...and you laugh in the face of mj mourners, pathetic!

how would you define a shrine: posters, news clippings, personal artifacts? I don't have any so who the hell cares

Don't get me wrong I LOVE Morrissey. If he died I'd be crushed for a very long time. I Morrisspeak every now and then, I have a Morrissey sticker on my car and an insane amount of his music catalog in my iphone but, no shrine. I don't agree with EVERYTHING Morrissey says or does. I am me.

Religious imagery.

Does it have to be a physical "altar" place?
or an alternate place - a piece of your mind
or a place in your heart.

The concert hall is a place of worship for some..
Others visit locations connected with the life and music of..

Does possessing a large amount of merchandise or complete collection of vinyl constitute devotion? Having dozens of pictures on the wall?

At what point does interest become enthusiasm, become devotion, become obsession?

Does a Shrine indicate strength or weakness?

I have Morrissey's used water bottle from the Bowery Ballroom show. I put it under a glass dome with a couple of Jessie's picks. It's in my kitchen, and I call it my Morrissey shrine. It's a somewhat camp gesture on my part, because I buy, sell and collect religious (and irreligious) artifacts (among other things), and now I have one of my very own. It's a little sick, but I get a kick out of it.

A Morrissey shrine could be a place plastered in posters. Maybe you have a piece of his shirt, maybe his autograph. If it's Moz-related, and it's on display, it's like a little shrine.

I don't know anyone who literally worships Morrissey, but let's face it, pop singers are our shamans; live, we all share a common ecstatic experience, and we all know the rituals and incantations involved.

OK, it's officially embarrassing, but I bet Morrissey himself has a James Dean "shrine" somewhere - I know he has Dean's watch, which is nothing more or less than a relic.

Everyone has a shrine to someone, or something. I remember Moz shrines from back in The Smiths days, and I'm curious about just how many people still hang up his photos, and keep little mementos of live shows, meetings, etc.

I packed away my stuff along time ago. I do plan on getting one poster framed but it's not high up on the priority list.

No way! All you need is the music! Which is all I have.

No, I don't have anything crazy. I do have a poster on the wall in my classroom- other bands too. Yes, I play Smiths/Morrissey from time to time in class, too.

I have a CD rack a few feet away with me with nothing but Morrissey albums, singles and DVDs in it. It's kind of a mini-shrine I suppose.

It's in my pants.

also the years, well I buy his releases and the Smiths, but other from that, I live how Iwant,
have groed my hair, so I'm not like 10 years ago
into Morrissey style, I just love his music, but
I am me, and Morrissey is Morrissey and not copy his looks cothes whatever
I'm old enough to decide for meself

Not in the traditional sense, with candles, incense and rosary beads... but I have my Smiths/Morrissey 7" collection rather prominently displayed on a nice bookshelf. It's a shrine of sorts.

I have Posters and memorabilia/collectibles plastered all over my room among collectibles from other artists. I love collecting memorabilia (though i'm not frantic about it; i just collect stuff i see along the way). I don't plaster it all over my room trying to showboat my stuff....but i don't like the idea of collecting stuff and keeping it in a box for self satisfaction. Rather, i want to see all the stuff i have collected...i enjoy re-reading old mags and such. Though, collecting, in no way, makes you a bigger fan at all.

I voted for "it depends how you define shrine," simply because I DO have many Morrissey/Smiths items around my apartment. Posters, prominently-displayed cd's and records, and a couple of shirts in my closet (I'm actually wearing one right now). Oh, and I have a "Meat Is Murder" magnet on my refrigerator, but I actually bought that before I became a Morrissey/Smiths fan (I've been a vegetarian for 10 years, and a Morrissey fan for 5 years).

But I don't display the items for any religious reason, and my apartment has many other "themes" on display, as well (Hello Kitty crap, etc). And the Morrissey items are not in one central location in my apartment; there's no "Morrissey area," or anything like that.

But I think it's an inspired suggestion for a poll.

I have a collection of magazine interviews with Morrissey from his Smiths days and quite a few beyond (the last one I bought was about twelve years ago) which are kept in a box. I haven't read them in many years and moved house a year ago but didn't discard them. I have vaguely thought of framing some of them (e.g. the NME from cover which coincided with the release of The Queen is Dead) but I don't think that I ever will. I also thought of passing them onto to someone on this site who might appreciate them more than I do.

I have the complete set of UK release 12" singles (as they always had the extra track over the 7" singles). I collected about nine or ten of the 7" singles from second hand record shops after The Smiths disbanded because it was the only way I could still buy things by The Smiths which I didn't have. I've thought of framing some of the 12" covers as the images are so arresting; also thought of giving them away to some younger fan who might appreciate them.

I can quite understand why people would have some sort of shrine.

For most people, religion is not a helpful or useful endeavour and yet many of us still somehow need something special in our lives to help us survive the harshness of reality. I had a very Catholic upbringing but never fully believed. Upon realizing that I was an atheist two-and-a-half years ago, I felt a great sense of release, but I now feel a sense of loss - for want of a better word. I've taken to writing (generally quite poor) poetry, which is probably an indirect response from some part of my head to try and make sense of mortality and the peculiarities of human existence.

