Alain Whyte


Alain Gordon Whyte 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.
Prior to 1991, Whyte previously been in the bands Rugcutters, Red Lightning, Motivators, Born Bad and the Memphis Sinners. 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".

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, Vauxhall and I, Southpaw Grammar, Maladjusted, You Are the Quarry, Ringleader of the Tormentors, and Years of Refusal. As of Years of Refusal, Alain Whyte has a total of 80 known songwriting credits with Morrissey.

Songwriting credits with other artists

2009
2010
  • Kelis – "Song for the Baby", "Carefree American" – Flesh Tone
  • Cheryl Cole – "Raindrops" – Messy Little Raindrops
  • The Black Eyed Peas – "Play It Loud" – The Beginning
2011
  • Chris Brown – "All About You" – F.A.M.E.
  • Nick 13 – "Gambler's Life" – Nick 13
2012
  • Madonna – "Love Spent" – MDNA
  • Chris Brown – "Don't Wake Me Up", "Remember My Name" – Fortune
  • Joshua Radin – "Lost at Home", "She's So Right" – Underwater
  • Noisettes – "Winner" – Contact
2013
  • V V Brown – "10 Ft. Tall"
  • will.i.am – "Gettin' Dumb" – #willpower
  • Benny Benassi – "Dance the Pain Away"
2015
2017'''
As of Years of Refusal, Whyte has 80 known songwriting credits with Morrissey. Whyte's credits include:
Your Arsenal
  • "Glamorous Glue", "We'll Let You Know", "The National Front Disco", "Certain People I Know", "We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful", "You're the One for Me, Fatty", "Seasick, Yet Still Docked", and "Tomorrow".
Vauxhall and I
Southpaw Grammar
  • "The Boy Racer", "The Operation", "Dagenham Dave", "Do Your Best and Don't Worry", "Best Friend on the Payroll", and "Southpaw" – "Fantastic Bird"
Maladjusted
You Are the Quarry
  • "America Is Not the World", "Irish Blood, English Heart", "I Have Forgiven Jesus", "How Can Anybody Possibly Know How I Feel?", "First of the Gang to Die", "Let Me Kiss You", "All the Lazy Dykes", and "You Know I Couldn't Last".
Ringleader of the Tormentors
Years of Refusal
  • "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
Non-album singles and B-sides
Unreleased tracks

Morrissey

Of Morrissey's 51 currently released singles, Whyte has written 17. However, Whyte did not join Morrissey's band until 1991. Since 1991, Morrissey has released 40 singles giving Whyte the credit of writing just less than half of Morrissey's singles since that time.

Morrissey

† Written by Whyte

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