'97-'04: The Lost Years ?

[jhj1814]

Hello, I was wondering if any of you with extensive Morrissey knowledge may know what he was up to between Maladjusted & Quarry.

Why did he drop out of sight for so long, or at all? Did he record release any music/side projects during this time? And another question, with the many many B-sides released since Quarry, was that due to him making--attempting to make--albums, but them not coming together?

Can't find out on Wikipedia, so I thought I'd ask here...

- J

 

[andyd2809]

After the court case against Rouke and Joyce, Moz basically left England and set up camp in LA. He carried on touring throughout, writing new songs without a record label. He tried to get signed but could not find the right label to take him on. When sanctuary eventually signed him, he had an extensive list of new songs to make an album from, with enough left over for some quality b-sides that didn't fit the vibe of 'Quarry'.

Find the 'Importance of Being Morrissey' documentary on youtube for a bit more info...was filmed during this time (just before Quarry was released).

Hope that helps a bit.

 

[jhj1814]

Thanks! That's just what I was wondering about. First I heard of a 'court case' too, very intriguing.

- j

 

[Kewpie]

For your interest, please read this

 

[JLA75]

during these years moz might have been dead to the world but to the devoted these were some of the best years of moz shows. the Oye Esteban tour of 99-2000 and the 2002 tour saw moz return to form, performance wise, after some disappointing shows of the previous two tours. although there have been some great shows on the quarry and ringleader tours, they don't compare to most of the performances from OE tour (my opinion). it's unfortunate a live dvd from that era hasn't been released. there were some fantastic shows with moz wearing faux leather elvis suits and the even more memorable sailor suit for encores...."anchors aweigh"

joey

 

[Brel]

I don't think it was the lost years. He toured and we went. For the fan, perhaps these are the lost years right now? The ticketing situation means that fans of old are having to miss out on gigs.

He just didn't have a recording deal. The music industry has changed a lot over the years and artists now make the money from doing exactly what he was doing, touring. So he was just plying his trade as far as I saw it.

 

[dicartwright]

He looked amazing during the Oye Esteban tour!

 

[vivabob]

I don't think it was the lost years. He toured and we went. For the fan, perhaps these are the lost years right now? The ticketing situation means that fans of old are having to miss out on gigs.

He just didn't have a recording deal. The music industry has changed a lot over the years and artists now make the money from doing exactly what he was doing, touring. So he was just plying his trade as far as I saw it.

agreed .. punting and showing off his wares waiting on the world to turn

 

[smiler]

I wrote to him during this period and........
months later.......
he wrote back - amongst other things he hinted he had retired - "I've hung up my quill - haven't you noticed?"

perhaps he genuinely felt his time was up as a recording artist at this time - April 97 - he had no record deal, he was getting terrible press and all the bands of the day were quick to stick in the knife and give it a twist - or maybe he was just messing with me - wouldn't be surprised either way.

but a few months later he announced a big tour

full story here:
http://forums.morrissey-solo.com/showthread.php?p=967050&highlight=smiler#post967050

 

[jhj1814]

Thanks for all this great info. I watched 'The Importance of Being Morrissey' last night on youtube.com and that gave some perspective. The term 'Lost Years' I use very loosely, cause of course he was quite active touring and recording (w/out label), etc.

I still wonder why he went so long without putting an album out...Regardless of the "press" and treatment at the time, it seems like Moz wouldn't stay away for so long, esp. since he says he seems to care not at all what others think/say about him.

And it's striking that he came back in '04 with SO many songs. Quarry feels more like a double album to me.

- J

 

[Danny_]

I wrote to him during this period and........
months later.......
he wrote back - amongst other things he hinted he had retired - "I've hung up my quill - haven't you noticed?"

perhaps he genuinely felt his time was up as a recording artist at this time - April 97 - he had no record deal, he was getting terrible press and all the bands of the day were quick to stick in the knife and give it a twist - or maybe he was just messing with me - wouldn't be surprised either way.

but a few months later he announced a big tour

full story here:
http://forums.morrissey-solo.com/showthread.php?p=967050&highlight=smiler#post967050

I'm sure he would have had moments when he thought "what's the point, I might as well give up". Perhaps when he wrote the letter he was having a defeated moment.

 

[mcrickson]

Around the Maladjusted period he had been working on a cover of Raymonde's "No One Can Hold a Candle To You" which we would later hear as a CD single b-side to "I Have Forgiven Jesus" I believe.

 

[mozorder]

lots, and lots of touring.

 

[Stanley the 2nd]

Personally I really enjoyed the so called lost years. The frustrating thing was the lack of record releases and new material until the 2002 tour. Looking back there was very little news worthy items on this site and to be fair it must have taken a lot of dedication to keep it going. I seem to recall the oye esteban dvd release being a real highlight which doesn't say much!!

For a long time I had thought that Morrissey had retired. Even the 1999 tour didn't really give much hope for a new album. All that changed in 2002 and things gradually snowballed until his comeback album was released.

This period was definately one for the hardcore fans. It was great to see him play smaller venues and to actually buy tickets weeks after they'd gone on sale. I think Morrissey appreciated the support and there seemed to be a mutual love happening at the gigs. The importance of being morrissey documentary is a good record of this period as was the morrisseytour.com site, even though it no longer exists.

What would have become of Morrissey if he had retired back then??