More-issey

Steven Patrick Morrissey (born May 22, 1959) is a singer and songwriter from Stretford, Greater Manchester, England. He rose to prominence in the 1980s as the vocalist of the influential English band The Smiths. When the band broke up in 1987, Morrissey began a successful solo career, having notched up ten Top 10 singles in the UK.Morrissey is often noted as one of the key English-language lyricists of his generation, with many subsequent bands hailing his influence. Detractors usually describe his work as depressing, while fans point to the sardonic humour and acidic wit which underpins his songs' frequent references to alienation and failed love.He does not shy from controversy in his songs, with themes including; child murder, gang violence, domestic violence, prostitution, racism, homosexuality, drug use, assassination, political protest, suicide and terrorism.
Biography
Morrissey was born in Manchester, England, to Irish Catholic immigrants Peter Morrissey, a hospital porter, and Elizabeth Dwyer, a librarian. His parents had moved to England just before Morrissey's birth and brought him up, with his elder sister Jackie, in a small Victorian terraced house in Old Trafford, moving to the more salubrious suburb of Stretford in the early 1970s, when many of the old terraced streets were being demolished. Morrissey has maintained a strong attachment to his mother throughout his life. However, his relationship with his father suffered much strain over the years and was, eventually, largely nonexistent.
As a child, Morrissey developed a number of interests and role models that marked him out among his peers, including '60s girl groups, and female singers such as Sandie Shaw, Marianne Faithfull, Cilla Black, and Timi Yuro. He was also interested in the kitchen sink dramas of the late 1950s and early 1960s, Coronation Street's Elsie Tanner, as well as the playwright, novelist, and poet Oscar Wilde. The Moors Murders of the early 1960s had a large impact on him as a child, and he later responded with the controversially received debut album track "Suffer Little Children".
In adolescence, Morrissey's athletic ability saved him to a large degree from bullying. Nevertheless, he has described this period as a time when he was often lonely and depressed. As a teenager, he began taking prescription drugs to help combat a depression that would follow him throughout his life.1 He left school early after passing only a few of his O levels, and worked briefly for the Inland Revenue, but ultimately decided to "go on the dole," sequestering himself in his room in his mother's home to concentrate on writing, reading, and listening to music. Around this time Morrissey wrote novella-like publications concerning two of his greatest heroes: James Dean and The New York Dolls.
An early convert to punk rock, Morrissey briefly fronted The Nosebleeds, writing several songs and garnering a New Musical Express review before the band broke up less than a year later. In 1978 Morrissey briefly replaced Slaughter & the Dogs singer Wayne Barrett, recording four songs with the band before moving on (MOJO Classic Magazine, Volume 1 Issue 13, Page 22).
The Smiths
In 1982 Morrissey and guitarist Johnny Marr formed The Smiths. The Smiths are widely regarded as one of the most influential bands of the 1980s alternative rock movement. They have been consistently acclaimed by the music press, most infamously the NME, whose seeming obsession with the band earned them the nickname "The New Morrissey Express".
Signature themes of The Smiths' work include Morrissey's darkly witty lyrics and Marr's melodic and thickly layered songwriting. The band became a success in the UK, Ireland, and Australia, and grew into a cult phenomenon in the United States of America, where the band became known on college radio charts with songs such as "How Soon Is Now?" and "Panic." The band broke up in 1987 after Marr and Morrissey fell out over musical differences. The band released four proper studio albums and several compilations between 1984 and their breakup, including 1986's The Queen Is Dead, which has been placed highly on a number of critical "Greatest Album" lists.
Solo career
Following The Smiths' split, Morrissey's first solo album came in 1988 in the form of Viva Hate. To create the album, Morrissey teamed up with former Smiths producer Stephen Street as well as Vini Reilly of Durutti Column. The prevailing sound of the album is jangle pop, similar to that of the Smiths, though Reilly's guitar work adds more abrasive and atmospheric elements to the work. Viva Hate struck number one upon release, supported by such strong singles as "Suedehead" and "Everyday Is Like Sunday". Bona Drag (1990) collected these early singles along with further non-album cuts such as "November Spawned A Monster" and "Ouija Board, Ouija Board." Along with the b-sides "Hairdresser On Fire" and "Sister I'm A Poet." Mark Nevin's songwriting services were employed for the studio follow-up to Viva Hate, titled Kill Uncle. The album continued in a similar musical vein.
