"November Spawned a Monster" is a song by British singer Morrissey, released as a single in April 1990. It was written by Morrissey and

Clive Langer Clive Langer (born 19 June 1954 in Hampstead, London, England) is an English record producer and songwriter, active from the mid-1970s onwards. He usually works with Alan Winstanley. He composed the music for the films '' Still Crazy'' and '' ...

and features one of Morrissey's former colleagues from

the Smiths The Smiths were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1982. They comprised the singer Morrissey, the guitarist Johnny Marr, the bassist Andy Rourke and the drummer Mike Joyce. They are regarded as one of the most important acts to eme ...

Andy Rourke Andrew Michael Rourke (born 17 January 1964) is an English musician, best known as the bassist of the Smiths. He is known for his melodic approach to bass playing. Career Rourke's father was Irish while his mother was English. He received an a ...

. The single reached number 12 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 ...

. It, along with its B-side "He Knows I'd Love to See Him", appears on his compilation album ''

Bona Drag ''Bona Drag'' is a compilation album by Morrissey released on 15 October 1990. The album features an array of Morrissey's most popular songs from his early solo career, most of which had not been released on any previous album. The album name m ...

''. In November 2014, Alex Broun's play ''November Spawned a Monster'', inspired by Morrissey's song, premiered at The Old Fitzroy, in Sydney, Australia, directed by

Robert Chuter Robert Chuter is an Australian theatre director, film director, producer, writer, and actor. Early life Robert John Chuter was born on 23 April 1964 in Carlton, Victoria, Australia, the only son of Rita Spalding and British emigrant Harry Chut ...

and starring James Wright.

Lyrical content

The song describes the troubles of the disabled. Morrissey uses words such as 'monster' and 'twisted' to attempt to create mix of revulsion, sympathy and black comedy. By forcing the ambivalent persona of tormentor and savior, Morrissey forces the listener to confront their own prejudices head on."Rogan, Johnny Morrissey - The Album, p. 152 The song quotes ''

Les Chants de Maldoror ''Les Chants de Maldoror'' (''The Songs of Maldoror'') is a French poetic novel, or a long prose poem. It was written and published between 1868 and 1869 by the Comte de Lautréamont, the '' nom de plume'' of the Uruguayan-born French writer Isi ...

'' (Chant 2, verse 7), in which a hermaphrodite perceives himself as a monster and dreams of love.

Critical reception

Steven Wells Steven Wells (10 May 1960 – 24 June 2009) was a British journalist, author, comedian and punk poet born in Swindon, Wiltshire. He was best known for ranting poetry and his provocative, unapologetic music journalism. In June 2006, he wrote in t ...

in ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' gave the single a negative review, stating that "Morrissey repeats his one tune endlessly" and that the single showed a "drying up of the old creative gastrics". In a retrospective review, Ned Raggett 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 ...

'' called the title track "one of the most powerful of Morrissey's solo career, with a relentless, just off-kilter enough rock chug supporting an empathetic lyric about a young girl suffering from physical deformity." Raggett also praised the B-sides "He Knows I'd Love to See Him" and "Girl Least Likely To", writing that the former contains "some of his clearest lyrics on gay life in the face of official disapproval" and the latter emerges as the "surprise winner, even stronger than the title track." Author

Johnny Rogan John Rogan (14 February 1953 – 21 January 2021) was a British author of Irish descent best known for his books about music and popular culture. He wrote influential biographies of the Byrds, Neil Young, the Smiths, Van Morrison and Ray Davies. ...

stated in his book Morrissey - The Albums that "By forcing the ambivalent persona of tormentor and savior, Morrissey forces the listener to confront their own prejudices head on."Rogan, Johnny "Morrissey - The Album", p. 152

Live performances

Morrissey performed the song live on his 1991, 1992, 1999–2000, 2002, 2004, 2013, and 2016 tours.

Track listings

7-inch vinyl # "November Spawned a Monster" # "He Knows I'd Love to See Him" 12-inch vinyl, compact disc and cassette # "November Spawned a Monster" # "He Knows I'd Love to See Him" (Morrissey/Armstrong) # "Girl Least Likely To" (Morrissey/Rourke)

Musicians

* Morrissey: voice *

Mary Margaret O'Hara Mary Margaret O'Hara is a Canadian singer-songwriter, actress and composer. She is best known for the album ''Miss America'', released in 1988. She released two albums and an EP under her own name, and remains active as a live performer, as a con ...

: voice *

Kevin Armstrong Kevin Armstrong (1922–1992 ) was a dual player who played Gaelic football, football and hurling for his local club O'Connell's GAA, O'Connell's and for the Antrim GAA, Antrim senior inter-county teams in both codes from the 1940s until the 19 ...

: guitar *

: bass guitar *

Andrew Paresi Andrew McGibbon (a.k.a. Andrew Paresi; born 1961 in Chiswick), is an English comedian, actor, writer, musician and composer. He has also produced and directed extensively, chiefly for radio. Education The son of James, a prominent educationali ...

: drums

Charts

Release details

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:November Spawned A Monster Morrissey songs 1990 singles 1990 songs His Master's Voice singles Song recordings produced by Alan Winstanley Song recordings produced by Clive Langer Songs about diseases and disorders Songs written by Clive Langer Songs written by Morrissey