Handsome Devil - Live

"Handsome Devil" has lyrics by lead vocalist Morrisey (ie Steven Patrick Morrisey) and music by the band's guitarist Johnny Marr. It appears on the November 1984 compilation album Hateful Of Hollow having been recorded originally for a John Peel session at the BBC, May 31, 1983. This uptempo track has a great rhythm, but the lyrics caused controversy, albeit of the manufactured kind. The Conservative MP Geoffrey Dickens (1931-95) was a controversial figure whose crusade against child pornography went too far when he made allegations about Satanic ritual abuse, indeed he was one of those responsible for the Satanic panic of the 1980s. In 1984, he presented a dossier which was said to have named many of the high and mighty as paedophiles to the then Home Secretary. Three decades later, this nonsense resurfaced after the Jimmy Savile scandal. It was therefore not surprising that Dickens would claim this song was about paedophilia, but the September 3, 1983 issue of New Musical Express quoted Morrisey thus on a tabloid smear article: "This piece makes me out to be a proud child-molester and I don't even like children. 'Handsome Devil' is entirely directed towards adults."

This was the first song that The Smiths' principal lineup of Morrissey, guitarist Johnny Marr, bassist Andy Rourke, and drummer Mike Joyce played together. They soon grinned with delight at the noise they were making. "It was like it wasn't me playing the bass... it was like I was possessed," Rourke later enthused. "The energy was just there, and it was right. And we were all looking at each other, just going, 'f'----ing hell.'" "It's a fantastic truth and a profound irony, Marr noted, "that the very first thing The Smiths did when they first got together was to start laughing uncontrollably."

The Smiths' third gig was at the Hacienda in Manchester on February 4, 1983. During their performance, a live recording of "Handsome Devil" was captured through the soundboard, later serving as the B-side for their debut single, "Hand in Glove." The single was recorded at Strawberry Studios in Stockport three weeks after the Hacienda show and released three months later on Rough Trade. Johnny Marr had journeyed to London and hustled a deal for the single from Geoff Travis, the head of the independent label. Both parties agreed to release the single as a temporary arrangement before agreeing to any long-term partnership. "I didn't think this was going to be one of the most important groups ever," Travis reflected to Mojo magazine. "But I thought it was a great record."