30 years - Wolverhampton - first solo show (Dec. 22, 1988)

Time moves fast! 30 years are gone since his first solo show in Wolverhampton, UK.
Free entrance with Smiths/Morrissey-Shirt. You can feel or revisit the magic here:



And some Wolverhampton-content is included in the Hulmerist-DVD:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hulmerist-...UTF8&qid=1545470473&sr=1-6&keywords=morrissey

ENJOY!

There won´t be 30 more years with Morrissey shows and new songs.
So if you don´t like him, don´t look at him...

Merry X-Mas


Link posted by Famous when dead:

On this day: December 22, 1988 – Morrissey performs his first solo gig - Mancunian Matters
By Harry Benbow.



Related item:

 
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Guys, is there any footage of Morrissey arriving at the Civic Hall? Also interesting to mention here, a couple of months back I came across a very interesting written interview of Stephen Street telling that (during the recording of Strangeways) Johnny Marr once came to the Wool Hall with a camcorder and did a lot filming. Street believes that there is a lot of footage waiting for someone to find it at Johnny's basement.

I've also seen a picture of Angie Marr with a giant camcorder on the Smiths TQID tour. Would love to see the footage...I'm not getting any younger...
 
Haven't listened to the boots in a looong time, not sure I remember having heard Headmaster Ritual soundchecked that day, but the guitar is distinctly Gannon's style from that same concert, so I assume it is.
 
Haven't listened to the boots in a looong time, not sure I remember having heard Headmaster Ritual soundchecked that day, but the guitar is distinctly Gannon's style from that same concert, so I assume it is.

I'm an idiot. TQID
 
Is that instrumental take of The Queen is Dead from this show's soundcheck or something?
I've always assumed that it was indeed something they captured as part of a soundcheck, but my memory bank must be shot as the queue of people where Mr. Adams & I were never once reacted to hearing a soundcheck leaking through the Civic Hall's walls on the day IIRC (probably my memory failing me).
I'd like to think Tim had access to something unique that he added over the video (I think I have most soundchecks out there and I've not heard it). That said, the hint of the intro on the night could indicate it was considered for the setlist.
Regards,
FWD.
 

On a side note: nice to see an article acknowledge that it was a solo gig. Suedehead had been out for 10 months, EDILS for 6 months and it was not ever (to the best of my recollection) a 'final Smiths gig' as reported by some currently on Twitter/FB.

The Severed Alliance in goes into quite a lot of detail regarding this gig, and the bad vibes throughout the band at the time regarding underpayment. It was in fact – according to the book – supposed to be a final Smith gig with Johnny being a no-show.
 
The Severed Alliance in goes into quite a lot of detail regarding this gig, and the bad vibes throughout the band at the time regarding underpayment. It was in fact – according to the book – supposed to be a final Smith gig with Johnny being a no-show.
I appreciate the section you refer to:
"Morrissey had hoped to reward The Smiths’ audience with a farewell show, but Marr was understandably resistant to the idea. Nevertheless, the singer partly achieved his ambition two months after the release of “Rank”. At Wolverhampton Civic Hall on 22 December 1988, Morrissey effectively closed the curtain on his Smiths years and simultaneously opened his solo performing career by recording a show with former colleagues, Rourke, Joyce and Gannon. The event, part of which was later captured on the video Hulmerist, proved something of a Christmas present for Morrissey’s hard-core following, and an endurance test for others. Free admission was offered to those sporting a Smiths T-shirt, but with a 1,700 capacity it was clear that the Civic Hall would be able to house a mere fraction of the pilgrim hordes who made the journey. Those lucky enough to gain admittance witnessed scenes of pandemonium, as Morrissey gamely attempted to complete his seven-song set beneath the embraces of starry-eyed stage invaders. Although the performance served as a vehicle to introduce his new material on video, Morrissey responded to the sense of occasion by framing the set with two Smiths originals: ‘Stop Me If You Think You’ve Heard This One Before’ and ‘Death At One’s Elbow’, followed by the encore ‘Sweet And Tender Hooligan’.
As an event, the Wolverhampton gig was a welcome footnote to The Smiths’ story, but what was far more extraordinary was the fact that the musicians in the band were still in litigious combat with the singer. Craig Gannon’s suit had yet to be resolved, and there was an even bigger action pending from Joyce and Rourke."