The band Morrissey assembled in 1991 for his Kill Uncle tour went on to record 1992's hit album Your Arsenal. This band sharply renewed his sound and sales success with a fresh, American rockabilly sound. Composition duties were split between guitarists Boz Boorer and Alain Whyte, who have been the core of Morrissey's band ever since. Your Arsenal was produced by former David Bowie guitarist Mick Ronson, and earned a Grammy nomination for best alternative album.
Mid 1990s
1994 brought Morrissey back to number one in the UK, with Vauxhall and I. One of the album's highlights, "The More You Ignore Me, The Closer I Get," enjoyed chart success as a single, reaching number eight in the UK and number 46 in the US. Further albums Southpaw Grammar and Maladjusted, which contained prog-rock elements, were less well received both critically and commercially. These albums including the songs "Reader Meet Author" and "Trouble Loves Me," both of which are still occasionally included in live setlists.
Morrissey relocated from his Dublin home to Los Angeles in the late 1990s, partially to escape the attention of the British music press. He enjoyed a surprise connection with the Hispanic community there, and supposedly cut himself off from the British Isles as he built a new life for himself in California. However, his 1931-built mansion (formerly owned by Clark Gable) is now on the market. He currently resides in Rome.
Resurgence in the early 00s
Morrissey on the cover of his 2004 album You Are The Quarry In June 2003, Sanctuary Records group announced a deal with Morrissey. He was given the one-time reggae label Attack Records as a platform to record new material and to sign new artists .
Morrissey's album You Are the Quarry was released on May 17, 2004 (one day later in the US). Guitarist Alain Whyte described the work as a mix between Your Arsenal and Vauxhall and I, and the album received strong reviews. The first single, "Irish Blood, English Heart," debuted on KROQ on March 22, 2004 and was released internationally on May 10, 2004. The single reached number three in its first week of sales in the UK singles chart. This was the highest placing chart position for Morrissey in his entire career as both a solo artist and the lead singer of The Smiths (the 2006 release "You Have Killed Me" also debuted at number three in its first week in the charts). Also, it has sold over a million copies, making the album his most successful one, solo or with The Smiths.
At a Dublin concert on June 5 2004, Morrissey caused controversy by announcing the death of former US President, Ronald Reagan and stating that he would have preferred it if the current President, George W. Bush, had died.
With the release of "I Have Forgiven Jesus" in December 2004, Morrissey along with McFly became the only artists to score four top-10 hits in the UK singles chart that year.
In August of 2004, Morrissey was slated to headline a week-long set of shows on Craig Kilborn's The Late Late Show. Morrissey did not perform every night of the weeklong series due to a throat illness. He did, however, perform the following week.
Morrissey's latest album is titled Ringleader of the Tormentors, which debuted at number one in the UK album charts. The album cover is an allusion to the iconic Deutsche Grammophon record cover logo and design, with Morrissey posing as a violinist after the classic photos of Jascha Heifetz or Yehudi Menuhin. Recorded in Rome, it was released internationally on April 3, 2006, and one day later in North America. The album was produced by Tony Visconti, who has also worked with T. Rex and David Bowie. The subsequent 2006 international tour included more than two dozen gigs in the UK, including concerts at the London Palladium on three consecutive Sundays. Just prior to the album's release, Morrissey was photographed in Rome by Bryan Adams for the cover of 'Zoo Magazine'.
Influence in popular culture
Douglas Coupland's book Girlfriend in a Coma is named after a Smiths song, and several barely concealed Smiths lyrics and song titles are scattered through the book. For example, one of the characters said something they didn't mean to, and exclaimed, "Bigmouth strikes again!" An identical device is used in Nick Hornby's novel A Long Way Down, which also refers to the song "William, It Was Really Nothing". In Stephen Chbosky's The Perks of Being a Wallflower, "Asleep" is given as Charlie, the protagonist's, favorite song.
In the song "Homo Christmas" by Pansy Division, they state "Don't be miserable like Morrissey."
"The Wrong Boy" by Willy Russell is based on a teenager who is obsessed with the Smiths and throughout features letters to Morrissey. References to The Smiths feature heavily.
The British comedian Harry Hill paid tribute to Morrissey on a 1999 episode of the ITV television programme Stars In Their Eyes, with a slapstick performance of The Smiths' second single, "This Charming Man." Morrissey later voiced his displeasure upon watching the archive footage when he made an appearance on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross in May 2004. He also paid tribute to him on Harry Hill's TV Burp with a weekly feature "Ouija Board, Ouija Board," which featured the Morrissey song as its theme and again in 2006 by swapping the theme of Eastenders with "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now."
Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy wrote a book based on his nightmares as a child, titled The Boy With the Thorn In His Side after The Smiths' song. Also, in the background of his nude pictures, there are clearly visible Morrissey albums.
Slam poetry artist Big Poppa E makes reference to Morrissey in his performance poem The Wussy Boy Manifesto.
Swedish author Peter Birro claims that track "Angel, Angel, Down We Go Together" saved him from committing suicide.
Morrissey appears in (and has a significant amount of dialogue in) the 2004 movie New York Doll, a documentary about Arthur "Killer" Kane, bassist for the The New York Dolls.
Morrissey was regularly impersonated and parodied in the third series of BBC Radio 4's Mitch Benn's Crimes Against Music (broadcast June/July 2006). Robin Ince provided the impersonations.
Morrissey appeared as himself under the moniker "The Consumer Monkey" on comedy show "Vic Reeves' Big Night Out".
In the From First to Last song "Populace in Two" from their album Dear Diary, My Teen Angst Has a Bodycount, one of the lines in the lyrics goes: "Even if I spend 2004 listening to Morrissey in my car, I'm better off alone than I would be in your arms."
Michael J. Nelson, writer (and later star) of the television show Mystery Science Theater 3000, impersonated Morrissey, among other celebrities, on that show.
Morrissey is name checked in Ryan Adams' debut solo album Heartbreaker's opening track "Argument With David Rawlings Concerning Morrissey". Adams and David Rawlings argue about whether Suedehead is on Viva Hate as well as Bona Drag.
The British Ska-pop band The Ordinary Boys named themselves after the Viva Hate track of the same name.
The British band the Libertines, and most notably Pete Doherty, are avid fans of Morrissey and The Smiths, and have rekindled love for witty intellectual lyrics.
The melodic hardcore band A Wilhelm Scream have a song called "Me vs. Morrissey in the Pretentiousness Contest (The Ladder Match)".
A song by Seattle band Harvey Danger, entitled "Meetings With Remarkable Men," includes the following lyric: "I bowed before the Avatar / He said, "The problem's clear to me, / You never got over Morrissey."
American band Brand New gives a tip of the hat in their song "Mixtape" on the album Your Favorite Weapon. Frontman Jesse Lacey sings, "...And I'm sick of your tattoos, and the way you always criticize the Smiths... and Morrissey."
Brodie Foster Hubbard cites Morrissey as an influence, often telling the story in concert of kissing his girlfriend for the first time parked in front of Morrissey's former Sunset and Sweetzer home. He is often seen playing live in a Morrissey t-shirt, and has covered "National Front Disco" and "Last of the Famous International Playboys" in concert.
A Fire Inside (AFI) vocalist, Davey Havok is a great fan of Morrissey, and has the word 'Moz' tattooed on his right wrist, each letter enclosed in a heart.
Arizona band Peachcake have a song entitled "I Fell in Love With You While Listening to My Favorite Morrissey" on their 2004 Chain Letter EP
Argentine musician Leo Garcia, who has often collaborated with Grammy Award winner Gustavo Cerati wrote a song titled Morrissey in his album Mar.
British band The Boy Least Likely To named themselves after the B-side "Girl Least Likely To".
Image and politics
Feuds within the music industry
Reputed to be uninterested in compromise or record company marketing principles, Morrissey has long suffered the consequences of operating as a quasi-outsider in the music industry. Though his large and loyal fan base follow his every move, his albums since 1996 had great trouble reaching a wider audience. Between 1999 and 2003, Morrissey was unable to find a record contract at all (or at least one that satisfied his demands).
In 1996, The Smiths' drummer Mike Joyce sued Morrissey and Johnny Marr for outstanding royalties and won. The judge presiding over the case famously ruled that Morrissey was "devious, truculent and unreliable." As of April 2006, it is understood that Morrissey has paid none of the outstanding royalties to Joyce. Morrissey expressed bitter displeasure with the ruling on the track, "Sorrow Will Come in the End," from 1997's Maladjusted.
Morrissey has severely criticized fellow singers such as Madonna, David Bowie and George Michael. The Cure's Robert Smith has been quoted as saying, "If Morrissey says don't eat meat, then I'll eat meat, because I hate Morrissey. Morrissey also once openly wished that Morrissey & Marr: The Severed Alliance author Johnny Rogan "ends his days very soon in an M3 pile-up".
