6. The Smiths - Suffer Little Children (Ian Brady & Myra Hindley)
Over the moor, take me to the moor/Dig a shallow grave/And I'll lay me down/Lesley Anne, with your pretty white beads/Oh John, you'll never be a man/And you'll never see your home again/Oh Manchester, so much to answer for
If there was ever a sound that was utterly perfect for studying the minds and impact of serial killers, it was the gloomy, poetic songs of The Smiths. One of the very first tracks that Morrissey and Johnny Marr wrote was Suffer Little Children, simultaneously a lament for the victims of and a dark retelling of the crimes of Ian Brady and Myra Hindley, the Moors Murderers that killed five children in Greater Manchester. During the song, Morrissey condemns Manchester for its secretion of the murders, saying that the misty moors have "so much to answer for". He mourns the end of the victims' futures, saying that they'll never grow up or dream again. Although released almost 20 years after the killings, the track was still the subject of much controversy. This is partially because three of the victims are directly mentioned by name in the lyrics, which reportedly upset their families. It is intriguing that it is the fact that the victims' names were included is considered more problematic than the actual retelling of the story - perhaps it is easier to accept a song about serial killers provided it is abstracted by the removal of personal references? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkYlQjk1LWk