"Everyday Is Like Sunday" is the third track of

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 ...

's debut solo album, ''

Viva Hate ''Viva Hate'' is the debut solo studio album by English singer Morrissey. It was released on 14 March 1988 by His Master's Voice, six months after the final studio album by the Smiths, ''Strangeways, Here We Come'' (1987). Vini Reilly, the l ...

'', and the second single to be released by the artist. Co-written by Morrissey and former Smiths producer

Stephen Street Stephen Brian Street (born 29 March 1960 in Hackney, London) is an English record producer best known for his work with the Smiths, the Cranberries and Blur. Street collaborated with Morrissey on his debut album '' Viva Hate'' following the ...

, the song was Morrissey's second release after the Smiths break-up. Morrissey was inspired lyrically by

Nevil Shute Nevil Shute Norway (17 January 189912 January 1960) was an English novelist and aeronautical engineer who spent his later years in Australia. He used his full name in his engineering career and Nevil Shute as his pen name to protect his enginee ...

's '' On the Beach'' to lament the drudgery of a

seaside town A seaside resort is a city, resort town, town, village, or hotel that serves as a Resort, vacation resort and is located on a coast. Sometimes the concept includes an aspect of an official accreditation based on the satisfaction of certain requi ...

. Street, who had originally sought to contribute his musical ideas to Morrissey to use for Smiths B-sides, also contributed bass guitar, which he contends was inspired by

Echo & the Bunnymen Echo & the Bunnymen are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1978. The original line-up consisted of vocalist Ian McCulloch (singer), Ian McCulloch, guitarist Will Sergeant and bassist Les Pattinson. By 1980, Pete de Freita ...

. "Everyday Is Like Sunday" was featured on Morrissey's debut album, ''

'', and the compilation album ''

Bona Drag ''Bona Drag'' is a compilation album by the English 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 releas ...

''. Upon release, the single, featuring the B-sides "Disappointed", "Will Never Marry", and " Sister I'm a Poet", saw commercial and critical success, reaching number nine in the UK and garnering rave reviews for its evocative lyrics and bombastic music. Encouraged by the success of the single, Morrissey would continue working with Street for subsequent singles and the rest of ''Viva Hate''. Since its release, "Everyday Is Like Sunday" has become one of Morrissey's most successful songs and remains critically acclaimed by modern writers. It has also inspired the cult Canadian film '' Everyday Is Like Sunday''.

Background

"Everyday Is Like Sunday" was co-written by

and

, the songwriting team behind Morrissey's debut solo single "

Suedehead "Suedehead" is the debut solo single by English singer Morrissey, released on 15 February 1988. Co-written by Morrissey and former Smiths producer Stephen Street, the song was Morrissey's first solo release after the Smiths break-up. Morrisse ...

". Street, who initially believed the Smiths would reunite within a few months of breaking up, initially sent demos of his instrumental tracks to Morrissey as possible ideas for Smiths B-sides. The song's lyrics, which commemorate the dreariness of a

in the off-season, were reportedly inspired by

's '' On the Beach'', a novel about a group of people waiting for nuclear devastation in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. Of the song's lyrics, Morrissey commented, "The British holiday resort is just like a symbol of Britain's absurdity really. The idea of a resort in Britain doesn't seem natural." In addition to composing the song's music, Stephen Street performed bass on the song. He commented, Everyday Is Like Sunday' was me trying to be the bass player of

! The chords are quite simple, but again the bassline was a big part of the songwriting." Street recruited drummer Andrew Parisi and guitarist

Vini Reilly Vincent Gerard "Vini" Reilly (born 4 August 1953) is an English musician and leader of the post-punk group the Durutti Column. He was known for his distinctively clean, fluid guitar style, which stood out from his punk-era contemporaries in its ...

to round out the studio band. Street recalled of the latter, "Vini turned around and said to me 'I'm not playing that song, it's too bloody simple' – well that song was 'Everyday Is Like Sunday'! He's a musical snob in some respects – he's incredibly frustrating." According to Street, "Everyday Is Like Sunday" was recorded in his second session with Morrissey. The song features a six-piece string section, led by violinist Fenella Barton. It also includes Morrissey's trademark deadpan humor with the line about buying a postcard with the sentiment "How I dearly wish I was not here."