(Johnny being planned to appear/not showing up is not mentioned in the Severed Alliance at all - there are 8 references to Wolverhampton and 3 relate specifically to the event).

That said, the part I've underlined isn't sourced anywhere and could well be conjecture.

Joyce recollects in the Express & Star (July 28th, 2017):

Me and Morrissey had discussed a concert but decided it shouldn’t be a Smiths one because Johnny wasn’t there. So we decided play his solo stuff and there were Smiths songs we’d never played live before,” said Joyce. “It was a one-off gig and free to get in with a Smiths shirt on but it was chaos. Maybe not on the level of Beatlemania but I found it quite disconcerting. I didn’t really embrace it."

My recollection of the adverts for the gig on Radio 1 were a one off Morrissey gig for those wearing Morrissey shirts (possibly later adjusted to include Smiths shirts, but I distinctly recall Morrissey shirts being required first). I don't recall anyone being under the impression that it was a Smiths gig especially with 2 solo singles already being out. I think a lot of the Smiths mythos was added to the event after the fact and not in the build-up prior.
But I'm sure there's someone with a big nose who knows somewhere... :)
FWD.
 
Some amusing details being added. As an outsider and living hundreds and hundreds of miles away, during those pre internet times where information took ages to arrive, I always had in mind it looked like a Morrissey Solo act. Completely solo. It never had an aura of a Smiths Final Gig, never. The presence of ex-Smiths members did not make it one of The Smiths concerts. But knowing that Marr was about to come out to play is totally new to me. This piece of news changes everything.
 
I haven't watched it in ages, but how does this differ from the Hulmerist video? I've only watched the part up to Morrissey getting off the bus, but it all looks same as Hulmerist.
 
It's funny when the guy with the mullet runs on stage.
There's a appreciation for Moz in the Hesher community.
WTFs a Hesher?! So I looked it up and Urban Dictionary informed me of the following:


hesher
Reebock-wearing, mulleted person in acid-washed jeans and a Judas Priest T-shirt who, at the age of 28, still lives in his/her parents' basement and swears that he/she can really rock out on his/her Ibanez Stratocaster copy guitar and probably owns a Nova that hasn't run in 5 years but you just wait, that f***er is gonna smoke those f***in Japanese rice burners once I put a new head gasket on it.

When are those heshers going to realize that it's not 1989 anymore?”
 
WTFs a Hesher?! So I looked it up and Urban Dictionary informed me of the following:


hesher
Reebock-wearing, mulleted person in acid-washed jeans and a Judas Priest T-shirt who, at the age of 28, still lives in his/her parents' basement and swears that he/she can really rock out on his/her Ibanez Stratocaster copy guitar and probably owns a Nova that hasn't run in 5 years but you just wait, that f***er is gonna smoke those f***in Japanese rice burners once I put a new head gasket on it.

When are those heshers going to realize that it's not 1989 anymore?”

Not really going for this explanation, cause I seen folks who were much younger and they were already hesh lords.
They were still young, but they had already achieved lord status.
The guy I'm talkin' about is at 32:14.
This guy was rockin' out in a numerous amount of ways.
 
Not really going for this explanation, cause I seen folks who were much younger and they were already hesh lords.
They were still young, but they had already achieved lord status.
The guy I'm talkin' about is at 32:14.
This guy was rockin' out in a numerous amount of ways.
That is some mullet! I’ll give you that! I was trying to spy a rat tail, too.
 
I appreciate the section you refer to:
"Morrissey had hoped to reward The Smiths’ audience with a farewell show, but Marr was understandably resistant to the idea. Nevertheless, the singer partly achieved his ambition two months after the release of “Rank”. At Wolverhampton Civic Hall on 22 December 1988, Morrissey effectively closed the curtain on his Smiths years and simultaneously opened his solo performing career by recording a show with former colleagues, Rourke, Joyce and Gannon. The event, part of which was later captured on the video Hulmerist, proved something of a Christmas present for Morrissey’s hard-core following, and an endurance test for others. Free admission was offered to those sporting a Smiths T-shirt, but with a 1,700 capacity it was clear that the Civic Hall would be able to house a mere fraction of the pilgrim hordes who made the journey. Those lucky enough to gain admittance witnessed scenes of pandemonium, as Morrissey gamely attempted to complete his seven-song set beneath the embraces of starry-eyed stage invaders. Although the performance served as a vehicle to introduce his new material on video, Morrissey responded to the sense of occasion by framing the set with two Smiths originals: ‘Stop Me If You Think You’ve Heard This One Before’ and ‘Death At One’s Elbow’, followed by the encore ‘Sweet And Tender Hooligan’.
As an event, the Wolverhampton gig was a welcome footnote to The Smiths’ story, but what was far more extraordinary was the fact that the musicians in the band were still in litigious combat with the singer. Craig Gannon’s suit had yet to be resolved, and there was an even bigger action pending from Joyce and Rourke."

