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| Morrissey remembered by his English teacher - "in his own world" |
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posted by davidt
on Saturday September 13 2008, @09:00AM
Alistair Stevenson writes:Today's Guardian newspaper (London) includes a story about celebrities remembered by their teachers, that includes Morrissey
Fame Academy - The Guardian
They grew up to become stars of stage and screen, of literature and politics, of art and sport. But what were today's celebrities like as children? Did they already have that spark that sets them apart? We track down their former teachers to find out
Morrissey (aka Steven Patrick Morrissey)
St Marys secondary modern, Stretford, Manchester, 1970-75. Aileen Power, English and art teacher
Steven had longish, curly hair, like an art student. I suppose he was reclusive, but the word that springs to mind is reverie - he was in his own world. I don't remember him as being opinionated and he certainly wasn't vociferous. But you realise that maybe things hit home that surfaced later on. I was and am very keen on the pro-life thing, and I showed the children pictures of aborted foetuses. Years later, he attended an anti-abortion rally, and obviously his revulsion for slaughter led him to champion animal rights. Steven had a soft, sonorous voice, and a couple of PE teachers said he was "limp-wristed".
In The Headmaster Ritual, he sings about the brutality of his schooldays, but that's dramatisation. He was never in trouble, but the strap was used - probably too much. There was a coldness - if you were going to be punished, you went silently to the housemaster. It was quite brutal.
Steven wasn't the cleverest, but he was a deep thinker. He had a feeling for English and literature, as well as for art. He had a sensitivity. I would have expected him to become a poet, but he surprised me with the music because we didn't have a music department. When he played at the Apollo, I wanted to find out what person he'd become. It was surreal, trying to link the artist with the reserved, seemingly strait-laced student. But perhaps he was always simmering, waiting to explode."
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| "Life After Marriage" - Word magazine (Sep. 2008, mag maybe out of print now) |
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posted by davidt
on Saturday September 13 2008, @09:00AM
An anonymous person writes:Life after Marriage.
"Six creative partnerships that at some stage all hit the rocks. But which one's winning in the perilous world of The Solo Career?"
Morrissey (49)
"The dominant half of the greatest rock marriage of our times, Morrissey was closer to his mother than his father and took prescription drugs for depression during his adolescence.In Johnny Marr he found someone-perhaps the only person-whose gift for melody and harmony could match his own brilliantly arresting songs lyrics. After huge success-their studio albums'peak chart positions were 2,1,2 and 2-Marr left, unable to deal with the stress and strain of the relationship any longer.In a 20-year solo career, including four years (1999-2003) without a record contract and characterised by an intense, combative relationship with fans and media alike, no Morrissey solo record has ever charted lower than 8. Neither he nor his former collaborator have ever seriously damaged their legacy, neither will ever run out of cash and both have devoutly loyal supporters who don't expect- or possibly even want The Smiths to reform. The perfect divorce.Morrissey's new album, Years Of Refusal, is out early in september." (ahem)
Score:9
Johnny Marr(44)
"Johnny Marr wrote-and went on to perfect-the golden rules for departing super-guitarists when he left The Smiths.First up was Electronic, his three-way collaboration with Neil Tennant and Bernard Summer.Huge hits followed.He joined The The to record Mind Bomb (quite possibly their best album) and variously wrote, recorded and toured with The Pretenders, Billy Bragg, Talking Heads, Oasis, Bryan Ferry and Beck. Then there was Johnny Marr and The Healers, the band he formed with Zak Starkey. Since 2006 Marr has been a full-time member of Modest Mouse, even moving to Portland, Oregon to work on the writing and recording of the band's fifth album, "We were dead before the ship even sank". Interestingly, he has recently joined Yorkshire band The Cribs after enjoying touring with them earlier this year, though no relocation to Wakefield has yet been announced. And just in case he gets bored, a new Healers album is "pretty much done". When, we wonder, does he sleep?"
Score:8
The other scores:
*-Brett Anderson (6)
-Bernard Butler (9)
*-Pete Doherty(3)
-Carl Barat (3)
*-Ian Brown (7)
-John Squire (2)
*Mick jagger (6)
-Keith Richards (7)
*Robert Plant (9)
-Jimmy Page (7)
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| New release date for Morrissey "Live At The Hollywood Bowl" - March 1, 2009 according to HMV.com |
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| Len Brown interview (part 1) regarding Morrissey biography at I Heart AU |
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posted by davidt
on Friday September 12 2008, @09:00AM
An anonymous person sends the link:
Reader Meet Author (Part 1) - I Heart AU
Meetings With Morrissey by Len Brown
In this first part of the interview, Len tells AU about the the influence of Wilde on Morrissey and shares his thoughts on some of the more controversial moments in Morrissey’s life.
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| Hilary Duff names Morrissey as one of her favorite artists on The Bonnie Hunt Show |
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| Len Brown response to Q magazine stories; "Meetings With Morrissey" updates |
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posted by davidt
on Thursday September 11 2008, @09:00AM
From Len Brown, author of Meetings With Morrissey:
The September 9 story about the Q magazine review certainly didn't come from me. I'm trying to forget it. Very disappointed, as I do have friends who still write for Q (the maligned Quantick among them, from my NME days). I suppose I'm less pissed off with Dorian Lynskey, who penned the review and didn't like my narrative style, and more angry about the headline. I'm a journalist and telly producer rather than a "friend of Mozzer". Really annoyed about the line "thorny subjects ignored" because the book actually features a whole chapter on Morrissey's political views and history in which I make my position clear in relation to certain controversial views.
As I told Ireland's AU magazine - if you consider Morrissey's views on vegetarianism, animal rights, feminism and his celebration of those who Wilde called "outcast men", then you'd have to say that he is, by and large, radical and to the "Left". The only "Right-wing" views that get him into trouble concern his outspokenness on the subject of immigration. Although I don't agree with him - I'm still old-fashioned Northern Labour - surely he's entitled to hold these opinions within a liberal democracy?
Just my opinion but I believe he's talking about nationalism and patriotism, and suggest that he's being protective of the British or English identity (whatever this is) and against certain negative outside influences. It's definitely not about race but external influences in general - from McDonalds to to the EU to sex traffic to Eastern European drug dealers. Also, as I point out in the book, Morrissey seems to have consistently held anti-Maastricht views since 1988, when he wrote of the "slaughter of the British passport and the advance chill of 1992" in his fine NME obituary of Charles Hawtrey.
Trying to forget Q, apart from the Manchester Evening News review, there's also a good article by someone called Robert Cochrane. I'd like to buy that poet a beer.
If anyone gives a monkey's...I've finally managed to set up a website for the book. www.meetingswithmorrissey.com
Thanks for reading/listening to all this. If it's self-promotion rather than self-defence then I apologise. Also thanks for some of the positive and constructive comments on Morrissey Solo. Best wishes, Len
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| Pete Doherty and Johnny Marr jam, play "Jeane" |
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posted by davidt
on Thursday September 11 2008, @09:00AM
Robby sends the link:
Pete Doherty and The Smiths' Johnny Marr duet - NME.com
Pete Doherty and Johnny Marr have teamed up to play a song by The Smiths - Marr's former band.
The Babyshambles man has posted a video of Marr - now a full-time member of The Cribs - and himself playing the song online. Click below to watch it.
In the video the pair play 'Jeane', a song The Smiths recorded with ' Troy Tate in 1983.
The song didn't appear on a Smiths album as the recording session was aborted, but later appeared as a b-side and has been much bootlegged by fans since.
Pete Doherty teamed up with The La's' Lee Mavers last month, jamming the song 'Over' with him.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VEaH43Cm9w
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