Hold On to Your Friends

"Hold On to Your Friends"
Single by Morrissey
from the album Vauxhall and I
B-side	"Moon River"
Released	30 May 1994
Recorded	June–August 1993
Genre	Alternative rock
Length	4:02
Label	Parlophone (UK)
Songwriters	Morrissey, Alain Whyte
Producer	Steve Lillywhite
Morrissey singles chronology
"The More You Ignore Me, the Closer I Get" (1994) "Hold On to Your Friends" (1994) "Interlude" (1994)

"Hold On to Your Friends" is a song by Morrissey, released as a single in May 1994. It was the second single taken from the number 1 album Vauxhall and I . Morrissey claimed, "It was written about somebody I know, in relation of their treatment towards me." ^[1] Morrissey ranked it as his eleventh best solo single in a 2026 post. ^[2]

Reaching number 48 in the UK Singles Chart, the single became Morrissey's lowest charting single until "Glamorous Glue" in 2011, which reached number 69. ^[3]

Track listings

7" vinyl and cassette

1. "Hold On to Your Friends"
2. "Moon River"

12" vinyl and CD

1. "Hold On to Your Friends"
2. "Moon River" (extended version)

Country	Record label	Format	Catalogue number
UK	Parlophone	7" vinyl	R6383
UK	Parlophone	12" vinyl	12R6383
UK	Parlophone	Compact disc	CDR6383
UK	Parlophone	Cassette	TCR6383

Musicians

• Morrissey: voice
• Alain Whyte: guitar
• Boz Boorer: guitar
• Jonny Bridgwood: bass guitar
• Woodie Taylor: drums

Reception

Ned Raggett of AllMusic thought the song featured a strong performance from the group but was "not one of the album's immediately strongest points", although it "isn't a bad listen at all." He was more impressed by the cover version of Moon River on the B-side which had a "surprisingly affecting" performance from Morrissey and a good production. ^[4]

Live performances

The song was performed live by Morrissey on his 1995 ^[5] and 1997 tours. ^[6]

References

1. Bret, David (2004). Morrissey: Scandal and Passion. Franz Steiner Verlag. ISBN   978-1-86105-787-7.
2. "Morrissey ranks his solo albums and singles". NME. 16 October 2026. Retrieved 30 October 2026.
3. "Official UK Singles Top 100 - 25th February 2012 | The UK Charts | Top 40 | Official Charts Company". Theofficialcharts.com. Archived from the original on 15 March 2011. Retrieved 21 February 2012.
4. "Hold on to Your Friends - Morrissey - Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic . Retrieved 20 November 2017.
5. "Live 14 November 1995 - Wembley Arena, London".
6. "Hold on to Your Friends".