Viva Hate

album by Morrissey

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July 20, 2026

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Viva Hate is the debut solo album by Morrissey, released in 1988. It features Vini Reilly as a guitar virtuoso, serving as a capable replacement for Johnny Marr. The album marked the beginning of Morrissey's solo career after the breakup of The Smiths. While the album was a promising start, subsequent releases saw Morrissey's music become less well-received.1

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the Smiths
Solo careers and controversies
…career started promisingly with 1988’s Viva Hate (on which guitar virtuoso Vini Reilly proved a capable Marr surrogate); however, on subsequent singles and Kill Uncle (1991), Morrissey, backed by an undistinguished rockabilly band, dwindled into tuneless self-parody. His muse rallied with the Grammy-nominated glam-rock-influenced Your Arsenal (1992) and the delicate…
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…career started promisingly with 1988’s Viva Hate (on which guitar virtuoso Vini Reilly proved a capable Marr surrogate); however, on subsequent singles and Kill Uncle (1991), Morrissey, backed by an undistinguished rockabilly band, dwindled into tuneless self-parody. His muse rallied with the Grammy-nominated glam-rock-influenced Your Arsenal (1992) and the delicate…
Read More