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.