A few words on Steven Patrick Morrissey, known as
Morrissey, because he hates his first names. He is known to his friends as Moz,
Mozza and Mozzer. He was born in Manchester, England, England in 1959 of
working-class Irish-Catholic parents and his first foray into the Arts was a book
he wrote about his idol, called James Dean Is Not Dead, which was published
when he was in his early 20s. It was this book that impressed Johnny Marr, who
sought to meet him in order to ask him to write songs together.
I know that a lot of people don't like Morrissey. He
has poor social skills, a very dark and particular sense of humor that is
misunderstood more often than not and the unusual imagery that he uses in his
writing varies from the magnificent to the ridiculous. He's very vocal and not
very diplomatic with his opinions, be it politics, art or animal rights.
Morrissey's sexuality has been the subject of much
speculation and coverage in the British press during his career. In a 1980
letter, he described both himself and his then-girlfriend as bisexual, although
he added that "I hate sex". During
his years with The Smiths, Morrissey professed to being celibate, which stood
out at a time when much of pop music was dominated by visible sexuality. Marr
said in a 1984 interview that Morrissey "doesn't participate in sex at the
moment and hasn't done so for a while".
In 1997, he revealed that he had abandoned celibacy and
that he had a relationship with a Cockney boxer. That person was revealed in
Morrissey's autobiography to be Jake Walters. They lived together until 1996.
In an interview in March 2013, Walters said, "Morrissey and I have been
friends for a long time, probably around 20 years." Morrissey was later
attached to Tina Dehghani. He discussed having a baby with Dehghani, with whom
he described having an "uncluttered commitment". In his
autobiography, Morrissey also mentions a relationship with a younger Italian
man, known only as "Gelato", with whom he sought to buy a house
around 2006. In October 2013,
Morrissey released a statement through his semi-official website, which said,
"Unfortunately, I am not homosexual. In technical fact, I am humasexual. I
am attracted to humans. But, of course ... not many." The man's
statements were even more confusing than those of Bowie: like Bowie he kept
using different labels on himself, in order to avoid being labelled. It's more
creative than "no comment", I must say.
His first solo album, in 1988, was called Viva Hate
(because of course it was). It received critical acclaim, went to #1 in the UK
and was a big hit in many countries. It went gold both in the US & in the
UK. Its first single was Suedehead, a song about a "good lay" that
turned stalker-ish on the way:
You had to sneak into my room just to read my diary
It was just to see, just to see
All the things you knew I'd written about you
The song made #2 in Ireland and #5 in the UK.
Here it is:
His next single is probably my favorite solo hit of
his: Everyday Is Like Sunday is full of trademark Morrissey doom and gloom. A
group of people are stranded on a beach waiting for the nuclear holocaust.
Morrissey sings the phrase "Come, Armageddon! Come!" with such
relish, that makes the end of the world bearable.
The Last of the Famous International Playboys was
another big hit for him: #3 in Ireland, #6 in the UK and more importantly #3 in
the US Modern Rock chart. It's about a guy whose idols are the Kray twins,
vicious London gangsters in the 60s. Ron Kray was gay. Part of the lyrics are:
Ronnie Kray, do you know my face?
Oh, don't say you don't
(..........................)
I never wanted to kill
I am not naturally evil
Such things I do
Just to make myself
More attractive to you
Have I failed?
His 1991 single, Piccadilly Palare had a similar chart
run: #5 in Ireland, #18 in the UK & #2 in the US Modern Rock chart.
The song was about male prostitution around the
Piccadilly area of London. The
title of the song refers to the slang language polari, first used by male prostitutes in the 19th century and
then taken up by gays in the 1960s to disguise sexual activities which were
illegal in the UK until 1967.
Off the rails I was and off the rails
I was happy to stay
Get out of my way
On the rack I was
Easy meat, and a reasonably good buy
A reasonably good buy
The Piccadilly palare
Was just silly slang
Between me and the boys in my gang
So bona to vada, oh you
Your lovely eek and your lovely riah
We plied an ancient trade
Where we threw all life's instructions away
Exchanging lies and digs my way
'Cause in a belted coat
Oh, I secretly knew
That I hadn't a clue
After more singles with unusual titles such as We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful
and You're the One for Me, Fatty, in 1994 Moz released his 4th studio album,
Vauxhall And I, which became his 2nd solo #1 in the UK. It also made #5 in
Ireland, #12 in France, #13 in Sweden and #18 in the US. The album, produced by
Steve Lillywhite, is considered one of his best. The single The More You Ignore
Me, the Closer I Get was one of his biggest hits (#8 in the UK, #1 in
the US Modern Rock chart and the only one of his singles to chart in the US Hot
100, at #46. It's about a relationship that's closer to war than to love.
We skip over a couple of albums to go to my favorite
album of his, You Are The Quarry in 2004. It made #1 in Sweden, #2 in the UK,
#3 in Ireland, #5 in Norway, #7 in Germany, #8 in Finland and #11 in the US
(his highest charting album there, in a tie with 2009's Years Of Refusal). Once
again the Moz didn't shy way from provocative titles: The World Is Full of
Crashing Bores, All the Lazy Dykes and America Is Not the World are 3 of the
songs included here. We won't be dealing with these three however. The four
singles off this album are all exceptional.
Irish Blood, English Heart is about the singer's dual
heritage. It made #3 in the UK.
My favorite is First of the Gang to Die (#6, UK): a
gang member's short life is presented with tenderness and desire by Morrissey:
The next single, Let Me Kiss You was recorded both by
Morrissey, as well as by Nancy Sinatra. Both versions made the UK charts. It's
about making love to someone whom you fear is not physically attracted to you.
So, close your eyes
And think of someone you physically admire
And let me kiss you
Morrissey's version:
Nancy Sinatra's version:
Finally, I Have Forgiven Jesus (a bold choice for a
title), is all about Moz's complicated relationship with religion. It would be
his 4th Top 10 single in the UK from one album, a feat that he has not
achieved, before or since.
Morrissey is still making good music: his latest album,
with yet another provocative title, World
Peace Is None of Your Business, came out two years ago. I'm sure that he'll
continue making music, which some will love and some will hate. Whichever the
case, he certainly won't go unnoticed. He never does.
