That is actually so sad. Why ... oh why do people do it?
The interesting bits could be published as a pamphlet. The rest is probably less than half a story.
Wonder if he can stretch it to ten pages?
Why the negative attitude here?
We have someone who has a genuine insight into a pivotal period in the story. I, for one, am very interested in what Dale has to say.
He is a fund of hitherto untold stories - how the Smiths were to be launched as a 'gay' band, each of them bearing the stage name of a serial killer. There was also a plan to wear stage clothes based on American baseball teams.
Considering that the band's aesthetic at the beginning was decidedly more homoerotic than it was in later years and Morrissey's preoccupation with the Moors murders at the time, it doesn't seem very farfetched to me. Some early statements from Morrissey, like remarks made in this interview with gay magazine HIM, don't exactly contradict Hibbert's claims either.Am I the only person skeptical of these claims?
The Smiths were a gay band.
Anyone who disagrees is either straight or stupid.
Yet their appeal in the UK led to a laddish following of football casuals and the like in 1985/6.
I'm not denying they were initially a gay band (well they were for their lifetime) but were more subtle than a lot of their 80s artists such as Culture Club, Bronski Beat, Soft Cell et al.
Most British 'straight' fans would regard them first and foremost as a Northern band imho
This is purely conjecture, but it wouldn't surprise me in the least if Morrissey's plans for the band changed when it became clear they had a bigger shot at fame than anticipated. The lyrics and the image definitely became more ambiguous after the release of their debut album.
Yet their appeal in the UK led to a laddish following of football casuals and the like in 1985/6.
I'm not denying they were initially a gay band (well they were for their lifetime) but were more subtle than a lot of their 80s artists such as Culture Club, Bronski Beat, Soft Cell et al.
Most British 'straight' fans would regard them first and foremost as a Northern band imho
Considering that the band's aesthetic at the beginning was decidedly more homoerotic than it was in later years and Morrissey's preoccupation with the Moors murders at the time, it doesn't seem very farfetched to me. Some early statements from Morrissey, like remarks made in this interview with gay magazine HIM, don't exactly contradict Hibbert's claims either.
This is purely conjecture, but it wouldn't surprise me in the least if Morrissey's plans for the band changed when it became clear they had a bigger shot at fame than anticipated. The lyrics and the image definitely became more ambiguous after the release of their debut album.
Ah, understood. The baseball detail does seem odd to say the least.I should clarify--I am aware of the deeply homoerotic lyrics during their early years and imagery (and debatably throughout the rest of their years as well), but changing their names to serial killers and dressing up as American baseball players? That seems weird.
That was Andy Rourke. From Goddard's Songs That Saved Your Life:Also, with the gay band thing--I remember reading that one of the non-Morrissey-Marr Smiths was quite oblivious about Hand in Glove (he thought it was about the band's close friendship) and when he showed the record to his father the father asked him why there was a naked man on the front. Albeit, he could have been the one to replace Dale Hibbert so I don't know.
The Smiths were a gay band.
Anyone who disagrees is either straight or stupid.