Alain Whyte

Alain Gordon Whyte (pronounced Alan) (born 3 July 1967) is an English musician, songwriter, composer and singer. He is best known for being Morrissey's main songwriting partner and guitarist between 1991 and 2007.[1] (Several Morrissey–Whyte compositions were also released as late as 2009, after Whyte had left Morrissey's band.)

Alain Whyte
Whyte playing guitar at a Morrissey concert at the Roseland Ballroom in New York City, 2000
Background information
Birth nameAlain Gordon Whyte
Born (1967-07-03) 3 July 1967
Camden, London, England
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Musician
  • songwriter
  • composer
  • singer
Instruments
  • Guitar
  • piano
  • vocals
Years active1991–present
Labels
Associated acts
WebsiteMyspace.com/AlainWhytemusic

Prior to 1991, Whyte previously been in the bands Rugcutters, Red Lightning, Motivators, Born Bad and the Memphis Sinners.[2] More recently, he has written for the likes of Madonna, Chris Brown, the Black Eyed Peas among many others. He won an ASCAP pop award in 2013 for his work as a songwriter on Chris Brown's hit single "Don't Wake Me Up".[3]

Personal life

Currently Whyte resides in Los Angeles, California. His name is pronounced in the English style, i.e. as if it were "Alan White".

Morrissey

Whyte joined Morrissey's band in 1991 after appearing in the music video for his single "Sing Your Life". While playing on the Kill Uncle tour in 1991, Whyte co-wrote eight of the ten songs on the album Your Arsenal which was subsequently released in 1992. Whyte played lead guitar live with Morrissey from 1991 to 2004 until he was taken ill and replaced by Jesse Tobias. Whyte never returned to the touring act, however he continued to play on Morrissey studio recordings through 2007, and compose music for Morrissey songs through 2009.

Whyte has co-written and/or performed on all of Morrissey's albums issued between 1992 and 2009: Your Arsenal (1992), Vauxhall and I (1994), Southpaw Grammar (1995), Maladjusted (1997), You Are the Quarry (2004), Ringleader of the Tormentors (2006), and Years of Refusal (2009). As of Years of Refusal, Alain Whyte has a total of 80 known songwriting credits with Morrissey.

Songwriting credits with other artists

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2015

2017

2018

  • Nina Storey – "Go Quietly"

2019

  • Linney – "Waiting for You"

2020

  • Jane Sheldon – "Go Quietly"

Songs written for TV
  • Gossip Girl – "City Nights", "Martini Lounge", "NYC Streets", "Robot Talk", "At the Club", "Let You Down", "Manhattan", "Steady", "Changing Tides", "Park Avenue", "In the End"
  • Chuck – "Jingle Bell Rock (arrangement)", "Joy to the World (arrangement)", "We Wish You a Merry Christmas (arrangement)"
  • Without a Trace – "Feeling Fine"

Production/mixing
  • Deerheart – "EP" (2009) Producer
  • Anya Marina "Whatever You Like (single)" 2009 Mixer
  • JoAnna James "Try" EP Recorded in 2009, Released in 2011

Songwriting credits with Morrissey

As of Years of Refusal, Whyte has 80 known songwriting credits with Morrissey. Whyte's credits include:

Your Arsenal (1992)

Vauxhall and I (1994)

  • "Billy Budd", "Hold On to Your Friends", "Why Don't You Find Out for Yourself?", "I Am Hated for Loving", "Used to Be a Sweet Boy", and "The Lazy Sunbathers".

Southpaw Grammar (1995)

  • "The Boy Racer", "The Operation", "Dagenham Dave", "Do Your Best and Don't Worry", "Best Friend on the Payroll", and "Southpaw" – "Fantastic Bird" (only on remastered version)

Maladjusted (1997)

  • "Alma Matters", "Ambitious Outsiders", "Trouble Loves Me", "Papa Jack", "Roy's Keen", "He Cried", and "Sorrow Will Come in the End".