In 1994 Morrissey came under fire from Manic Street Preachers' bassist and lyricist Nicky Wire. Wire was responding to comments Morrissey had made about the British National Party's right to speaking and referred to Morrissey as a "sad old bitter man" who would "do anything to get press" and who just likes irritating people. Manics' co-lyricist Richey James Edwards added that Morrissey was evidently scared of his own statements as he wasn't prepared to discuss them with anyone and didn't have a logical argument to back up his comments.
Other targets of his disapproval have been Band Aid, rap, reggae (a criticism he later retracted, stating that he was being facetious and that he grew up partly on the classic singles released by the British reggae label Trojan in the early to mid-70's), rave and teenage pop stars.
Feuds with political leaders
Morrissey has always been politically outspoken and is not known for holding back when disparaging political leaders he does not approve of. His most famous enemies have been The British Royal Family, former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, current Prime Minister Tony Blair, and current US President George W. Bush. Morrissey's first solo album, “Viva Hate,” included a track entitled “Margaret on the Guillotine,” a Tongue-in-cheek jab at Prime Minister Thatcher. British police responded by searching Morrissey’s home and making him the subject of an official investigation. Many of the officers were said to be embarrassed at the absurdity of the situation, some even asking for Morrissey's autograph. Not to be outdone, Morrissey’s follow-up single included the B-side “Such a Little Thing Makes Such a Big Difference,” whose lyrics end with a caustic “Leave me alone, I was only singing/You have just proved again, most people keep their brains between their legs.”
In October 2004, Morrissey released a statement urging American voters to vote for John Kerry for President. Morrissey's statement was, "With all my heart I urge people to vote against George Bush. Jon Stewart would be ideal, but John Kerry is the logical and sane move. It does not need to be said yet again, but Bush has single-handedly turned the United States into the most neurotic and terror-obsessed country on the planet. For non-Americans, the United States is suddenly not a very nice place to visit because US immigration officers — under the rules of Bush — now conduct themselves with all the charm and unanswerable indignation of Hitler’s SS. Please bring sanity and intelligence back to the United States. Don’t forget to vote. Vote for John Kerry and get rid of George Bush!" This statement appeared on his official website.
In February 2006, Morrissey said he had been interviewed by the FBI and by British intelligence after having spoken out against the American and British governments. Morrissey was quoted as saying, "The FBI and the Special Branch have investigated me and I've been interviewed and taped and so forth. They were trying to determine if I was a threat to the government, it didn't take them long to realise that I am not."
Racist accusations
Morrissey was maligned during much of the 1990s by accusations of racism. The accusations were derived from ambiguous lyrics in songs such as "Bengali In Platforms" and "National Front Disco". They also stemmed from Johnny Rogan's biography of the singer, which claimed he had once said "I don't hate Pakistanis, but I dislike them immensely" in his late teens.
One song cited by the NME as possible proof of Morrissey's racism was "Asian Rut" from 1991, which vividly describes the murder of an Asian man by white racists. Others have said that with lines such as "it must be wrong/three against one?" Morrissey appears to be siding with the Asian victim.
A trigger for much of the criticism was Morrissey's performance at the first Madness Madstock reunion show at Finsbury Park, London, in 1992, in which he appeared on stage draped in the Union Jack, a favourite symbol of far-right wing groups in Britain.
Coinciding with the event, he also stated in the press that he was "thrilled that many of his new fans were skinheads". At the concert however, the skinheads who constitute some of Madness' fanbase (although the band have publicly distanced themselves from the skinhead culture) booed him off the stage, throwing objects and hurling verbal abuse.
Media views on the event were mixed, with some saying Morrissey was a racist and others claiming the singer was an attention seeker.
Another possible explanation was offered by British journalist Thomas Nimmo, who said that Morrissey was "attempting to reclaim the flag from the far right."
The harshest attacks came from the NME music paper, who made him persona non grata for more than a decade. The NME published a full page article that analyzed the singer’s actions at Finsbury Park and music lyrics and tried to decipher if Morrissey was a racist. Morrissey and the NME ended their feud in 2004.
Critics of the racism allegations point to Morrissey’s involvement in various organizations such as Amnesty International5, and anti-Apartheid 6. Morrissey has also been quoted as saying "If I am racist then the Pope is female. Which he isn't" and "If the National Front were to hate anyone, it would be me. I would be top of the list."
In 1999 Morrissey commented on the rise of Austrian far-right politician Jörg Haider, stating "This is sad. Sometimes I don't believe we live in an intelligent world."
