Viva Hate

Viva Hate is Morrissey's debut solo album, released on 14 March 1988 by HMV Records. The album was considered a very strong foray into Morrissey's solo career, as he utilised his traditional lyrical style and retained the basic sound that The Smiths had developed by the time they broke up. It was listed by Q as one of the top 50 albums of 1988. The album was originally going to be called Education in Reverse; some LPs in Australia and New Zealand were released with the original title. The album was released a mere six months after The Smiths' final album, Strangeways, Here We Come. The title predicts the content as Morrissey's lyrics are sardonic and invective, while some of the tracks deal with the harshness of the breakup of The Smiths. The album was produced by Stephen Street and most of the arrangements were by Vini Reilly of The Durutti Column. Reilly's distinctive style is evident throughout the entire album, especially in tracks such as "Late Night, Maudlin Street" and "Bengali in Platforms". The record remains one of Morrissey's best known recordings and was certified Gold by the RIAA on 16 November 1993. Some of the tracks caused controversy such as the track "Margaret on the Guillotine", which described the death of prime minister Margaret Thatcher as a "wonderful dream".