If Morrissey died tomorrow, I would certainly do something which carried undertones of religious symbolism, but I rather suspect that he will outlive those us who have smoked and drank our way through the infernal nonsense of life.

Above my fireplace I have 18, original, Smiths 7" singles (I included the Dutch version of "William...") individually framed and hung in chronological order. That wasn't cheap but it looks wonderful.

On the opposite wall I have the limited edition litho of the "Years of Refusal" artwork framed in a thick, silver frame...mounted and including a "MEXI-CAN" guitar plectrum as well as the details of where and when.

On another wall hang three, framed, different tour programmes (two Kill Uncle and one Your Arsenal)

In the entrance to my flat is the Reardon Street sign...the real thing, complete with fans graffiti.

In the hall also hang each of Morrisseys solo singles (7") out of the sleeves and in chronological order.

On a seperate note can anyone help me to figure out why I am single?

Kimura

An all time low?

I've got a shrine in every room.

I have the sleeve of a shirt Morrissey wore during a concert in San Diego in the early 90's-- it is proudly displayed next to a photo of me taken in front of the Salford Lads Club. Is that a shrine?

Kate2828.

She's the foremost authority on all things Moz!

I just know she has a shrine. I just hope it's not built from chicken bones and other voodoo stuff.

Sometimes she scares me...

Of course I do not have a shrine, do not pray 5 times a day in the direction of for my Morrissey collection. However my wife's grave has as inscription "There is a light that never goes out". So in a way: yes, an important Moz shrine....

It's all just tucked in corners here and there, physically and metaphysically, whether it be direct Moz/Smiths stuff or something related or English. Devonshire cream in my fridge, a jar of mincemeat on my table (which is not meat btw), George Formby or Shirley Bassey cds in a pile on the console. The Damned, the Dolls or Iggy on the turntable.

Maybe it's just me, but I don't really worship Moz as any sort of savior. I just feel his music is and will always be a constant companion. When he shares his interests, I take a look since it's often different from what I'm otherwise exposed to.

My family and friends do roll their eyes whenever I make a reference. My coworkers help me get through the day teasing me about it. And when I'm at a show, everything else melts away and I am finally just there.

All in all, Morrissey-solo.com is the closest thing I have to a shrine, and it's dynamic, morphing, interactive, volatile, and wonderful. A corner of the internet just for this thing, this person I love. Where I can share my obsessions and read others' as well. Where I can be disturbed or engaged to bother to speak. Like the Picture of Dorian Grey, some visitors tend to paint a vulgar frame of mind and at times we look upon ourselves with disgust, but I think as fans we breathe together through this. Is it really so... ?

Honestly, I could understand if Moz as a person feels impinged upon by the site, but as a fan, I would be nearly inconsolable if anything were to happen where solo would no longer be. It is very important to my connection to the music and to Moz. And all in all, I know many of us on here are good people. Moz played a part in that in us surviving. And David T plays a part in helping that continue.

I have a very nicely framed Big Mouth Strikes Again poster that hangs in my office.

I remember being 16 and thinking that when I was older I'd frame all of the Smiths posters I had and then I'd known I'd arrived.

Well, I've arrived, but where am I?

Does making a lifesized model of Morrissey out of roadkill meat, covering it with chicken skin from the supermarket and then sitting it down at your kitchen table and talking to it for hours count?

I know what you're all thinking! "Not very veggie!" I know, I know!

I'm a 41 year old man,so obviously don't have a
shrine for Morrissey anymore, just a few pieces of artwork in my flat, such as the "Kill Uncle" promo posters.

Maybe this poll should be- "how old are you?";
I can understand younger Moz fan's having shrines-I did- but surely,without being patronising, you grow out of it?

I've got a shrine. Right up my rectal cavity.

2 presents for my birthday
one was a signed frame picture of morrissey
with the artwork and cd of years and refusal included

the other is a framed skectch/drawing of moz and oscar wilde
with the inscription "you know i couldn't last"
27 out of 100 made, didn't expect either of them.

...and I pay homage to it a few times a day.

(joke)

getting any info on The Smiths or Morrissey in Dallas was almost impossible. We are talking about the time between The Smith split and Morrissey first solo tour in 1991. I used to go to this indie record store and buy out of date copies of the NME or Melody Maker and comb every inch of it for any mention of Morrissey, any image, anything. And if I found one, I cut it out and hung it on my wall and that was definitely my shrine and it was quite impressive by the time I moved. It being so hard to find any info, made being a Morrissey fan feel even more special. How different it is now that everyhthing, every detail of his life and career, is so easily accessible on the internet. When I moved to London in 1991, I started one again, but it I got overloaded because info was much easier to find, especially after the tour started. It included ticket stubs, flowers from the stage at Wembley, the phone numbers of people I met at the gigs, it was awesome. Now I just have a bunch of very collectable posters waiting for me to move into a house big enough to display them... I can't wait.

hairbrushedandparted

It's called my bedroom.

Ahhh my Morrissey shrine is alive and well in my heart.

I am a living shrine!

You are my hero.