'Suedehead' was Morrissey's debut single (released 1988).
While the lyrics of the song appear wholly unrelated, 'suedehead' was a subculture prevalent in the larger inner-cities of 1970's England and Ireland. An offshoot of skinhead subculture, suedeheads grew their hair longer and dressed more formally. A female suedehead was referred to as a 'sort'. Much like skinheads, suedehead devotees were largely working class; however, it was not uncommon for some to hold white-collar jobs. Significantly, suedeheads differed markedly from most skinheads as they primarily held views that were antiracist, embracing Afro-Caribbean culture as evidenced by their love of the Jamaican music scene.
Suedeheads wore brogues (a style of low-heeled shoe or boot traditionally characterised by multiple-piece, sturdy leather uppers with decorative perforations [or 'broguing'] and serration along the pieces' visible edges), and loafers instead of the heavy boots worn by skinheads. Suedeheads wore suits (especially in check patterns such as Prince of Wales and dogtooth) and other dressy outfits as everyday wear instead of just at dancehalls. Crombie-style overcoats (a Crombie being a long, three-quarter length wool coat traditionally worn over a suit) and sheepskin coats were commonly worn. Most London suedeheads wore a silk handkerchief in the chest pocket of their Crombie, which also had a circular tie-pin through the Crombie and the handkerchief. Shirts often had large button-down collars, usually either pointed or rounded, called butterfly collars. The top shirts were Ben Shermans with a back pleat and top loop. Early on the most common style was a large windowpane check worn under a tank top. At the height of the era, shirts changed to muted pastel shades, with the colour being governed by the day of the week. Sta-Prest trousers became worn more than jeans, which had been common with skinheads. Although the most popular form of trousers were the 2Tone Tonik, which changed colour as they moved. The most common base colours were blue and green, whilst the most favoured secondary colours were red, yellow and gold. Another characteristic was coloured socks—such as solid red or blue—instead of plain black or white.
While suedeheads shared the skinheads' interest in rocksteady, reggae, soul, R&B, funk and ska music, some suedeheads also listened to British glam rock bands such as The Sweet, Slade, Ziggy Stardust and Mott the Hoople. In the late 70s, most suedeheads closely followed groups such as The Beat, Madness, the Specials and other artists on the 2Tone record label. Many suedeheads also owned Lambretta scooters, creating a sort of mod revival on a limited scale. Author James Moffat1 (using the pen name 'Richard Allen') wrote a novel titled 'Suedehead', which was published in 1971.
By all accounts Morrissey was never a suedehead himself, which makes his use of 'Suedehead' for the title of his debut single something of a curiosity. In an interview with journalist Len Brown (published in the NME in February 1988), Morrissey speaks in some detail on his choice of 'Suedhead' for the title of the single:
Len Brown : "For starters, surely 'Suedehead' has something to do with Richard Allen's pre-punk seminal trash novel of the same name? Yet there's no mention of suedehead(s) in the lyrics?"
Morrissey: "No, I'd noticed that. Does the song have anything to do with the title? Well, I did happen to read the book when it came out and I was quite interested in the whole Richard Allen cult. But really I just like the word 'suedehead'."
Len Brown: "So it's not even based on an episode from Suedehead?"
Morrissey: "No, not really."
Len Brown: "And it's not about anyone in particular?"
Morrissey: "Yes, it is, but I'd rather not give any addresses and phone numbers at this stage."
*James Moffat (1922 – 1993) was a Canadian-born British writer who wrote at least 290 novels in several genres under at least 45 pseudonyms. Moffat produced many pulp novels for the United Kingdom publishing house New English Library during the 1970s. Moffat's pulp novels mostly focused on youth subcultures of the late 1960s and 1970s, such as skinheads, hippies and bikers. In particular, Moffat wrote a series of popular and commercially successful books featuring what came to be known as his most famous protagonist, the skinhead antihero Joe Hawkins. Moffat often expressed admiration for his subject matter and commented on social issues, mostly from a right-wing perspective.
James Moffat (1922 – 1993) was a Canadian-born British writer who wrote at least 290 novels in several genres under at least 45 pseudonyms. Moffat produced many pulp novels for the United Kingdom publishing house New English Library during the 1970s. Moffat's pulp novels mostly focused on youth subcultures of the late 1960s and 1970s, such as skinheads, hippies and bikers. In particular, Moffat wrote a series of popular and commercially successful books featuring what came to be known as his most famous protagonist, the skinhead antihero Joe Hawkins. Moffat often expressed admiration for his subject matter and commented on social issues, mostly from a right-wing perspective.
That was interesting. I still have my Suedehead CD single I originally bought when the song came out, I loved the artwork on it and the song is in my top 5 Morrissey songs, it's quite sentimental to me.