The dreadful state of UK ticket sales

I recently wrote a brief exploration of how drastically Morrissey's ticket sale figures have plummeted in the UK, with special attention given to the startlingly low sales for the upcoming Leeds gig.

With two weeks to go until the show, huge quantities of seats remain unsold in some of the best blocks in the venue while standing floor tickets also remain.

Full article can be seen online here.

 

[BookishBoy]

And like clockwork, here they come. The stone cold evidence - actual FACT - in front of their faces - and they don't like it. I've been saying for years he chases the money in the increasingly uncommon territories that haven't heard the full extent of his politics and comments. As FGV so eloquently puts it in his article - the UK folk have had enough. How long before everyone else has? And BMG, for that matter - they already look to have given up. Why keep throwing good money after bad? And whose fault is all this? Who said all those things referenced in the article? Was it someone else?

"the increasingly uncommon territories" - be careful, you're starting to sound like Enoch Powell...

 

[gashonthenail]

As others have pointed out - low ticket sales in the UK have little to do with Moz's throwaway comments. The right to be offensive (especially to the PC brigade) is one of the fundamental human rights - and exercising that right is one of the fundamental human joys (especially to a cantankerous 60-year old like Morrissey). Most thinking people get that.
I live in London - I haven't bought a ticket. I hate stadium shows. If it was the London Palladium, I would be there like a shot. The ticket prices are also way too steep.
But I don't think that's the real reason ticket sales are low. Moz is a cantankerous 60-year old. The role that was being cast for him way back in 2006 - when he came 2nd behind David Attenborough in the Greatest Living British Cultural Icon poll - the role of cuddly uncle of the nation, is a role he has utterly rejected and strangled at birth. And culture in the UK has also changed dramatically. Who would have thought that Stormzy would now be held up as cuddly uncle of the nation? And it's clearly a role the poor sod wants. A knighthood awaits. And let's face it, 80s and 90s pop stars who are still going mostly play hits - look at the Pet Shop Boys who are touring with shows where they are only playing all their hit singles back to back. But Moz just plays what he wants. He always has done. Moz would have filled a residency of intimate shows, no problem. But his days of filling stadiums are over, at least in the UK. Grime is in, Moz is out. That's fa-fa-fa-fa-fashion.

 

[Anonymous]

I repeat: Wembley is almost sold out.

No it isn’t. Whole blocks have never been available. A seat showing as not for sale is not necessarily sold.

 

[Gregor Samsa]

It's not about not 'staying on top forever'. It's about urging people to support a far-right political group and then suddenly losing over half of your entire fan-base within months. This has never happened before in musical history with the exception of Gary Glitter.
People were drawn to the Smiths and M by the aesthetic - anti Thatcher, anti meat industry, anti royalty, anti wealth, anti-militarism, anti-environmental destruction, anti-the world's most powerful people and institutions.
For him then to actually urge people to vote for a far-right party that will protect the rich (by slashing or abolishing their taxes), spend billions more on the military, abandon all attempts to protect our natural environment, stop helping the poorest people and nations etc. is absolutely and staggeringly incomprehensible.
He really doesn't agree with most of this far-right b***ocks. He's understandably been drawn in by the persona of their leader - a vegan, lesbian feminist. But he stupidly and lazily didn't bother finding out what this party actually stands for i.e. pretty much everything his fan-base finds abhorrent, as he would, too, if he gave it some serious consideration and actually read their policies.

It sounds as if we’re in complete agreement here. He made a mistake in voicing his support for this party, because he quite obviously hadn’t done thorough enough research. But unlike some, I don’t turn my back on him because of this and forget everything his music and lyrics have meant to me. It’s not about being an ‘apologist’ (a very popular word on this site), it’s more about not being as quick to take offense as some.

 

[NealCassidy]

Do you really think this would make any difference to those who are boycotting shows?

I really can't see all these 'cancel culture' folks suddenly flocking back to him, even if he does say "whoops - sorry, I've changed my mind - actually I love immigration and the Labour Party'. They'll just say he's lying to save his career.

The racist, anti Semitic Labour Party?

 

[Deleted member 29417]

It sounds as if we’re in complete agreement here. He made a mistake in voicing his support for this party, because he quite obviously hadn’t done thorough enough research. But unlike some, I don’t turn my back on him because of this and forget everything his music and lyrics have meant to me. It’s not about being an ‘apologist’ (a very popular word on this site), it’s more about not being as quick to take offense as some.

But also - you'd think his fanbase would know that he doesn't vote. And his opinions veer all over the place but they're generally anti-authoritarian at the root & probably come from his depression (which makes him feel powerless, which makes him obsess about people with power over him in some way, which makes him feel powerless & on the cycle goes).

For Britain is a joke of a party - but pretty much everything he's been upset about is valid as part of a deeper debate.

I think they're turning on him for no real reason.

He's the same as he always was.

I don't think he really hates anyone except himself.

