The Smiths "Headmaster Ritual" LIVE at Brooklyn Bowl October 29, 2023
The Smiths Tribute NYC performs The Smiths' "Headmaster Ritual" at Brooklyn Bowl in New York City on October 29, 2023. Music by Johnny Marr, Lyrics by Morrissey.
This song opens The Smiths' second LP, Meat Is Murder, the only Smiths album to reach #1 in the UK.
Despite its commercial and critical success, Marr told The Guitar Magazine that he was dissatisfied with Meat Is Murder: "Artistically, I think Meat Is Murder is the least successful of all The Smiths' albums. Some of the songs are just played too fast. That's me; I'm terrible for just speeding things up."
Morrissey's lyrics were inspired by his own unhappy schooldays at St. Mary's Secondary in Manchester. The song's fury was directed at vicious beatings dished out by the teachers.
Morrissey described the song in his autobiography as: "A live-wire spitfire guitar sound that takes on all-comers."