"Certain People I Know" is a song by English singer-songwriter

Morrissey Steven Patrick Morrissey ( ; born 22 May 1959), known :wikt:mononym, mononymously as Morrissey, is an English singer and songwriter. He came to prominence as the frontman and lyricist of rock band the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 198 ...

, released in December 1992 as the third single from his third studio album, ''

Your Arsenal ''Your Arsenal'' is the third studio album by English singer Morrissey, released on 27 July 1992 by record label His Master's Voice. The album received critical acclaim and reached number 4 on the UK Albums Chart. Content Morrissey had bee ...

'' (1992). It was the third and final Morrissey single to be produced by

glam rock Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was primarily defined by the flamboyant clothing, makeup, and hairstyles of its musicians, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists d ...

musician

Mick Ronson Michael Ronson (26 May 1946 – 29 April 1993) was an English musician, songwriter, arranger, and producer. He achieved critical and commercial success working with David Bowie as the guitarist of the Spiders from Mars. He was a session musici ...

. Reaching number 35 in the UK Singles Chart, the song had the distinction of being Morrissey's lowest-charting solo single up to that point. "Certain People I Know" was the first Morrissey single to be released following the singer's bottling off stage at the Madstock festival when he supported Madness and the subsequent ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' story regarding his alleged racism. This led to the single cover being changed from featuring the singer's name spelt out in the colours of the

Union Jack The Union Jack or Union Flag is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. The Union Jack was also used as the official flag of several British colonies and dominions before they adopted their own national flags. It is sometimes a ...

to plain black writing.Q Magazine Smiths and Morrissey Special Edition, 2004

Reviews

Ned Raggett of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

called the lead track "a bit of an odd choice" for a single but added that its

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

s "are among Morrissey's best".

Track listings

7-inch vinyl and cassette # "Certain People I Know" (

Alain Whyte Alain Gordon Whyte (pronounced Alan) (born 3 July 1967) is an English musician, songwriter, composer and singer. He was Morrissey's main songwriting partner and guitarist between 1991 and 2007. Prior to 1991, Whyte previously been in the band ...

) # "Jack the Ripper" (Morrissey,

Boz Boorer Martin James "Boz" Boorer (born 19 May 1962 in Edgware, Middlesex, England) is an English guitarist and producer. He founded the new wave rockabilly group the Polecats, and starting in 1991 had a 30-year collaboration with singer Morrissey as c ...

) 12-inch vinyl and CD # "Certain People I Know" # "You've Had Her" (Morrissey, Boorer) # "Jack the Ripper"

Musicians

* Morrissey: voice * Alain Whyte: guitar * Boz Boorer: guitar * Gary Day: bass guitar * Spencer Cobrin: drums

References

{{Authority control Morrissey songs 1992 singles 1992 songs Rockabilly songs Songs written by Alain Whyte Songs written by Morrissey His Master's Voice singles