Morrissey - We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful

What this video is

Released 27 April 1992 as the lead single from 'Your Arsenal', this video arrives at a transitional moment in Morrissey's solo career—following the critically underwhelming 'Kill Uncle' and signalling a harder, glam-rock-informed direction facilitated by Mick Ronson. The song's lyrics satirise competitive envy within the Manchester music scene, a theme resonant at a time when Madchester was declining and Britpop…

Why it matters

A key document of Morrissey's early-90s solo identity consolidation, bridging his Smiths legacy with the glam-inflected rock of 'Your Arsenal'. The video's raw location-performance aesthetic, stripped of the surrealist or literary conceits of earlier Broad-directed promos, foregrounds the band's…

The director

Tim Broad (1955–1993) was a British music video director and cinematographer, best known for his extensive collaboration with Morrissey. He directed videos for The Smiths including 'This Charming Man' (1983) and 'Girlfriend in a Coma', and helmed numerous…