Composed in the autumn of 1982 shortly before the Smiths' debut concert, 'Handsome Devil' is among the very first songs written by Morrissey and Johnny Marr. The song was first recorded in a professional studio at the Smiths' second recording session (at Drone Studios in Manchester in December 1982) along with 'Miserable Lie' and 'What Difference Does It Make?', all of which were submitted to EMI in the hopes of securing a record deal. Unfortunately, the Smiths were rejected by EMI. This initial recording of 'Handsome Devil' featured the late English musician and record producer Andy Gill on saxophone.
The song was recorded again on May 18, 1983 for the Smiths' first appearance on John Peel's BBC program (first broadcasted on May 31, 1983), with producer Roger Pusey.
'Handsome Devil' was recorded a third time in July/August 1983 at London's Elephant Studios with producer Troy Tate in the sessions for the band's debut album1.
Unlike the rest of the songs from these sessions with Troy Tate, 'Handsome Devil' was not re-recorded with producer John Porter when the latter assumed control later that year. This omission could possibly be the result of the negative press the song was receiving at the time (a live version of 'Handsome Devil' was on the B-side of the Smiths' debut single, 'Hand In Glove', which had been released in May of 1983).
The May 1983 John Peel version of 'Handsome Devil' was included on the Smiths' Hatful of Hollow compilation album that was released on November 12, 1984.
Morrissey has said of the song: "It's an adult understanding of quite intimate matters."; "We must stress that 'Handsome Devil' is aimed entirely towards adults and has nothing to do with children, and certainly nothing to do with child molesting."
1985 interview of Morrissey and Marr by Nick Kent. Handsome Devil mentioned 6:46 by Morrissey as not being about a teacher or sex attacker. Listen at 6:45:
In an interview with NME (September 1983) Morrissey provided more detail on his intent when composing the lyrics of 'Handsome Devil':
"...the message of the song is to forget the cultivation of the brain and to concentrate on the cultivation of the body. 'A boy in the bush...' is addressed to a scholar. 'There's more to life than books you know, but not much more' - that is the essence of the song. So you can just take it and stick it in an article about child-molesting and it will make absolutely perfect sense. But you can do that with anybody. You can do it with Abba."
"It took a week or two to get my head round it. I knew I wanted to do it, but it took a while to get used to, with him singing those sort of lyrics."
- Andy Rourke on 'Handsome Devil', Select, 1993
Listen to an early demo of 'Handsome Devil' recorded with Troy Tate for the Smiths' first album:
Listen to the Troy Tate version here:
Listen to the John Peel session (recorded 5/18/1983) here:
Notwithstanding Morrissey's explanations (and denials) as to the import of the lyrics, and putting aside any purported "interpretation" of them, 'Handsome Devil' contains on its face some daringly provocative lines that come extremely close to crossing the proverbial line between innuendo and explicitness ("I would like to give you/What I think you're asking for"; "let me get your head in the conjugal bed"; "And when we're in your scholarly room/who will swallow whom?", etcetera). This assessment is not the product of any moral judgment, or even an aesthetic analysis (especially given the subjective nature of the latter); rather, the song's lyrics literally, and figuratively, speak for themselves. Musically boisterous, 'Handsome Devil' is a bold song with its decidedly incisive lyrics that broke new ground given their subject matter.
All the streets are crammed with things
Eager to be held
I know what hands are for
And I'd like to help myself
You ask me the time
But I sense something more
And I would like to give you
What I think you're asking for
You handsome devil
Oh, you handsome devil
Let me get my hands on your mammary glands
And let me get your head in the conjugal bed
I say, I say, I say
I crack the whip and you skip
But you deserve it
You deserve it, deserve it, deserve it
A boy in the bush
Is worth two in the hand
I think I can help you get through your exams
Oh, you handsome devil
Oh, Let me get my hands on your mammary glands
And let me get your head in the conjugal bed
I say, I say, I say
I crack the whip and you skip
But you deserve it
you deserve it, deserve it, deserve it
And when we're in your scholarly room
who will swallow whom?
when we're in your scholarly room
who will swallow whom?
You handsome devil
Oh, let me get my hands on your mammary glands
And let me get your head in the conjugal bed
I say, I say, I say
There's more to life than books, you know
But not much more.
Oh, there's more to life than books, you know
But not much more, not much more
Oh, you handsome devil
Oh, you handsome devil
In order to give Troy Tate something to work with before going into the studio to formally record their debut album, the Smiths performed a selection of songs (which included 'Handsome Devil') in May 1983. These songs were recorded on a cassette at a rehearsal room in manager Joe Moss' Crazy Face jeans warehouse. While Morrissey's vocals are slightly distorted, and the overall sound lacking the clarity of a professional recording (i.e. a professionally produced studio mix), the general quality is somewhat passable.
In 1997 the party in possession of the 1983 cassette loaned it out to a third-party, who then eventually leaked it with the intention of giving it some form of semi-official release. However, the poor sound quality coupled with threats from the record company caused these plans to be shelved. In the meantime, the third-party in possession of the 1983 cassette transferred it over to DAT (Digital Audio Tape). It was the DAT version of 1983 recording that was leaked on the internet. The name 'Pablo Cuckoo' is an alias provided by the party who leaked the recording. Consequently, the leaked recording is referred to as "The Pablo Cuckoo Tape".
The following is the May 1983 cassette's track listing:
‘You’ve Got Everything Now’
‘Accept Yourself ‘
‘What Difference Does It Make?’
‘Reel Around The Fountain’
‘These Things Take Time’
‘I Don't Owe You Anything’
‘Hand In Glove’
‘Handsome Devil’
‘Miserable Lie’
The Pablo Cuckoo Tape version of 'Handsome Devil' can be heard at 31:10 here: