Synopsis

Morrissey is presented as a notorious criminal being led away in handcuffs by a group of stern Italian policemen. As photographers crowd around, he appears less like a frightened prisoner than a glamorous celebrity enjoying the spectacle. Filmed in stark black and white and slowed to a stately, exaggerated pace, the video turns the song's dark story into a theatrical public arrest. The contrast between Morrissey's composed presence, the police escort, and the aggressively flashing cameras gives the performance an absurd, mock-heroic quality.

Factoids & Trivia

• The video uses black-and-white photography and extensive slow motion, giving the brief arrest scenario the atmosphere of an old crime film or celebrity newsreel.

• Morrissey's band members play the Italian policemen who escort him toward the car, making the clip a deliberately self-contained performance piece.

• The paparazzi are central to the visual joke: Morrissey is treated simultaneously as a dangerous criminal and an object of celebrity fascination.

• "The Youngest Was the Most Loved" was released as the second single from *Ringleader of the Tormentors* on June 5, 2006. It reached No. 14 on the UK Singles Chart.

• The song was co-written by Morrissey and Jesse Tobias and produced by Tony Visconti. The album was recorded in Rome, which also shaped much of the record's Italian atmosphere.

• An Italian children's choir appears on the recording, while the song's introduction incorporates the sound of Roman ambulance sirens. Those details add an intentionally innocent yet ominous quality to the track.

• The single's extended formats included "A Song from Under the Floorboards," Morrissey's version of the Magazine song, as well as "Ganglord." The video was also issued as bonus material on related single and album editions.