Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want

Did You Know?

• English actress and songwriter Slow Moving Millie released a cover version of the song in 2011, adding commas to its title.
• Slow Moving Millie's version was selected as the soundtrack to a John Lewis advertisement.
• Her cover was released on 11 November 2011 as a download from her debut studio album Renditions.

Background

Johnny Marr wrote the music for "Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want" shortly after composing its A-side, "William, It Was Really Nothing". He wanted the B-side to contrast the fast, short, upbeat A-side, so he wrote it in a waltz time signature. Marr noted that the music aimed to capture the spookiness and sense of yearning he heard in Del Shannon's "The Answer to Everything", a song his parents played for him as a child. Rough Trade initially expressed concern about the song's short length. Morrissey recalled that the label kept asking where the rest of the song was; he described the track as "a very brief punch in the face" and argued that lengthening it would have meant explaining the blindingly obvious. Morrissey later called hiding the song on a B-side "sinful" and said he felt sad about it. The song's inclusion on Hatful of Hollow was, in his view, a form of semi-repentance.

The Dream Academy version

The Dream Academy covered "Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want" in 1985, and their version peaked at number 83 on the UK singles chart. An instrumental version of this cover was used in the 1986 film Ferris Bueller's Day Off during a scene at the Art Institute of Chicago. After the band's breakup, he commented that he liked the Dream Academy version and noted that it reached number 81, which he considered nearly a hit. The 7-inch single included the cover and "In Places on the Run"; the 12-inch added an acoustic version of "The Party" and an instrumental of the cover.