Morrissey A-Z: "Dagenham Dave"

It's a great tune with a throwaway lyric. In other words, it's a classic Morrissey song.
 
Lightweight, repetitive, silly. Still, though, not a bad song. I especially like to sing along to the verses.
 
A career nadir. After Vauxhall and Boxers came this, an annoying and flimsy song which makes We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful sound insightful. Not even the title is his own. As the first single for a new record company and a lead single for the new album this is beyond self-sabotage.
 
Was easily his worst ever single when it came out - might well still be.
Rubbish lyrics, crap music, just horrible.
dont you be holding back now new member.
 
It's great. Sure, the lyrics are repetitive, and the weakest aspect - but all those rapidly changing twisty chords make it a great musical song. The album desperately needed some brevity to counteract those two epic bookends, and this is a perfect short, sharp jab to the solar plexus. Does it's job, then f***s off. Good job.
 
I don’t find it very intriguing. To me it sounds kinda clunky and doesn’t really have anything to my interest. I don’t even really like the vocal here. Southpaw is the album I like the least by a mile
 
Admittedly I had to go back three whole pages, but Yoko Ono and Jimi Hendrix are white? :unsure:

Getting back to the subject matter, I've always thought that 'Dagenham Dave' was a close cousin to 'You're the One For Me, Fatty', and maybe even slightly modelled on what was a previously successful single. Both have repetitive lyrics that are barely more than the thinnest of sketches, but they have catchy pop melodies, stick in the head, and make you swing your hips.
 
I think it’s worth repeating...

The repetition of the lyric Dagenham Dave by Morrissey always makes me think of
Marc Bolan’s song ‘Debora’ that we can be sure he knows by heart ....



Deboree-deb n' deboree-de-bree-deb
Deboree-deb n' deboree-de-bree-deb
Deboree-deb n' deboree-de-bree-deb
Deboree-deb n' deboree-de-bree-deb

Oh Debora, always look like a zebra
Your sunken face is like a galleon
Clawed with mysteries of the Spanish Main, oh Debora ...”

:)
 
Morrissey loves silly pop records when they were good, seems his intention to do the same, not every
record has to change the world, and by this time, letting himself have a little fun, in his way.

A powerful punch in such a small package, the brevity and movement
love it! Thanks Alain :thumb:
 
why are only white artists discussed on this forum?

Try using their search engine, I looked up.. Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Michael Jackson, they came up as subjects of discussion.
 
This was the single that made my brother (a Smiths apostle from day 1) break up with Morrissey, never to return.

'He's just taking the piss now' was the observation made after playback of the cassette single.
 
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