Release

"Everyday Is Like Sunday" was, like "Suedehead," noted as a potential single early in the song's recording process. Street recalled, "Obviously Sunday'has such a great classic vibe to it. I think those two songs did kind of stand out as the most single-like tracks on 'Viva Hate''" The single was released in May 1988, with the

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 "Disappointed", "Will Never Marry", and " Sister I'm a Poet". Written after the ''Viva Hate'' sessions, these B-sides would be hailed by Street as him "really getting into gear" and Morrissey as "a progression from ''Viva Hate''" and "quite magical." The single, featuring artwork of Morrissey that '' Sounds'' compared to "a stubbleless George Michael", achieved similar commercial success to its predecessor, reaching number nine on the UK Singles Chart. In addition to appearing on his first solo album ''

'', "Everyday Is Like Sunday" appeared on the 1990 compilation album ''

''. "Disappointed" and "Will Never Marry" also appeared on ''Bona Drag.'' On 27 September 2010, the single was re-issued on CD and two 7-inch formats, including the unreleased "November the Second", an alternative mix of "November Spawned a Monster". This re-issue debuted at number 42 on the UK singles chart. It coincided with the 20th-anniversary re-issue of his 1990 compilation ''

''.

Critical reception

Upon its release, "Everyday Is Like Sunday" saw critical acclaim. ''

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 ...

'' praised the song as "glorious, swooning pop," writing, "It's the one song on the album that would stand up as an instrumental and lyrically it confirms its writer's reputation as one of the most skillful chroniclers of all that is shabby and drab and joyless in this sceptered isle". ''Sounds'' named it one of the "perfect moments" on ''Viva Hate'' calling it "a perfect rebuff to the

Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is a British singer and actor. He has total sales of over 21.5 million singles in the United Kingdom and, as of 2012, was the third-top-selling artist in UK Singles Chart histo ...

Summer Holiday Summer holiday may refer to: * Summer vacation The term summer vacation or summer break refers to a school break in the summer between school years and the break in the school academic year. Students are off anywhere between two weeks to thre ...

' hit syndrome with its drizzly chorus, 'Everyday is like Sunday/Everyday is silent and grey'." Since then, the song has been recognized as one of Morrissey's best. 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 song "the unquestioned highlight of ''Viva Hate''" as well as "one of Morrissey's most memorable numbers in and out of

the Smiths The Smiths were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Manchester in 1982, composed of Morrissey (vocals), Johnny Marr (guitar), Andy Rourke (bass) and Mike Joyce (musician), Mike Joyce (drums). Morrissey and Marr formed the band's songwrit ...

." He elaborated, "Street's orchestrations fit the melancholic surge of the music to a T, while Morrissey's portrait of a "

that they forgot to bomb" is evocative and given a bravura vocal." ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...

'' listed it as the number one Morrissey solo song, writing, "This is the Platonic ideal of Morrissey songs. ... While some may roll their eyes, few songs illuminate the alienation and boredom of suburbia (or small-town life) better than this." ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' also named it first on their list of top Morrissey songs, writing, "The reason it's one of his strongest early singles is because it exists in a masterfully imagined, ennui-laden world of its own. Here, in the ''seaside town that they forgot to bomb'', there’s no acrimony or draining divorce – just drudgery in the world's snooziest holiday destination." "Everyday Is Like Sunday" has also seen great acclaim from Morrissey's contemporary musicians. In a September 1992 edition of ''Q'' magazine,

Pretenders Pretenders may refer to: Film * ''Pretenders'' (2018 film), an American drama film * ''The Pretenders'' (1916 film), a lost American silent film * ''The Pretenders'' (1981 film), a Dutch film Literature * ''Cemetery Girl – Book One: The P ...

frontwoman

Chrissie Hynde Christine Ellen Hynde (born September 7, 1951) is an American-British musician. She is a founding member of the rock band the Pretenders and is the band's lead vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter; she and drummer Martin Chambers are the ...

(who would later record her own version of the song) said that the "lyric to 'Everyday Is Like Sunday' is, to me, a masterful piece of prose." In the same piece,

Bananarama Bananarama is an English pop group formed in London in 1980. The group, originally a trio, consisted of friends Sara Dallin, Siobhan Fahey, and Keren Woodward. Fahey left the group in 1988 and was replaced by Jacquie O'Sullivan until 1991, when ...

Siobhan Fahey Siobhan Maire Deirdre Fahey (; born 10 September 1958) is an Irish singer whose vocal range is a light contralto. She was a founding member of the British girl group Bananarama, who have had ten top-10 hits including the List of Billboard Hot ...

described it as her "all-time top song". In Morrissey's autobiography, he recalls that REM's

Michael Stipe John Michael Stipe (; born January 4, 1960) is an American singer, songwriter and artist, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the alternative rock band R.E.M. Stipe was born in Metro Atlanta in January 1960. Due to his father's militar ...

told him that he was "very jealous" of "Everyday Is Like Sunday" and that it made him consider going solo.

Music video

A music video directed by

Tim Broad Tim Broad (1955–1993) was a British music video director, best known for his work with the singer Morrissey. In a 1990 interview, he was described as Morrissey's closest friend. Broad directed the video for The Smiths' songs "Girlfriend in a ...

was created for "Everyday Is Like Sunday." The location used for the video was

Southend-on-Sea Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in south-eastern Essex, England. It lies on the nor ...

. Throughout, Morrissey appears in the background of the video in roles such as a cyclist, a cafe customer and a shop assistant. Author David Bret asserts that this was based on the film ''

Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris ''Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris'' is a musical revue of the songs of Jacques Brel. Brel's songs were translated into English by Eric Blau and Mort Shuman, who also provided the story. The original 1968 Off-Broadway product ...

'', a film where Brel appeared in cameos intermittently throughout performances of his song by other musicians.

Billie Whitelaw Billie Honor Whitelaw (6 June 1932 – 21 December 2014) was an English actress. She worked in close collaboration with Irish playwright Samuel Beckett for 25 years and was regarded as one of the foremost interpreters of his works. She was als ...

appears in a supporting role as does

Cheryl Murray Cheryl Murray (born Cheryl Frayling-Wright 15 July 1952 – 23 September 2023) was an English actress, best known for her role as Suzie Birchall on the soap opera ''Coronation Street'', which she played from 1977 to 1979 and again in 1983. ...

and Lucette Henderson as a young fan. Henderson had previously appeared in the video for

' video for "

Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before "Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before" is a song by the English rock band the Smiths, written by singer Morrissey and guitarist Johnny Marr. The song was first released on the group's 1987 album ''Strangeways, Here We Come''. Marr ...

," while Whitelaw featured on the single artwork for " William, It Was Really Nothing." The video also features clips from the film ''

Carry On Abroad ''Carry On Abroad'' is a 1972 British comedy film directed by Gerald Thomas, the 24th release in the series of 31 ''Carry On'' films (1958–1992). The film features series regulars Sid James, Kenneth Williams, Joan Sims, Bernard Bresslaw, ...

'', a favourite of Morrissey.

Live performances

Morrissey performed the song on his solo debut on ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British record chart television programme, made by the BBC and broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most of its histo ...

'', appearing in a ''

The Queen Is Dead ''The Queen Is Dead'' is the third studio album by the English rock band the Smiths, released on 16 June 1986, by Rough Trade Records. Following the release of their second album '' Meat Is Murder'', the Smiths retreated to Greater Manchester ...

'' T-shirt and a blazer. The song has since been performed live by Morrissey on his 1991, 1992 (Festival Dates), 2002, 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2008 tours, and on his 2012 tour of Australia and New Zealand. In 2004 the song was played in a medley with the first verse of "Subway Train" by

the New York Dolls New York Dolls were an American rock band formed in New York City in 1971. Along with the Velvet Underground, the MC5, and the Stooges, they were one of the first bands of the early punk rock scenes. Although the band never achieved much commerc ...

