– ‘Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me’ was the third and final single taken from The Smiths’ fourth album, Strangeways, Here We Come.

– By the time it was released in December 1987, The Smiths had split up. Billed as ‘The Last Single’, it reached number 30 in the UK singles chart.

– The Smiths’ swansong arrived six months after Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative government had been elected for a third term in office.

– The album and 12” single version of ‘Last Night I Dreamt…’ opens with a 1 minute 55 second recording from the 1984–1985 Miners’ Strike, which became one of the 1980s’ defining events.

– The cover star of ‘Last Night I Dreamt…’ was Billy Fury, the Liverpool-born rock’n’roll singer who died aged 42 in January 1983, just as The Smiths were playing their first gigs.

– Morrissey’s theatrical leanings saw the run-off groove of ‘Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me’s original vinyl release etched with the words, ‘The Return Of The Submissive Society (X) Starring Sheridan Whiteside’. The B-side reads ‘The Bizarre Oriental Vibrating Palm Death (X) Starring Sheridan Whiteside.’

– Whiteside was the lead character in George S Kaufman and Moss Hart’s 1939 play, The Man Who Came To Dinner, and was based on drama critic of The New Yorker, Alexander Woollcott.

– A film of The Man Who Came To Dinner was made in 1942 starring Bette Davis and Ann Sheridan, with Whiteside played by Monty Woolley after his appearance in the original stage production made him a star.

Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me, Tron Theatre, Glasgow, Thursday 19–Saturday 21 September; Summerhall, Edinburgh, Monday 23–Wednesday 25 September; James Milne Institute, Forres, Saturday 28 September; main picture: Lawrence Watson.