 

[BookishBoy]

It's not about not 'staying on top forever'. It's about urging people to support a far-right political group and then suddenly losing over half of your entire fan-base within months. This has never happened before in musical history with the exception of Gary Glitter.
People were drawn to the Smiths and M by the aesthetic - anti Thatcher, anti meat industry, anti royalty, anti wealth, anti-militarism, anti-environmental destruction, anti-the world's most powerful people and institutions.
For him then to actually urge people to vote for a far-right party that will protect the rich (by slashing or abolishing their taxes), spend billions more on the military, abandon all attempts to protect our natural environment, stop helping the poorest people and nations etc. is absolutely and staggeringly incomprehensible.
He really doesn't agree with most of this far-right b***ocks. He's understandably been drawn in by the persona of their leader - a vegan, lesbian feminist. But he stupidly and lazily didn't bother finding out what this party actually stands for i.e. pretty much everything his fan-base finds abhorrent, as he would, too, if he gave it some serious consideration and actually read their policies.

I know what you mean, but also slightly disagree. Most of the fans I knew back in the 80s weren't drawn to the Smiths/Morrissey because of the anti-Thatcher / meat / royals etc. Yes, that was part of the package, absolutely, but we were drawn to him profoundly because he sang about loneliness and sexual confusion and depression and self-loathing in incredibly powerful, new ways. And I suspect that's why some of us find it so very hard to stop loving him now - and also why so many of the haters find it so hard to avert their gaze, or walk away. It wasn't just "oh look, this cool singer is saying loads of stuff I agree with," it was more "oh my god this guy seems to understand me in a way that nobody else does".

I still don't think Morrissey has ever received enough credit for singing and talking about mental health long before it became more acceptable to be honest about these things.

 

[Gregor Samsa]

But also - you'd think his fanbase would know that he doesn't vote. And his opinions veer all over the place but they're generally anti-authoritarian at the root & probably come from his depression (which makes him feel powerless, which makes him obsess about people with power over him in some way, which makes him feel powerless & on the cycle goes).

For Britain is a joke of a party - but pretty much everything he's been upset about is valid as part of a deeper debate.

I think they're turning on him for no real reason.

He's the same as he always was.

I don't think he really hates anyone except himself.

I agree 100%. I don’t really understand why this is so hard for so many people to understand.

@Uncleskinny : are you really downvoting posts just because you don’t agree with what they say? Despite getting into hissy fits when it happens to you. What a shameful hypocrite you are.

 

[Deleted member 29417]

I know what you mean, but also slightly disagree. Most of the fans I knew back in the 80s weren't drawn to the Smiths/Morrissey because of the anti-Thatcher / meat / royals etc. Yes, that was part of the package, absolutely, but we were drawn to him profoundly because he sang about loneliness and sexual confusion and depression and self-loathing in incredibly powerful, new ways. And I suspect that's why some of us find it so very hard to stop loving him now - and also why so many of the haters find it so hard to avert their gaze, or walk away. It wasn't just "oh look, this cool singer is saying loads of stuff I agree with," it was more "oh my god this guy seems to understand me in a way that nobody else does".

I still don't think Morrissey has ever received enough credit for singing and talking about mental health long before it became more acceptable to be honest about these things.

I could never turn on someone who puts themselves artistically on the line the way Morrissey does.

Esp. not because he's agitating his mind with news & PETA videos & giving out scattergun opinions in interviews.

 

[Anonymous]

His fanbase has changed. There will always be the hardcore who'd pay £85 to watch him burp the national anthem. But nowadays there seems to be an awful lot of new fans who share his ideologies, having been drawn to him by his recent outpourings. He's become a bit of an alt-right poster boy. Lots of people don't fancy going to shows surrounded by far right tossbags with a bellyful of booze in them.

 

[Anonymous]

Why , instead of slagging off Moz, we should be celebrating and thanking him for all he as given us...Having just watched that boring as hell Brits award we NEED artists like Morrissey more than ever.
The fact that media have it for him is appalling but fans should stick together and show support, not kick him when he is down. Wear your shirts with pride, sing his songs and two fingers up to the haters.

 

[Anonymous]

For a troll comment, this is kind of spot on.

I don't think the low ticket sales have anything to do with his weird comments on sexual predators, or his politic beliefs. It's the simple fact that he tours constantly and seeing Morrissey live is about as common as going to the cinema.

Added to that, most people who have seen him in recent years know what to expect. A dull, lackluster set (with occasional flashes of greatness), clocking in at under 90 minutes, filled with songs we're all sick to death of (Paris, Munich Air, IYDLM,DLAM, HSIN, an onslought of covers, and anything off his past two albums).

If Morrissey went out of his way to make this tour special, by rewarding the fans who have stuck by him with a fresh, crowd-pleasing set, this would sell out in seconds. He would get great press and word of mouth and probably win back a lot of jaded fans. But we all know him too well, and realize that won't happen. Fool us once, shame on him, fool us 137+ times??

