Did a Smiths fan really hold a Denver radio station hostage in 1987? - westword.com

SmithsBusters: Did a Smiths fan really hold a Denver radio station hostage in 1987? - Denver Westword Blogs
By Josiah M. Hesse

Excerpt:

"In 1987 a distressed young man in Denver, Colorado, held his local radio station hostage insisting, at gunpoint, demanding they play nothing but Smiths records. This they did -- for four hours," writes Mark Simpson in the biography Saint Morrissey. "Eventually, the police besieging the building persuaded the unhappy young man to give himself up."

It's a really great story, and would be even better if it's true. The biographer believes it happened, and he's not alone. Reportedly, there's plans for a movie to be made about the whole ordeal, and outlets like The Believer and IndieWire have all reported this supposed "true story" as historical fact.

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Related item:

• "Shoplifters of the World" - Smiths comedy film forthcoming, Russell Brand eyed for role - Feb. 10, 2012

 

[Uncleskinny]

Re: Did a Smiths fan really hold a Denver radio station hostage in 1987? - westword.c

By Josiah M. Hesse of westword.com

http://blogs.westword.com/backbeat/2013/02/myth_the-smiths_radio_station_hostage_1987.php

Interesting. I recall this well, but can't recall in which publication I read it. I wrote to Karl Maton about just this many years ago, and have the original in a box in the garage. May have to go and dig it out.

P.

 

[Skylarker]

Re: Did a Smiths fan really hold a Denver radio station hostage in 1987? - westword.c

I remember a 1994 issue of Raygun where Morrissey retells the story.

 

[Skylarker]

Re: Did a Smiths fan really hold a Denver radio station hostage in 1987? - westword.c

I remember a 1994 issue of Raygun where Morrissey retells the story.

Oh. I just read (skimmed) this news piece; I guess they mention that interview but I swear it was in Raygun, not Details.

 

[Kewpie]

Re: Did a Smiths fan really hold a Denver radio station hostage in 1987?

Oh. I just read (skimmed) this news piece; I guess they mention that interview but I swear it was in Raygun, not Details.

Many thanks to Comtess, you can read 1994 Details interview which Morrissey mentions about the incident:

http://motorcycleaupairboy.com/interviews/1994/homme.htm

 

[Anonymous]

Re: Did a Smiths fan really hold a Denver radio station hostage in 1987? - westword.c

The Internet really has destroyed books.

"One of the most extreme cases to have taken place was at a Colorado radio station KRXY in autumn 1987 where crazed Smiths fan James Charles Kiss planned to hold a DJ at gunpoint, demanding they only play Smiths records from then on. Losing his nerve, Kiss instead surrendered his rifle to staff and was later arrested and sent to Jefferson County jail for attempted extprtion and kidnapping".

This piece of information was fiendishly concealed by Simon Goddard in his underground pamphlet "Mozipedia" (page 125). But please, by all means, trust a blogging intern who, like, totally found no evidence to support Morrissey's claim in Details.

 

[MORRIZSEY]

UPDATE: Did a Smiths fan really hold a Denver radio station hostage in 1987?



"So that story of the Smiths fan who held a station here hostage in the '80s? It's true...well, sort of"

Excerpt:
Well, so, we finally got to the bottom of this whole alleged Smiths radio ambush we told you about earlier this week that supposedly took place over two decades ago. We set out on a mission to once and for all debunk this long held myth involving a deranged gunman who apparently forced a local radio station to play four hours of continuous music by the Smiths. Turns out, the story is actually true -- well, sort of. It happened, alright, just not the way everybody thinks it did....
​
Full Update from westword.com

 

[Anonymous]

Re: Did a Smiths fan really hold a Denver radio station hostage in 1987? - westword.c

Amazing. The update on Westword didn't mention "Mozipedia" at all. "We did a bit of digging..." Jesus Christ. It's right there in "Mozipedia". Neat and tidy.

Okay, so nobody on the WW site owns a copy. "Mozipedia" is a book for fans. Right. But nobody had easy access to the facts anywhere else, either. Research was needed regardless. Apparently, calling eighty-nine veterans of the Denver rock scene to discuss a barely-remembered incident which took place over 25 years ago was easier for this dude than stopping by a Barnes & Noble on his lunch break.

The "myth-busting" served only to embarrass poor Mark Simpson. Sorry Mark! There's always someone, somewhere, with a big nose, who'll float unfounded skepticism, ignore easy-to-obtain facts, and then chase up extraneous details to embellish a non-story. And so it goes.