Bona Drag is a compilation album by the English rock singer Morrissey, released on 15 October 1990 by His Master's Voice. The album features an array of Morrissey's most popular songs from his early solo career, most of which had not been released on any previous album. The album name meaning nice outfits is an example of the subculture slang Polari explored further on the album's first track "Piccadilly Palare". The album was certified Gold by the RIAA on 6 December 2000. In 2010, the album was remastered and expanded to include six bonus tracks.
Background
After releasing Viva Hate in 1988, Morrissey decided to release a string of stand-alone singles in the hopes of achieving success in that market, followed eventually by a second album. The first of these was "The Last of the Famous International Playboys", which peaked at No. 6 in the UK. However, the second of these, "Interesting Drug", became delayed in March 1989 when Morrissey had an undisclosed financial disagreement with producer Stephen Street, leading Street to file an injunction on the release of the song. Street had been a longtime producer, musician and collaborator with Morrissey, dating back to his tenure with the Smiths.
Release
Bona Drag features all six of Morrissey's solo singles up to that point, two of which ("Suedehead" and "Everyday Is Like Sunday") were taken from Viva Hate and four of which were Top Ten hits. while its lone new single, "Piccadilly Palare", peaked at No. 18. The album also includes seven B-sides, although "Will Never Marry" was edited down.
The title Bona Drag means "nice outfit" in Polari, a type of slang developed by the London gay community in the early 1960s, particularly in the Earl's Court and Piccadilly areas. Morrissey also used some of these words and phrases in "Piccadilly Palare". The album sleeve photo is an edited still from Morrissey's "November Spawned a Monster" promotional video.
20th anniversary reissue
On 4 October 2010, the album was reissued on the resurrected Major Minor label, with six officially unreleased studio recordings. It entered the UK charts at No. 67. The reissue included several edits, specifically a removed verse from "Ouija Board, Ouija Board" and a restored verse to "Piccadilly Palare".
Track listing
All songs by Morrissey and Stephen Street, except where noted.
2010 re-release
The 2010 re-release features the following additional tracks:
Additional musicians
- Suggs – additional voice (1)
- Kirsty MacColl – additional voice (2)
- Mary Margaret O'Hara – additional voice (3)
Technical
- Clive Langer – producer (1, 3, 7, 10, 11)
- Alan Winstanley – producer (1, 3, 7, 10, 11)
- Stewart Day – assistant engineer (1, 3, 7, 10, 11)
- Stephen Street – producer (2, 4–6, 8, 9, 12–14)
- Steve Williams – assistant engineer (2, 4–6, 8, 9, 12–14)
- Morrissey – sleeve
- Jo Slee – art co-ordination
- Designland – layout
- Jurgen Teller – Wapping and Battersea photographs
Charts
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+Chart performance for Bona Drag
!scope="col"|Chart (1990)
!scope="col"|Peak<br />position
|-
! scope="row"| Australian Albums (ARIA)
| 57
|-
|-
!scope="row"|UK Albums (OCC)
| 9
|-
!scope="row"|US Billboard 200
| 59
|}