The Smiths discussion list "Panic" is being replaced by a new incarnation named "Maladjusted".

The list website is located at:

http://www.debaser.org/maladjusted

People can sub and unsub from there.

After a few problems the Aylesbury photos are now at this address.

My Mothers Boyfriend lives in Aylesbury & knows a very sweet lady who deals with booking the various acts for the Civic Centre.

According to her, Morrissey has 'by contract' agreed to play at least 1 more show there in early 2000!!

Watch this space I guess...

STEVEN'S NIGHT
MORRISSEY (Olympia Theatre, Dublin)

Common wisdom has it that Morrissey is at probably the lowest ebb of his career. Currently label-less, he's running out of record companies to take up his cause; he has more foes than friends left in the British media; and his core fanbase is shrinking to such a degree that two concerts scheduled for the National Concert Hall were reduced to one in the Olympia.

But if you were a Morrissey fan, things couldn't have worked out any better: firstly, the Concert Hall's supercilious formality may be ideal for Beethoven but is a ludicrously unsuitable venue for rock'n'roll. And so the last minute switch to the Olympia was an excellent result.

The moment Morrissey strode on stage, the enduring adoration this man inspires in his people became clear. Resplendent in blue silk jacket, speckled trousers and West Ham Boys Club t-shirt, Morrissey is in far better shape in his fortieth year than most people could have predicted: the thought of Moz working out in a gym does not compute, so one presumes it's the Californian sunshine that's done the trick.

The set was an interesting hop, skip and jump through the back pages of his solo career, taking in five of the six studio albums (Kill Uncle drawing the short straw). The Dick Dale twang-a-thon of 'You're Gonna Need Someone On Your Side' opened proceedings with deputies Boorer and Whyte coming out with all guitars blazing. 'Boy Racer' and 'Billy Budd' kept up the vigorous pace before 'November Spawned A Monster' allowed Moz a breather and Boz Boorer a chance to demonstrate his, er, experience with a keyboard/recorder thingy.

The security barrier up front means that there's no possibility of a repeat of the famous Stadium gig when everyone bar the caretaker and the ice cream seller mounted the stage to touch the hand of Moz. One daredevil does make it, after jumping from the balcony, but mostly the Moz diehards make do with throwing envelopes containing their life story/unmarked 20 pound notes onto the stage or raising signs inscribed with droll messages above their heads.

For his part, Moz - who has always had an intuitive grasp of showbiz etiquette - tosses his discarded t-shirt to collective lions (only to get it back again!) and dons a special black Republic of Ireland jersey for 'Roy's Keen'. The charmer!

He's even in a good mood to play three Smiths songs - a chirpy 'Is it Really So Strange?', a suitably eerie 'Meat Is Murder' and, for the encore, a marvellous 'Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me'.

But this was no dream - Dublin still does love him.

Cox Arena concert becomes a Moz pit of loving fans and tortured songs

James Hebert
ARTS WRITER

16-Dec-1999 Thursday

Morrissey "Moz"

It was not entirely nice, but it was entirely fitting, that as Morrissey knelt toward his fans during Tuesday's concert at Cox Arena, he was batted in the head by a besotted admirer's bouquet.

Hey, love hurts.

That's what Morrissey -- "Moz," to his fans -- has been telling us in nearly every one of his songs over the past 15 years, dating to his earliest days with the much-missed British band the Smiths.

And that's certainly what the Morrissey faithful learned the last time the 40-year-old pop oddity appeared here, when he gave a lazy and petulant (not to mention short) performance two years ago at Hospitality Point.

This time around, the tortured soul formerly known as Steven Patrick Morrissey was on his best behavior. In fact, you might have to make that "formerly tortured soul," because while the songs still wallowed in heartache and self-doubt, the singer seemed bursting with a whole lotta love.

"It's wonderful to see your round happy faces ... and your bodies," he gushed after a rousing rendition of "Boy Racer," the second number in the 16-song, 80-minute show.

"You are very, very gracious. It's touching that you're all here tonight to hear these cheerful songs," he cooed after performing the deeply weird "November Spawned a Monster."

And when he came out to launch into the one-song encore -- a mournful version of the Smiths' "Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me" -- Morrissey all but consummated the affair, declaring: "With all of my heart, I love you!"

Quite a contrast from his 1997 concert, when he taunted the audience as it shivered in a frigid wind.

Tuesday's show was a tight affair musically, with consistently solid playing by Morrissey's four-piece band and a generous selection of songs that included four from his days with the Smiths.

One of those, the wistful and lyrical "Half a Person," was one of the night's high points. But Morrissey's singing was frequently interrupted by his attempts to drag one audience member or another onstage.

This happened so many times early in the concert that the stage began to resemble the set for a more affectionate version of "The Jerry Springer Show," complete with bouncer extricating lovelorn fans' limbs from about Morrissey's torso.

He was even feeling playful enough to pull a variation on the old "Is that a banana in your pocket?" gag -- producing said fruit from his coat and dangling it mischievously at his midsection during "Boy Racer."

This, predictably, elicited hoots and screams from the crowd of 2,922, similar to the hoots and screams that greeted Morrissey when he removed his T-shirt (twice).

About the only time the singer didn't appear to please the partisan audience was when he performed "Meat Is Murder," the Smiths' mordant meditation on the killing of animals for food.

As the song began, the arena's aisles suddenly grew busy with outward-bound traffic. (Presumably, the departees represented the audience's non-vegetarian demographic.)

