Sheila Take a Bow
The Smiths released 'Sheila Take A Bow' as a single (their 17th) on April 13, 1987 in the UK and Europe. It tied 'Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now' as their highest charting UK single, reaching number ten on the charts. The song is included on the US compilation album Louder Than Bombs, which was actually released a couple of weeks prior (March 30 or 31, 1987, depending on the source) as the American counterpart to the Smiths’ The World Won't Listen compilation album (released that February in the UK).
The single's cover art featured a close-up profile photograph of Candy Darling1 from the 1971 movie Women in revolt2, a film directed by Paul Morrissey and produced by Andy Warhol.
UK 7 and 12-inch vinyl formats have COOK BERNARD MATTHEWS3 etched on the runout on the A-side.
A promotional music video was to be filmed for 'Sheila Take a Bow', but Morrissey refused to show up for the taping at Brixton Academy. A makeshift video recorded from an appearance on the television show Top of the Pops was subsequently used instead. Watch the Top of the Pops music video here:
'Sheila Take a Bow' was technically performed live only once by the Smiths, and has the distinction of being the last song ever played by them in front of an audience (along with 'Shoplifters of the World Unite') on the British music program 'The Tube' on April 10, 1987. The 2nd so-called "live" performance of 'Sheila Take a Bow' in front of an audience a couple of weeks later on Top of the Pops (April 23, 1987) was in fact mimed to the studio version of the song. Subsequent to the dissolution of the Smiths, Morrissey performed 'Sheila Take a Bow' only once; at the Jockey Club in Lima on March 14, 2012. Listen to the Morrissey solo performance of the song here:
The song is marked by Morrissey's uplifting lyricism with a glam-rock flavored beat and guitar riff. Johnny Marr later recalled, "I was going for a 'Mott the Hoople' sound, but it ended up like 'Mott the Hoople' as performed by the Salvation Army Band...which is very Smiths." The song is an homage to English dramatist and screenwriter Shelagh Delaney, whose work, particularly her play A Taste of Honey (1958), greatly influenced Morrissey. Indeed, Shelagh [Delaney] is thought to be the 'Shelia' in the song's title.
The Smiths had invited Sandie Shaw to perform on backing vocals; however, her involvement in the production of the single was less than successful: when she arrived at the studio to record with the band, Morrissey was absent due to illness. Shaw recorded her vocals, but they were ultimately scrapped.
Mike Joyce recalled: "There was no sign of Morrissey for a couple of hours. Sandie was getting a bit frantic. In the end she phoned up Morrissey and managed to get hold of him. She was saying, 'Just hum me the tune down the phone that you want me to do!' I think she took it all personally."
Sandie Shaw later expressed distaste for 'Sheila Take A Bow', saying she "thought it was a horrid song". Reportedly, Shaw was also unhappy with her involvement being limited to [only] providing backing vocals.
An early version of the song was produced by John Porter, who had previously produced the band's debut studio album. The Porter version, featuring a prominent sitar-sounding riff, was deemed unsatisfactory by the band and scrapped. 'Sheila Take A Bow' was re-recorded with Stephen Street as producer. The sitar-esque sound was removed and a brief audio clip of a marching temperance band from the 1954 film Hobson's Choice was added to the song's intro. Marr cited this horn sample as an example of the band's fusing of "pop" and the "avant-garde," commenting, "We were excited to bring that to Smiths records, whether it was 'Sheila Take A Bow,' starting off with the brass band playing, starting a pop single with that. That was a subversive act."
The sampling of Hobson's Choice, a British film directed by David Lean, is one of many of instances where Morrissey's affinity for British cinema made its way onto a Smiths' song. Hobson's Choice is a comedy about a drunken shopkeeper (Charles Laughton) and his three daughters, one of whom (Brenda De Banzie) rebels against her monstrous parent, finds a husband (John Mills) and sets about stealing her father’s business. Watch the trailer for the film here:
The sample of the brass band music that opens 'Sheila Take A Bow' is taken directly from a key scene in the film, which together act as a blunt call to arms to seize life and find love. In the film there is a message on the brass band’s banner, “Beware the wrath to come”, which appeared in the vinyl etchings for the Smiths’ 1986 single ‘Bigmouth Strikes Again’.
Is it wrong to want to live on your own?
No, it's not wrong, but I must know
How can someone so young
Sing words so sad?
Sheila take a, Sheila take a bow
Boot the grime of this world in the crotch, dear
And don't go home tonight
Come out and find the one that you love and who loves you
The one that you love and who loves you
Oh
Is it wrong not to always be glad
No, it's not wrong, but I must add
How can someone so young
Sing words so sad
Sheila take a, Sheila take a bow
Boot the grime of this world in the crotch, dear
And don't go home tonight
Come out and find the one that you love and who loves you
The one that you love and who loves you
Take my hand and off we stride
Oh, la, la, la, la, la, la, la
You're a girl and I'm a boy
La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la
la, la, la, la, la
Take my hand and off we stride
Oh, la, la, la, la, la, la, la
I'm a girl and you're a boy
La, la, la, la, la
La, la, la, la, la
Sheila take a, Sheila take a bow
La, la, la, la, la, la
Throw your homework onto the fire
Come out and find the one that you love
Come out and find the one you love
Born James Lawrence Slattery, Candy Darling (1944 – 1974) was an American transgender actress, best known for her work with Andy Warhol, starring in his films Flesh (1968) and Women in Revolt (1971). She was a muse of the Velvet Underground.
Women in Revolt is a 1971 American satirical film initially released as Andy Warhol's Women. The film stars Jackie Curtis, Candy Darling, and Holly Woodlawn, three trans women and "superstars" of Andy Warhol's Factory scene. It also features soundtrack music by John Cale of the Velvet Underground fame.
Clearly meant as a sarcastic dig, the etching references Bernard Trevor Matthews CVO CBE QSM (1930 – November 2010), who was the founder of Bernard Matthews Foods, a company that is best known for producing turkey meat products.