In 2004 he signed up to the explicitly anti-fascist Unite Against Fascism statement.
Animal rights
Morrissey has been a vegetarian since he was 11 years old. Morrissey explained his vegetarianism by saying "If you love animals, obviously it doesn't make sense to hurt them." Morrissey also remains an advocate for animal rights and a supporter of PETA. In recognition of his support, PETA honored him with the Linda McCartney Memorial Award at their 25th Anniversary Gala on September 10, 2005.
Morrissey has in the past worn leather, stating in 1986, "there is simply no sensible alternative" to leather shoes. He further elaborated his position by saying, "I find shoes difficult to be ethical about - one just can't seem to avoid leather. One is trapped, ultimately." However, it was reported in the April 2006 issue of SPIN Magazine that Morrissey now wears "expensive" fake leather shoes.
In January 2006, Morrissey gained controversy after stating he accepts the motives behind the terrorist tactics of the Animal Rights Militia, and claiming "I understand why fur-farmers and so-called laboratory scientists are repaid with violence - it is because they deal in violence themselves and it's the only language they understand."
Morrissey also attacked people who are involved in the promotion of eating meat, and specifically Jamie Oliver and Clarissa Dickson-Wright, the latter already being targeted by animal extremists for her stance on fox-hunting. In response, Dickson-Wright stated “Morrissey is encouraging people to commit acts of violence and I am constantly aware that something might very well happen to me.” Morrissey has also been criticized by British government officials, some of whom suggested that Morrissey should be investigated by the police for inciting violence.
On March 27, 2006, Morrissey released a statement[4] that he will not include any dates in Canada on his current world tour as well as calling for a boycott of all Canadian goods in protest of the country's annual seal harvest, which he described as a "barbaric and cruel slaughter".
Sexuality
Throughout much of Morrissey's career he maintained in interviews that he was asexual and celibate, but he did admit, in a 2006 NME interview, to no longer being celibate. "It's all within the songs," he has often claimed. The persona that emerges from his songs, however, is not that of a person who lacks interest in sex. Rather, sexuality pervades his lyrics, which frequently depict a person who longs for sexual and physical intimacy with others, but finds his attempts to express his sexuality constantly frustrated by barriers such as shyness, insecurity or rejection by potential sexual partners — and for whom celibacy is consequently an involuntary matter of circumstance rather than a personal choice. In some songs (e.g. "Accept Yourself", "Let Me Kiss You"), Morrissey depicts this plight with self-deprecating wit, while in others (such as "Asleep", "How Soon is Now?" and "I Know It's Over"), he expresses a loneliness so profound that he'd sooner die than face another day without physical intimacy and love. Still others (such as "Girl Afraid") seem to be written from the perspective of a person who is in a sexual or romantic relationship, but has learned to their disappointment that even with a partner they still feel alone and unloved.
Morrissey has always been reluctant to speak of his private life, but this has only served to fuel speculation about his sexual orientation. Many songs, such as "This Charming Man", "Handsome Devil", "I Want the One I Can't Have", "Hand in Glove", "William, It Was Really Nothing" and "Dear God Please Help Me", among others, can be interpreted as having lyrics that discuss gay longing and romance, and several of the Smiths' albums and singles were released with cover art that has been widely interpreted as homoerotic. Journalist Richard Smith wrote that most Smiths' songs could be read as homosexual, and urged Morrissey to come out of the closet. .
However, Morrissey himself said in an early 1990s Rolling Stone article, "I'm gay? Well, that's news to me." When asked to 'set the record straight' in the 2003 British Channel 4 documentary The Importance of Being Morrissey he simply stated, "I don't see any 'crooked record'. People think they know, think they understand. I don't really care what people think -- it makes no difference to me. And I'm not hiding anything." He has remained tight-lipped on the issue throughout his career.
source: Wikipedia
THE PASSION OF THE MORRISSEY
The gladioli are in flight. On the stage of the Henry Fonda Theater in Hollywood, a slender man in heavy 1950s style eye-glasses, floral shirt, white jeans and pompadour hairdo is energetically hurling a bunch of gangly blooms into the audience whilst singing something about spending warm summer days indoors writing frightening verse to a buck-toothed girl in Luxembourg. In the auditorium, tough-looking twenty-somethings in cuffed jeans, baseball boots and voluminous quiffs, sing word-perfectly along, their eyes shining as they strain to catch the somersaulting stems like blushing bridesmaids outside a country church.
