"Ouija Board, Ouija Board" was a single released by Morrissey

Morrissey

Steven Patrick Morrissey , known as Morrissey, is an English singer and lyricist. He rose to prominence in the 1980s as the lyricist and vocalist of the alternative rock band The Smiths. The band was highly successful in the United Kingdom but broke up in 1987, and Morrissey began a solo career,...

 in November 1989, catalogue number HMV

HMV

His Master's Voice is a trademark in the music business, and for many years was the name of a large record label. The name was coined in 1899 as the title of a painting of the dog Nipper listening to a wind-up gramophone...

 POP 1622. The single was poorly received by the music press and the public: its highest chart position was No. 18, making it the first Morrissey single not to reach the British top 10. It appeared along with its B-side "Yes, I Am Blind" on the compilation album Bona Drag

Bona Drag

- 2010 re-release :The 2010 re-release features the following additional tracks:* "Happy Lovers at Last United" * "Lifeguard on Duty"...

. A shorter edit, omitting a verse, appeared on the 2010 reissue of Bona Drag.

The song is about the protagonist using a Ouija

Ouija

The Ouija board also known as a spirit/fire key board or talking board, is a flat board marked with the letters of the alphabet, the numbers 0-9, the words "yes", "no", "hello" and "goodbye", and other symbols and words are sometimes also added to help personalize the board...

 board to contact a dead friend. It caused some debate in the press at the time over claims it promoted occult

Occult

The word occult comes from the Latin word occultus , referring to "knowledge of the hidden". In the medical sense it is used to refer to a structure or process that is hidden, e.g...

 dabbling or devil worship

Satanism

Satanism is a group of religions that is composed of a diverse number of ideological and philosophical beliefs and social phenomena. Their shared feature include symbolic association with, admiration for the character of, and even veneration of Satan or similar rebellious, promethean, and...

. Morrissey replied to these claims by retorting "The only contact I ever made with the dead was when I spoke to a journalist from The Sun

The Sun (newspaper)

The Sun is a daily national tabloid newspaper published in the United Kingdom and owned by News Corporation. Sister editions are published in Glasgow and Dublin...

."

The video for the song features Morrissey being led into the woods by some children who take him to see a Spirit medium, played by Joan Sims

Joan Sims

Joan Sims was an English actress best remembered for her roles in the Carry On films, and latterly for playing Madge Hardcastle in As Time Goes By.-Early life:...

, an actress famous for the Carry On

Carry On films

The Carry On films are a series of low-budget British comedy films, directed by Gerald Thomas and produced by Peter Rogers. They are an energetic mix of parody, farce, slapstick and double entendres....

films. The video also features an early appearance by Kathy Burke

Kathy Burke

Katherine Lucy Bridget Burke is an English actress, comedienne, playwright and theatre director. She is best known for her portrayals of Perry in the Harry Enfield film Kevin and Perry Go Large, and of Linda La Hughes in the British sitcom Gimme Gimme Gimme...

. The video ranked third on PULP Magazine's "Most Tweaked Music Videos of All Time" list".

7": HMV / POP 1622 (UK)

1. "Ouija Board, Ouija Board" - 4:25 (Morrissey, Stephen Street
   Stephen Street
   Stephen Street is an English music producer best known for his work with The Smiths in the 1980s, as well as Blur and The Cranberries in the 1990s. Street also collaborated with Morrissey on some of his most popular work after The Smiths broke up, playing instruments and co-writing songs...
   
   )
2. "Yes, I Am Blind" - 3:30 (Morrissey, Andy Rourke
   Andy Rourke
   Andy Rourke is a bass guitarist best known for being a former member of The Smiths.-Career:...
   
   )

12": HMV / 12 POP 1622 (UK)

1. "Ouija Board, Ouija Board" - 4:25
2. "Yes, I Am Blind" - 3:30
3. "East, West" - 2:35 (Graham Gouldman
   Graham Gouldman
   Graham Keith Gouldman is an English songwriter and musician who is a long-time member of British band 10cc.-Early life and 1960s pop career: 1946–1968:Gouldman was born in Broughton, Salford, England...
   
   )
   • "East, West" is a cover of a Herman's Hermits
     Herman's Hermits
     Herman's Hermits are an English beat band, formed in Manchester in 1963 as Herman & The Hermits. The group's record producer, Mickie Most , emphasized a simple, non-threatening, clean-cut image, although the band originally played R&B numbers...
     
      song

• also released on CD (HMV / CD POP 1622)

Reviews

Ian McCann in NME

NME

The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...

gave the single a poor review, describing the record as a "dull, fey whine that would never see release unless the singer had a track record".

Musicians

• Morrissey: voice
• Kevin Armstrong: guitar
• Andrew Paresi: drums
• Matthew Seligman
  Matthew Seligman
  Matthew Seligman is an English bassist who took part of the new wave scene in the 1970s and the 1980s, best known as a member of the Soft Boys.-Biography:...
  
  : bass
• Steve Hopkins: piano

Live performances

The song was performed live by Morrissey on the 1999/2000 ¡Oye Esteban! tour. The song's distinctive introduction and end sequence had been used to bookend performances of "November Spawned a Monster

November Spawned a Monster

"November Spawned a Monster" is a song by Morrissey. It was released as a single in 1990. It was written by Morrissey and Clive Langer. It also features one of Morrissey's former colleagues from The Smiths, Andy Rourke...

" during the 1992 tour.