Mostly, though, the show was a love-in, a chance for Morrissey to reconnect with his fans, and maybe make amends.

It's possible he recognizes that he can't afford to be too cavalier about his following: With no record deal (his former label, Mercury, has vaporized) and no new studio album since 1997's "Maladjusted," Morrissey is not exactly riding a career crest.

But while there were plenty of empty seats at Cox, there also was plenty of noise, and plenty of people who stuck around to hear Moz lament, Last night I dreamt that somebody loved me . . . Last night I felt real arms around me.

For this night, anyway, it was definitely still more than a dream.

James Hebert can be reached by phone (619) 293-2040, fax (619) 293-2436 or e-mail: jim.hebert@uniontrib.com

Notes regarding the review from Abel:

*no one hit flowers during the show (I gave him two bouquets and saw no one hit him with flowers)

*and no one left during "Meat is Murder"

*and I was the only one to get onstage during 'Half a Person' (and Morrissey didn't stop singing)

I found this article online...it's not very well written, but at least it's favorable.

Morrissey charms the fans
Reuters
Dec 17 1999 2:22AM ET
Morrissey (Rock; Palladium; 3,835 capacity; $30)

By Troy J. Augusto

HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - Morrissey, the former Smiths frontman who's maintained a roller coaster solo career of inconsistency and controversy since that celebrated English band's break-up in 1987, seems to have finally made peace with his musical past, and the result Wednesday was his most exciting and most fan-oriented local concert in years.

At the packed Palladium, the first of two hot-ticket shows, the suave and extra sensitive 40-year-old singer played 30 minutes longer than his usual hour-long performances.

He sang lots of great tunes from his entire solo catalog, and, best of all for long-time fans, he offered a handful of Smiths tunes as if he actually enjoyed singing them as much as they enjoyed hearing them.

Opening with his 1992 track ``You're Gonna Need Someone On Your Side,'' Morrissey (born Steven J. Morrissey) hit the stage in black leather pants and leather shirt as a shower of gladiolas were rained onto him by the worshipful devotees.

He reached out to touch the kids in the front as they continually spilled over the security barrier, dazed and covered in sweat.

The core of his supporting band has been together for numerous tours by now, and they sounded tight and fresh at the Palladium. The four players often brought compelling new interpretation and spirit to the songs, such as the fleet new beat apparent during 1990's self-loathing ``November Spawned a Monster'' courtesy of drummer Spike Smith.

Highlights of the evening included the long and tense drama of 1995's ``Teachers Are Afraid of the Pupils,'' a rousing encore take on The Smiths' ``Last Night I Dreamed Somebody Loved Me'' and the irreverent 1990 nugget ``Hairdresser On Fire.'' During``Boy Racer,'' Morrissey held a banana, which had been thrown onto the stage, playfully in front of his crotch.

The most dramatic portion of the show came during the musical break of the Smith's song ``Meat Is Murder,'' when Morrissey, bathed in dark blood-like red lights, was writhing about on his back as if to represent an animal in pain.

``So the message is,'' he said at song's end, ``when someone offers you some turkey at Christmas, just say no.''

The concert wasn't as eventful as other Morrissey appearances in L.A. in the '90s,including the Greek show that was aborted after fans overtook the stage, or the UCLA gig that resulted in a near-riot.

Presented by Goldenvoice & Nederlander Band: Boz Boorer, Alan Whyte, Gary Day, Spike Smith. Reviewed Dec. 15, 1999, closed Dec. 16.

Reuters/Variety

The novel is called "Bikubesong" (rougly translated: "Song of the Beehive") and was published this year to much acclaim. It recently won a national literary award for best novel. "Bikubesong" is written by Frode Grytten (born 1960) and tells the stories of the inhabitants of an apartment building (the "beehive" in question) in a small industrial town in the west of Norway. The structure is actually more like a collection of short stories – each about a different person from a different apartment in the same building.

The first chapter "Syng meg i soevn" ("Sing me to sleep") is about a postal carrier who lives alone with his dying mother. He refuses to wear a uniform and delivers the mail dressed in black – with flowers hanging from his back pocket... (he doesn't keep the job very long). He brings a stranger posing as his girlfriend to his mothers deathbed, so she can die in peace, assured that he has finally found someone. -The whole chapter is full of references to and mentions of The Smiths and Morrissey, with plenty of quotes from their songs (8 direct quotes from The Smiths, 3 from Morrissey – there is a thorough quotation guide at the end of the book).

The chapter starts with a picture of the "Hatful Of Hollow" album sleeve. Morrissey is also mentioned in one other chapter, and I was able to spot at least one sentence in yet another chapter that was lifted (though translated) from a Smiths song.

I don't know if the novel will be widely published outside Norway, but its always good to see our heroes treated with this much respect. The author must obviously be a fan – he seems to know more about them than just a casual listener would. I was really surprised to see them mentioned in a Norwegian novel at all, let alone to this extent. Fans who read Norwegian should really check this book out. Not just for the obvious reasons, but also because it's really good!!!

The book should be easily available in most Norwegian bookstores, but can also be ordered from this online store.

The first chapter can be read here.

The NYC-based band NAVY just released their first CD. On it, they do their own rendition of a Billy Budd song. The song has heavy Morrissey influence (phrasing and vocals) but the words are new. Write mweinberg@factsonfile.com for information on how to get the CD.