“Bigmouth Strikes Again” by The Smiths

"Bigmouth Strikes Again" was the first single the Smiths took from The Queen Is Dead in 1986, and it got that job over the objections of Rough Trade, whose pick had been "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out". Johnny Marr and Morrissey wrote it, and it finds Morrissey in full self-lacerating form, mocking himself while taking a swipe at the music business that was wearing him down.

Marr came up with the riff at a soundcheck in 1985, and the song owes its swagger to the Rolling Stones' "Jumpin' Jack Flash". He plays it like a man trying to outrun the rhythm section: guitars chiming and slashing in a headlong jangle while Andy Rourke's bass races underneath and Mike Joyce pounds away without a breath. Morrissey wails on top, and a chirpy extra voice credited to one Ann Coates pipes up behind him.

Marr and Morrissey produced it themselves with Stephen Street at the desk, and they kept it breathless and bright. It slotted into the band's run of singles between "The Boy with the Thorn in His Side" and "Panic", peaked at number 26 in the UK, and critics have only warmed to it since.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.