britain, later landed on Bona Drag, and has since been hailed as one of his finest.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | 19 | 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana | 91X Top 91 Songs of 1989 | 90 |
| 1989 | 77 | Live 105 San Francisco, CA | Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 1989 | 105 |
| 1989 | 18 | John Peel (BBC Radio 1) | John Peel's Festive Fifty of 1989 | 50 |
| 1989 | 10 | Studio Brussel Flanders, Belgium | Studio Brussel De Eindafrekening 1989 | 30 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 86 | Live 105 | Live 105 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1991) | 302 |
| 1991 | 184 | CFNY 102.1 The Edge | CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (1991 Edition) | 1002 |
| 1999 | 268 | WFNX | WFNX Top 500 Songs of All-Time (June 1999) | 500 |
| 1999 | 681 | 107.7 The End | The End Top 1077 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) | 1077 |
| 2003 | 50 | Fred (XM 44) | Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) | 2044 |
| 2021 | 788 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '90s | 908 |
| 2022 | 267 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 900 Songs of the '90s | 900 |
Also listed as: Last of the Famous International Playboys; Last Of The Famous International Playboys; The Last Of The Famous International Playboys.
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