Hold On to Your Friends
Morrissey song
"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."
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.
Track listings
7" vinyl and cassette
"Hold On to Your Friends"
"Moon River"
12" vinyl and CD
"Hold On to Your Friends"
"Moon River" (extended version)
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.
Live performances
The song was performed live by Morrissey on his 1995 and 1997 tours.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Hold On to Your Friends” as morrissey song. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
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The subject matters to the arts & letters register because the source frames it as morrissey song. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Reception evidence should be dated and situated: later canonical status may differ sharply from the work’s initial circulation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Apr 29, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q3786267. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1994, 2011, 1995 and 1997.
Later fame can flatten the distinction between original context, subsequent adaptation and institutional collecting history. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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This entry incorporates text from “Hold On to Your Friends” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.