Morrissey's Relentless Pursuit of Harvey Keitel

Cropped image of Harvey Keitel from the film I Call First.

According to Jo Slee in Peepholism: Into The Art Of Morrissey¹, the highly cropped image of actor Richard Davalos was not the original choice for the Strangeways, Here We Come album cover. Rather, Morrissey wanted to use a still of American actor Harvey Keitel from the 1967 film I Call First (later known as Who's That Knocking at My Door)².

Morrissey’s mock-up of the proposed cover art for Strangeways, Here We Come.

Morrissey embarked upon composing a draft of the cover art featuring Keitel in anticipation of receiving the actor’s approval, and tasked Rough Trade Records’ production manager Jo Slee with contacting Keitel. According to Slee:

“This took 10 years off my life. I spoke to Harvey several times when he was filming in Scotland, and he was very wary, very Brooklyn. He asked why we wanted to use the picture, and we said because it was brilliant, which was the only reason we ever had. I said who Morrissey was, and sent him some lyrics - which probably put him off - and he was very apologetic and said he’d had a hard time enough time explaining to his children why people stopped him in the street, and though his film producers were telling him The Smiths were great and he had to do it, he’d have to say no. My impression was that the world of pop music was alien to him, and it was part of that American paranoia thing, that you don’t know what kind of lunatics you might attract.”³

Photo Still of Harvey Keitel flanked by two friends from I Call First.

Keitel’s refusal resulted in Morrissey instead using the image of Davalos taken on the set of the film East of Eden for the Strangeway album cover.

The photograph that was eventually used for the Strangeways, Here We Come album cover.

According to Keitel, Morrissey did not relent in his efforts to obtain his authorization. These efforts apparently continued over the course of several years. In