Little Man, What Now? (song)
| "Little Man, What Now?" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Morrissey | |
| from the album Viva Hate | |
| Released | March 22, 1988 |
| Recorded | Winter 1987 |
| Genre | Rock |
| Length | 1:48 |
| Label | HMV |
| Songwriter(s) | Morrissey, Stephen Street |
| Viva Hate track listing | |
|
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"Little Man, What Now?" is a song performed by Morrissey on his album Viva Hate.
A reference to Morrissey's love of 1960s kitchen sink drama, the song details the fall of a minor celebrity from a TV star in the 1960s to an unknown in the 1970s. With the title originating from the 1932 book, Kleiner Mann, was nun? (Little Man, What Now?) by Hans Fallada, based upon German social problems and lyric themes borrowed from the old Judy Garland song "I'm Just an In-Between", about being at once too young and too old. There are contrasting theories of who the "little man" of the title is, with the two most common names mentioned being Roger Tonge of Crossroads and Jack Wild who appeared as the Artful Dodger in the musical film, Oliver!, and later on ATV's Look Familiar.
However, more recent opinion has swung towards the actual subject being actor Malcolm McFee (d. 2001, Braintree, Essex) who, unlike Wild or Tong, did star in the song's cited ATV series that ran for four seasons ("Please Sir!"} which was followed by the sequel series "The Fenn Street Gang") and did largely disappear from public view after this initial run of TV success.
The subject may also be Jimmy Clitheroe a diminutive comic actor that specialised in being cast as a young boy until very late in his career. According to Alan Bennett, Morrissey was "fascinated by this figure."
The song was performed live by Morrissey on his 2002 and 2004 tours.
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