I am aware of 7 people who are on the permanent 'guest list', who never need to buy tickets or queue up, and get early walk ins to the barrier - though whether they have all come from direct personal requests from Morrissey, or have been added via sympathetic crew members/Donnie etc, I am not sure. Some of these are from the UK and not currently on the US tour. All these people have +1's as well, so that can swell the numbers when they get their friends in with them. There are also a couple of 'clingers on' who have managed to get on the list as 'guests' of Kristeen, by sucking up to her instead and pretending their are her biggest fans.
I don't give a damn about people buying a front row seat and finding someone standing in front of you. If you are that close, you should elbow your way to the barrier anyway, and if you were planning on sitting down in the front row, and are annoyed at people blocking your view, then you should get a seat up in the balcony or something. The front of a Morrissey show is not a place to be sitting down, and when Moz has been faced with this sight, he's been pissed off.
However, the sheer numbers of people on the magic guest now list is getting ridiculous, and is causing a lot of resentment between those who also travel from show to show, spend $$$$ on travel and tickets and hotels, and hours sleeping on sidewalks in order to try and get to the barrier, only to find the chosen few waltz in 30 minutes before doors and go straight to the front ahead of them. When it was just Julia (and she never uses her +1 anyway), it was fine. Now if all the lucky guest list regulars turn up at a small venue on the same date, each with a +1, that's about 50% of the friggin' barrier gone already.
The guest list was a nice idea, to reward a dedicated few - and it was done with the best intentions. But personally I think they should axe it back down to just Julia. If you want to travel round the world seeing Morrissey, then you should buy your ticket and queue up with everyone else.