Track listings

7-inch vinyl # "Everyday Is Like Sunday" # "Disappointed" 12-inch vinyl, compact disc and cassette # "Everyday Is Like Sunday" # " Sister I'm a Poet" # "Disappointed" # "Will Never Marry"

2010 re-issue

Compact disc # "Everyday Is Like Sunday" (2010 digital remaster) # "November the Second" # "Everyday Is Like Sunday" # "Everyday Is Like Sunday" (''

'' – 9 June 1988) 7-inch single 1 # "Everyday Is Like Sunday" (2010 digital remaster) # "Trash" (Live at Irvine Meadows) * Although credited as being performed at Irvine Meadows, fans have pointed out that Morrissey did not perform at that venue in 1991, and that the live version of "Trash" is likely to have been recorded at the Pacific Amphitheatre in Costa Mesa, California on 1 June 1991. 7-inch single 2 # "Everyday Is Like Sunday" (2010 digital remaster) # "Everyday Is Like Sunday" (live at the Hollywood Bowl – 8 June 2007)

Personnel

: vocals *

: bass guitar *

: guitar, piano * Andrew Paresi: drums

Charts

Certifications

Release details

Cover versions

"Everyday Is Like Sunday" was covered by

the Pretenders The Pretenders are a British rock band formed in March 1978. The original band consisted of founder and main songwriter Chrissie Hynde (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), James Honeyman-Scott (lead guitar, backing vocals, keyboards), Pete Farndon (ba ...

for the soundtrack to the film ''

Boys on the Side ''Boys on the Side '' is a 1995 American comedy-drama film directed by Herbert Ross (in his final film as a director) and written by Don Roos. It stars Whoopi Goldberg, Mary-Louise Parker and Drew Barrymore. Real estate agent Robin finds Jane ...

''. Morrissey commented at the time, "I do know that

is doing 'Everyday Is Like Sunday.' I've heard a demo version and, well, my cheeks are moist." The song has also been covered by

10,000 Maniacs 10,000 Maniacs are an American alternative rock band founded in 1981. They have released nine studio albums, six EPs, and five live albums. They achieved their most significant success between 1987 and 1993, when they released four albums that c ...

(as a B-side to their single "Candy Everybody Wants"); the Estonian pop group Mr. Lawrence; the Armageddon Dildos (on the "Come Armageddon" maxi-single) and

Mikel Erentxun Mikel Erentxun Acosta (born 23 February 1965) is a Spanish rock musician of Basque heritage. Formerly with the group Duncan Dhu, he started his solo career in 1992. He has released 16 albums as a solo artist and has covered The Smiths' song, ...

(on his album ''Acrobatas'').

Colin Meloy Colin Patrick Henry Meloy (born October 5, 1974) is an American musician, singer-songwriter and author best known as the frontman of the Portland, Oregon, indie folk rock band the Decemberists. In addition to vocals, he performs with an acousti ...

The Decemberists The Decemberists are an American indie rock band from Portland, Oregon, formed in 2000. The band consists of Colin Meloy (lead vocals, guitar), Chris Funk (guitar, multi-instrumentalist), Jenny Conlee (piano, keyboards, accordion, backing vocals ...

included the song on ''

Colin Meloy Sings Morrissey ''Colin Meloy Sings Morrissey'' was the first solo project released by Portland musician Colin Meloy of the Decemberists. The album was released in January 2005 and was available exclusively on Meloy's first solo tour. Copies of it were later ma ...

''. The Mexican tribute act Mexrrissey featured it (as "Cada Día Es Domingo") on their 2015 ''No Manchester'' album, and Canadian band The Tea Party released a cover as a bonus track on their 2021 album Blood Moon Rising. A mostly instrumental version (containing only the title lyric) was used in the NFL Network's "When all you want is football" television ad campaign.

References

{{Authority control 10,000 Maniacs songs 1987 songs 1988 singles EMI Records singles Major Minor Records singles Morrissey songs Reprise Records singles Sire Records singles Song recordings produced by Stephen Street Songs about nuclear war and weapons Songs written by Morrissey Songs written by Stephen Street Rhoda Dakar songs