(Johnny being planned to appear/not showing up is not mentioned in the Severed Alliance at all - there are 8 references to Wolverhampton and 3 relate specifically to the event).

That said, the part I've underlined isn't sourced anywhere and could well be conjecture.

Joyce recollects in the Express & Star (July 28th, 2017):

Me and Morrissey had discussed a concert but decided it shouldn’t be a Smiths one because Johnny wasn’t there. So we decided play his solo stuff and there were Smiths songs we’d never played live before,” said Joyce. “It was a one-off gig and free to get in with a Smiths shirt on but it was chaos. Maybe not on the level of Beatlemania but I found it quite disconcerting. I didn’t really embrace it."

My recollection of the adverts for the gig on Radio 1 were a one off Morrissey gig for those wearing Morrissey shirts (possibly later adjusted to include Smiths shirts, but I distinctly recall Morrissey shirts being required first). I don't recall anyone being under the impression that it was a Smiths gig especially with 2 solo singles already being out. I think a lot of the Smiths mythos was added to the event after the fact and not in the build-up prior.
But I'm sure there's someone with a big nose who knows somewhere... :)
FWD.


From Mozipedia :
"Wolverhampton (Morrissey's debut solo concert at Wolverhampton Civic Hall, 22 December 1988).
Marr, still stinging from the split and Morrissey's futile attempts to continue The Smits without him, was vehement in his refusal. 'It was obviously a no-no.'"
[...]
"One year later, [...], Morrissey reunited with Rourke, Joyce and [...] Gannon [...] for the recording of the singles 'Playboys' and 'Interesting drug'. [...] According to [...] Stephen Street, after a promising start the session was beginning to fall apart. [...] Morrissey 'snapped and walked out', says Street. [...] 'Morrissey took me aside and told me he wanted it to be a Smiths gig. [...] He felt it was time to move on and exorcise The Smiths so he saw it as a farewell.'"
[...]
"The concert was announced on Radio 1 on Monday 19 December [...]. Despite Morrissey's belief that it should be 'a Smiths gig', the event was officially promoted as his debut solo concert.'"

I suppose that's where the confusion comes from: Morrissey himself didn't probably firmly know.
 
I was there. I can't quite believe that it is thirty years ago.
I was 17 then and I have so many memories of the whole thing. I saw the ad for the gig in NME, phoned my mate and off we went. We were there the day before and we spent a great night in the queue - drinking and dancing in the street.
All the local florists did a roaring trade. I wore a grey "There is a Light" shirt from France that I got from a Smiths convention in Birmingham.
I'm rambling on here … I'll post some more memories later - if anyone is remotely interested!!
Del.
 
I was there. I can't quite believe that it is thirty years ago.
I was 17 then and I have so many memories of the whole thing. I saw the ad for the gig in NME, phoned my mate and off we went. We were there the day before and we spent a great night in the queue - drinking and dancing in the street.
All the local florists did a roaring trade. I wore a grey "There is a Light" shirt from France that I got from a Smiths convention in Birmingham.
I'm rambling on here … I'll post some more memories later - if anyone is remotely interested!!
Del.
Yes please :thumb:
 
It documents Morrissey at an interesting time - 2 years since playing live shows with The Smiths, and his first solo tour would be a bit more than 2 years in the future. I guess trying to do a Viva Hate tour was unrealistic - he didn't have the band and really didn't have quite enough songs without pulling heavily from The Smiths. If memory serves... weren't Rourke and Joyce already in some kind of contractual dispute with Morrissey during this very performance?
 

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