‘Sunny’ was co-written with Alain Whyte and recorded during the ‘Boxers’ single session in October 1994 at Olympic Studios in South London. The song was produced by Steve Lillywhite, and recorded with Boz Boorer (guitar), Alain Whyte (guitar), Jonny Bridgwood (bass) and Woodie Taylor (drums).
The track was initially intended to appear as a B-side to ‘Boxers’ single (which was released in the UK in January 1995), but Morrissey changed his mind and the song was shelved. ‘Sunny’ was then resurrected and released in December 1995 as a single (Morrissey’s 23rd), backed by ‘Black-Eyed Susan’ (UK 7-inch vinyl and cassette formats) as well as ‘A Swallow On My Neck’ (UK & Europe CD format). The single reach number 42 on the UK Singles Charts.
The single's cover art consists of a photograph of Morrissey standing in front of The Grave Maurice, which was a former Truman's Brewery public house located at 269 Whitechapel Road, London. For detailed information on the pub, as well as its connection to gangsters, see
Morrissey, Gangsters, and Violence
Morrissey's admiration of the infamous Kray twins is well known. He not only mentions the Kray brothers in Autobiography, but in song and in interviews; e.g. in a 1989 interview with Record Mirror, Morrissey said that he was fascinated by "The level of notoriety that surrounded them - the level of fame they gained from being unreachably notorious. When …
‘Sunny’ features a pleasantly up-tempo and balanced sound with beautiful chord progressions throughout. Notwithstanding its relatively disappointing chart performance, the song is widely embraced by fans as being one of Morrissey’s (and Alain’s) more impressive efforts.
Lyrically, ‘Sunny’ is a fairly straightforward song regarding someone close to Morrissey (?) involved in intravenous drug use:
With your jean belt wrapped around your arm
Oh, Sunny, my heart goes out to you
And with the needle pressed onto tight skin
Sunny I cry when I see where it's taking you
Morrissey offers his unconditional love to the drug-addled subject, rhetorically asking
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