Death of a Disco Dancer

Album: Strangeways, Here We Come (1987)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This grim elegy to the sufferings of the mid-1980s gay community finds Morrissey substituting "disco dancer" for "homosexual."

    The death of a disco dancer
    Well, it happens a lot 'round here
    And if you think peace
    Is a common goal
    That goes to show
    How little you know


    Morrissey ruminates on the rise of gay AIDS casualties and homophobic violence.
  • Guitarist Johnny Marr commented to Q Magazine that one of the best things about the song "is that keyboard drone. It's like Goldfinger on bad acid. Which is kind of The Smiths in a nutshell."
  • Morrissey played piano on this track – it's the only Smiths song on which he played a musical instrument.

Comments: 1

  • Mathewh386@gmail.com from Manchester in 1986 a 19 year old clubber, Christian Joyce choked ro death on a Hamburger at Royale's Nightclub, Wythenshawe, Manchester, I studied design with Chris 3 years earlier, The incident was reported in the local oress and some national newspapers with a strong emphasis on the fact that he tried to get people to help him as he was choking, unfortunately most people thought he was pilled off his face, drunk or, as was quoted in the press "We would rather not get involved" Morrissey, not one to let a story go unused took the story and spinned it out into Death of a Disco Dancer.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Michael Schenker

Michael SchenkerSongwriter Interviews

The Scorpions and UFO guitarist is also a very prolific songwriter - he explains how he writes with his various groups, and why he was so keen to get out of Germany and into England.

Tony Joe White

Tony Joe WhiteSongwriter Interviews

The writer of "Rainy Night in Georgia" and "Polk Salad Annie" explains how he cooks up his Louisiana swamp rock.

Is That Song Public Domain?

Is That Song Public Domain?Fact or Fiction

Are classic songs like "Over The Rainbow" and "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" in the public domain?

Joe Elliott of Def Leppard

Joe Elliott of Def LeppardSongwriter Interviews

The Def Leppard frontman talks about their "lamentable" hit he never thought of as a single, and why he's juiced by his Mott The Hoople cover band.

Daniel Lanois

Daniel LanoisSongwriter Interviews

Daniel Lanois on his album Heavy Sun, and the inside stories of songs he produced for U2, Peter Gabriel, and Bob Dylan.

Songs About Movies

Songs About MoviesSong Writing

Iron Maiden, Adele, Toto, Eminem and Earth, Wind & Fire are just some of the artists with songs directly inspired by movies - and not always good ones.