"Interlude" is a 1968 song written and composed by

Georges Delerue Georges Delerue (12 March 1925 – 20 March 1992) was a French composer who composed over 350 scores for cinema and television. Delerue won numerous important film music awards, including an Academy Award for '' A Little Romance'' (1980), three C ...

and

Hal Shaper Hal Shaper (Born Harold David Shaper), 18 July 1931 - 8 January 2004) was a South African songwriter. After qualifying as a lawyer in 1955, he travelled to London to begin his five-decade-long musical career during which he worked with and wrote f ...

and originally performed by American soul singer

Timi Yuro Rosemary Victoria Yuro (August 4, 1940 – March 30, 2004), known professionally as Timi Yuro, was an American singer-songwriter. Sometimes called "the little girl with the big voice," she is considered to be one of the first blue-eyed soul sty ...

. It is the title track for the 1968 film of the same name. In 1994, the song was covered in a duet by Morrissey and

Siouxsie Sioux Susan Janet Ballion (born 27 May 1957), known professionally as Siouxsie Sioux, is an English singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. She was the lead singer of the rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees (1976–1996). They released 11 ...

and released as a single in August of that year by

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in March 1 ...

. It was presented under the banner of "Morrissey & Siouxsie".

Morrissey and Siouxsie version

Background

"Interlude" was recorded during the recording sessions for Morrissey's ''

Vauxhall and I ''Vauxhall and I'' is the fourth studio album by English alternative rock musician Morrissey. It was released on 14 March 1994, by the record label Parlophone in the UK and Sire/Reprise in the US. Background The album's title may be a refer ...

'' album in summer 1993 at

Hook End Manor Hook End Recording Studios was a recording studio located in Hook End Manor, a 16th-century Elizabethan house near Checkendon, Oxfordshire, England. History The original studio, Space Studios, was built by Alvin Lee of the band Ten Years Afte ...

, and was produced by Morrissey guitarist and musical director

Boz Boorer Martin James "Boz" Boorer (born 19 May 1962 in Edgware, Middlesex, England) is an English guitarist and producer most known for his work founding the new wave rockabilly group the Polecats; and later for his work as a co-writer, guitarist and m ...

. Morrissey first contacted Siouxsie in the early 1990s with a view to recording a duet with her. In 1993, he sent her a tape with some potential songs he had selected. All were numbers initially sung by female singers like

Nancy Sinatra Nancy Sandra Sinatra (born June 8, 1940) is an American singer and actress. She is the elder daughter of Frank Sinatra and Nancy Sinatra ( Barbato), and is best known for her 1966 signature hit " These Boots Are Made for Walkin'. Nancy Sinatr ...

and Dionne Warwick. Siouxsie picked this

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

and Morrissey agreed. The sessions went well and Boorer later described his collaboration with Siouxsie as "complete joy". The strings section were played by members of

My Life Story My Life Story are an English pop group formed in London, England, in 1993. The group's success peaked in the mid to late 1990s as part of the Britpop era. Fronted by singer/songwriter Jake Shillingford, the group inherited their name from an ear ...

. Morrissey and Siouxsie each recorded a solo version of the entire track and the final result with their two voices together was created in the final mix from these two solo versions. Goddard, Simon, ''Mozipedia: The Encyclopedia of Morrissey and The Smiths'', Ebury Press, 2009. Soon after the recording, however, the two singers fell out with one another regarding the content of the video. Ultimately, the video shoot never took place and the whole project was put on ice for a few months.

then threatened to not promote it without the existence of a supporting video. Although it was a "winter" song, against all expectations, EMI finally released "Interlude" in the summer of 1994. The song peaked at No. 25 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

in August 1994. "Interlude" was later included on a compilation called '' Suedehead: The Best of Morrissey''. A previously unreleased version of the song, featuring only Morrissey's vocals, appeared on his 2011 '' Very Best Of'' compilation.

Sleeve

The single's sleeve is a cropped version of the photograph ''Girl Jiving in Southam St.'' by

Roger Mayne Roger Mayne (5 May 1929 – 7 June 2014) was an English photographer, best known for his documentation of the children of Southam Street, London. Life and work Born in Cambridge, Mayne studied Chemistry at Balliol College, Oxford University. Her ...

, the model being Eileen Sheekey. Morrissey conceived the sleeve of the record and chose that photograph by Mayne. Mayne used to visit London's most humble streets on weekends and one of them was Southam Street. He visited 27 times taking a total of 1400 photos between the years 1956 to 1961. Eileen Sheekey was one of 11 daughters and one boy from the Sheekey family. Mayne took two pictures of Eileen while she was dancing; someone on the street had put on a song; she didn't like the first photo but the second photo she did like. Mayne himself said it is one of his favourite photos.

Reception

The single was retrospectively well received by MacKenzie Wilson of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

, who considered the performers to be "one of the finest duos in modern rock." The track's production was also praised: "The flowing string arrangements on "Interlude" are breathtaking, and appropriate to the talents of both artists."MacKenzie, Wilson
"Interlude - Morrissey & Siouxsie"
Allmusic. Retrieved 12 December 2015. '' Spin'' also praised the collaboration, saying : "Two heroes enterwine their voices - Siouxsie's torchily rich, Morrissey's expansively wobbly - for a song about romance that actually doesn't sound doomed". This collaboration was included in ''Spin'' magazine's list of the top 10 "one-off team-ups" of all time."Singles going steady: The Top 10 one-off team-ups of all time". Spin Magazine. April 2007. Page 58. N°9: Morrissey & Siouxsie ''Interlude'' 1994.

Track listings

7" vinyl and cassette # "Interlude" (Georges Delerue / Hal Shaper) # "Interlude (Extended)" 12" vinyl and CD # "Interlude" # "Interlude (Extended)" # "Interlude (Instrumental)"

References