You Are the Quarry (2004)

Ringleader of the Tormentors (2006)

  • "I Will See You in Far-Off Places", "Dear God Please Help Me", "The Father Who Must Be Killed", "Life Is a Pigsty", "I'll Never Be Anybody's Hero Now", and "To Me You Are a Work of Art".

Years of Refusal (2009)

  • "Something Is Squeezing My Skull", "Mama Lay Softly on the Riverbed", "When Last I Spoke to Carol", "It's Not Your Birthday Anymore" and "You Were Good in Your Time".

Swords (2009)

  • "Good Looking Man About Town", "Don't Make Fun of Daddy's Voice", "Ganglord", "My Dearest Love", "The Never Played Symphonies", "Shame Is the Name", "Munich Air Disaster 1958", "It's Hard to Walk Tall When You're Small", "Teenage Dad on His Estate", "Friday Mourning", "My Life Is a Succession of People Saying Goodbye", "Because of My Poor Education"

Non-album singles and B-sides

  • "Let the Right One Slip In", "There Speaks a True Friend", "Pashernate Love", "Boxers", "Sunny", "Black Eyed Susan", "A Swallow on My Neck", "Whatever Happens, I Love You", "Have-a-Go Merchant", "Nobody Loves Us", "You Must Please Remember", "Heir Apparent", "The Edges Are No Longer Parallel", "This Is Not Your Country" and "I Am Two People".

Unreleased tracks

  • "Action Man", "Teresa, Teresa", "When I Was Young", "I Was Bully, Do Not Forget Me", and "I'm Looking Forward to Going Back" are unreleased tracks from the Years of Refusal sessions.
  • "Home Is a Question Mark" is an unreleased track from the 2003 You Are the Quarry recording sessions. A song by this name on Morrissey's 2017 album, Low in High School was composed by Mando Lopez.

Other projects
  • Setting Fires – Setting Fires was a collaboration between Whyte and Mat Devine. Devine has been the frontman and principal songwriter for alternative rock group Kill Hannah since 1996. The two of them met in the summer of 2009, and Setting Fires was born. They enlisted Dean Butterworth (Good Charlotte) to play the drums, Davey Julson-Rieley to produce, and Joe McGrath (AFI, Green Day) to mix the songs for the EP.
  • Johnny Panic and the Bible of Dreams – Whyte played guitar in the band Johnny Panic and the Bible of Dreams (not to be confused with Johnny Panic) who released one single "When I Drink I Love You More" in 1998 then disbanded. The drummer of the band, Hodge arranged for an album to be released on Cherry red/Anagram records in 2006 titled Not Bitter But Bored, which contained three songs that went on to become Morrissey songs: "Irish Blood, English Heart", "First Of The Gang To Die" and "Don't Make Fun Of Daddy's Voice."
  • Red Lightning – In 2005, Whyte, Milo Todesco and John DiMambro formed Red Lightning. Their live debut came on 30 April in Los Angeles. Soon after, they recorded a full-length album with producer David Newton entitled L.A. Crash Landing. Red Lightning played at the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas in March 2006, followed by a string of California concerts. Due to irreconcilable differences, Red Lightning split in January 2007.
  • The Gazmen with Gary Day, Born Bad, The Memphis Sinners, The Memphis Flash, Crash Action, The Rugcutters, and The Motivators.

Albums

Morrissey

Johnny Panic and the Bible of Dreams
  • Not Bitter But Bored (2006)

Red Lightning
  • L.A. Crash Landing (2005)

Singles

Morrissey

† Written by Whyte

Johnny Panic and the Bible of Dreams
  • "When I Drink I Love You More" (1998)

Solo
  • "The Experiment" EP (2018)
  • "A Higher Power" EP (2019)
  • "Whyte Christmas" EP (2020)
  • "Tell Me" EP (2021)

References
  1. Strong, Martin Charles; Peel, John (2004). The great rock discography. Canongate U.S. p. 1040. ISBN 978-1-84195-615-2.
  2. "Alain Whyte | The Daily". Dailyuw.com. 8 May 1997. Archived from the original on 19 August 2014. Retrieved 24 August 2014.
  3. "Most Performed Songs". Ascap.com. Retrieved 24 August 2014.
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