"Interesting Drug" is a song by English singer-songwriter Morrissey, released as a non-album single on 17 April 1989. Co-written by Morrissey and former Smiths producer Stephen Street, the song was Morrissey's fourth release after the Smiths break-up. Morrissey was inspired lyrically by the drug culture in the English lower class, which he felt was being clamped down on by the power-hungry Thatcher government. These political themes were further explored in its music video. The single was the second and final Morrissey solo single to feature his former Smiths bandmates Andy Rourke, Mike Joyce, and Craig Gannon. "Interesting Drug" was recorded and released following Morrissey's debut album, Viva Hate. Upon release, the single became yet another commercial hit for Morrissey, reaching number nine in the UK in spite of controversy regarding its lyrics and music video. The song would later appear on the 1990 compilation album, Bona Drag. In the years since its release, "Interesting Drug" has received positive critical reception. Background Lyrically, "Interesting Drug" sees Morrissey explore his feeling that the Thatcher-administration was clamping down on working-class drug use to "keep people in their place". As such, drug use results from a "sense of rebellion". Morrissey explained in a 1989 interview: Morrissey attributed the song's controversy to the direct nature of these lyrics, commenting, "I think the pop establishment can deal with pop drug culture in its present form because it doesn't convey anything. It's very vague and wispy and (lolls tongue out and rolls eyes) uuuuungh, unngh. But if you say. Interesting drug/ the one that you took/ God, it really helped you. That line was just far too direct." The track features Kirsty MacColl on backing vocals as well as his former colleagues in the Smiths: Andy Rourke, Mike Joyce, and Craig Gannon. All three also appear on the B-sides. Ultimately, this would be the final single which featured this line-up, with Joyce and Gannon entering legal disputes with Morrissey afterwards. In his autobiography, Morrissey recalled, "The unhappy past descend[ed] on me each time I hear[d] their voices and I decide[d] not to invite them to any further recording sessions." Like previous Morrissey solo singles, the music to "Interesting Drug" was written by former Smiths producer Stephen Street. This included the song's bassline, in spite of the presence of Rourke: Street explained, "I always was aware that the bass lines were very important to where Morrissey took his