Morrissey - Suedehead

What this video is

Released on 15 February 1988, 'Suedehead' arrived just months after The Smiths' dissolution and served as proof of Morrissey's viability as a solo force. The music video's pilgrimage to Fairmount, Indiana crystallised Morrissey's long-documented obsession with James Dean — an obsession dating to childhood and previously expressed in his 1983 paperback James Dean is Not Dead. By framing his debut solo visual around…

Why it matters

A landmark in British alternative music video history, 'Suedehead' established the non-performance, concept-pilgrimage format as Morrissey's dominant visual mode for his early solo career. It demonstrated that a top-10 UK single could be accompanied by a video containing no performance, no…

The director

Tim Broad (1955–1993) was a British music video director and cinematographer, best known for his extensive collaboration with Morrissey across both The Smiths and his solo career. He directed videos for The Smiths including 'Girlfriend in a Coma' and 'Stop…