Gradually, the adoration turns into unabashed devotion, as people try to clamber onto the stage. Those that make it past the heavy-set bouncers cling desperately onto their pop idol like lepers begging for a miracle. As the singer up on stage leads the bacchanal of flailing bodies in a rousing chorus of "Hang the DJ! Hang the DJ, Hang the DJ!" the scene resembles something of a cross between a room full of lagered-up soccer hooligans and The Sermon on the Mount.
Displays of unencumbered emotion have been a regular characteristic of pop concert audiences ever since Elvis scuffed his Blue Suede Shoes. Watch virtually any piece of crackly live concert footage of the Beatles and you'll witness at least one young woman behaving like a latter-day, mascara-bedribbled Julian of Norwich — the Medieval mystic who passed out every time she thought she saw Jesus. Scenes of rabid fans clawing the clothes off a pop star or trying to rush the stage are as unremarkable as spotting the words "Radiohead Rules" or "My Bloody Valentine Forever" scrawled in permanent marker on a scruffy schoolbag.
But the aura surrounding Morrissey, vocalist and wordsmith of 1980s British pop group The Smiths, now turned solo artist, is of a wholly (holy) different order. In the wake of the furor surrounding Mel Gibson's film The Passion of the Christ, which film spawned renewed debate about the cultural appropriation of religious icons in pop culture, this aging and comparatively marginal British singer is blurring the lines between what it means to be a pop icon and a religious icon.
Morrissey is hardly a household name. Despite becoming well-known as lead singer of The Smiths, a band that during its shortish lifespan between 1983 and 1987 put out five bestselling albums and 14 hit singles and achieved an ardent following in both the US and the UK, Morrissey has never come close to assuming the Bard-like magnitude of a Bob Dylan or David Bowie.
Yet whatever Morrissey does on stage seems to take on a symbolic life of its own: back in the days of The Smiths, fans waved gladioli or daffodils at concerts like Palm Sunday palms because Morrissey would often be seen on stage with these flowers, and sported drooping pompadours, heavy eye-glasses and even hearing-aids to imitate their idol's esoteric fashion sense.
But beyond the confines of the concert hall, fans took Morrissey's words and ideas even more fervently to heart. As legend has it, The Smiths' 1985 album Meat is Murder, Morrissey's melodramatic treatise against the slaughter of animals, inspired a rise in vegetarianism amongst young people. The band's split in 1987 motivated a number of isolated teenage suicides and in the same year, a crazed fan hijacked a radio station in Denver, Colorado at gun-point, demanding that the DJ play non-stop Smiths songs. Today, some 17 years after the demise of the band, Manchester boasts a museum dedicated to The Smiths, at The Salford Lads Club. Besides posing in front of the building for their 1986 album The Queen Is Dead, The Smiths never had much to do with the Club. Nevertheless, fans have treated the site as if it were a holy shrine ever since.
With this kind of behavior going down in the annals of pop history, it's possible to begin to understand what Andrew O'Hagan meant when he confessed in a recent article in The London Review of Books, "I was a Smiths fan, a position, I'd discover, only slightly less involving than being a Moonie," and what Joe Pernice, lead singer with US-based rock group The Pernice Brothers and author of a novella about The Smiths, Meat is Murder, was talking about when he described his experience of growing up as a Smiths fan in Massachusetts to me over the phone recently: "Fans of The Smiths were nuts. It was a lifestyle, not just a band you liked."
Since The Smiths split up in 1987, the veneration of Morrissey has become even more zealous. From magazine illustrations depicting Morrissey as a be-haloed saint, leading an adoring sheep in magazines, to recent books about the singer and his ex-band with messianic titles like Saint Morrissey and Songs That Saved Your Life, Morrissey's image has been gradually heading heavenwards. As Simon Goddard, author of Songs That Saved Your Life eloquently put it in a recent telephone conversation:
The difference between seeing The Smiths live and Morrissey live can be characterized as the difference between adoration and idolization. When you went to see The Smiths perform live it was like going to a soccer match where you're rooting for the home team. Morrissey was the captain of the team, but people chanted for other members of the group too. Morrissey solo has become more of a religious experience. It's all about what he represents. It's sort of like kissing the papal ring. Like some kind of divinity, Morrissey's pull has become so powerful that the artist doesn't even have to appear in person to make his presence felt — the "idea" of him is enough and he merely needs an effective vessel to bestow his teachings upon the masses.
by: CHLOE VELTMAN
tialtngo- Morrissey on Jools

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Morrissey - Whatever Happens, I Love You

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