Facts are sometimes hard to accept, but the band (outside of Boz of course) sucks. His goon squad are incapable of writing good, solid Morrissey songs, and seem to have abandoned guitar rock all together. Morrissey desperately needs Alain Whyte's songwriting, his output has suffered greatly since his departure. Ideally, bring Alain back, sack Jesse, and Gustavo, and bring in Stephen Street to produce a new album (while also contributing a couple of songs). That's as likely as a Smiths reunion sadly.

And his quality control in all areas does indeed suck. His no-talent, oxygen-thief of a nephew does his best to tarnish his uncle's image with his laughable album/single covers, and rank amateur blog posts that come off as a mid-90s internet presence at best.

Morrissey is an incredibly selfish performer, who values his new material to an absurd degree. It is to his detriment sadly, as he is doing himself no favors. If this is the way Morrissey goes out... with a whimper, it'll be sad indeed. He still has it in him to do a course correction, but all indicators point to that not happening.

I say this with no joy, or satisfaction, only disappointment in an artist I love.

You do realise he hasn't played the UK since March 2018, two years ago.

 

[BookishBoy]

His fanbase has changed. There will always be the hardcore who'd pay £85 to watch him burp the national anthem. But nowadays there seems to be an awful lot of new fans who share his ideologies, having been drawn to him by his recent outpourings. He's become a bit of an alt-right poster boy. Lots of people don't fancy going to shows surrounded by far right tossbags with a bellyful of booze in them.

If that does indeed prove to be the case at the Wembley show, then I won't enjoy it much. (Although oddly, I always thought that about half the people who went to Smiths shows were wankers who just thought it was cool and didn't really relate to the songs at all...)

 

[Deleted member 29417]

If that does indeed prove to be the case at the Wembley show, then I won't enjoy it much. (Although oddly, I always thought that about half the people who went to Smiths shows were wankers who just thought it was cool and didn't really relate to the songs at all...)

He's not an alt-right poster boy - they might use his name to annoy someone on the internet, but they're not interested in a humasexual vegan who hates the Royals, supported the IRA & sings about unrequited love.

If Moz had joined their circuit (even in the milder way Laurence Fox has) or said more things, maybe - but he didn't. He's coming from the left on nearly everything.

I think Moz just doesn't understand why more left-wingers aren't expressing concern for things like the grooming gang scandals or religious terrorism that targets journalists & gay people.

 

[Anonymous]

I wrote the article because the subject matter interests me.

I used screen grabs to show how many tickets were remaining. I could see how many seats were remaining for the Leeds gig by looking at the seating map and in my opinion, there was a significant number of unsold tickets.

Morrissey-solo did not change the title of my article. I chose the title 'The dreadful state of UK ticket sales' when I loaded the post into the forum as I felt it best represented the situation.

Your motivations are suspect to say the very least FGV, it's a cheap piece and you know it!!!

 

[Anonymous]

It sounds as if we’re in complete agreement here. He made a mistake in voicing his support for this party, because he quite obviously hadn’t done thorough enough research. But unlike some, I don’t turn my back on him because of this and forget everything his music and lyrics have meant to me. It’s not about being an ‘apologist’ (a very popular word on this site), it’s more about not being as quick to take offense as some.

No he researched.
He is a white racist who will be remembered for lines such as 'migrant boats mean migrant votes'. That's inside Morrisseys head.

 

[Anonymous]

Morrissey says he's 'humasexual'.

Only because he is a coward.

 

[Anonymous]

He's not an alt-right poster boy - they might use his name to annoy someone on the internet, but they're not interested in a humasexual vegan who hates the Royals, supported the IRA & sings about unrequited love.

If Moz had joined their circuit (even in the milder way Laurence Fox has) or said more things, maybe - but he didn't. He's coming from the left on nearly everything.

I think Moz just doesn't understand why more left-wingers aren't expressing concern for things like the grooming gang scandals or religious terrorism that targets journalists & gay people.

Paul Joseph Watson loves him. Katie Hopkins has spoken kindly about him. He's celebrated by the right for bravely speaking the truth, as they see it, in the face of snowflakes and the liberal elite.

I think that many on the right are willing to overlook the glaringly obvious (ie, the left-leaning aspects of M's views) in order to crow about high profile people among their number. They love a good cherry pick. As many on the left do, to be fair, when looking for the latest person to demonise because they said something vaguely, possibly, maybe racist in 2001 that's just surfaced now.

You can see from the comments made on various M Facebook groups, Twitter etc how the fans have changed in recent years. I can't imagine Smiths/M fans calling others 'snowflakes' and worse for caring about things like animal welfare, social injustice etc just a few years back. Now it happens all the time.

Anyway, I'm not sure any of them are in it for the lyrics. People like that just like a good ruck. Which brings me back to my point about not fancying cosying up to a bunch of pissed up EDL types for an evening.

 

[Raphael Lambach]

Another bullshit to denigrate Morrissey. Do you remember someone said the same about California Son tour? And well, it was successful, truly successful.

 

[Eldritch]

And let's face it, 80s and 90s pop stars who are still going mostly play hits - look at the Pet Shop Boys who are touring with shows where they are only playing all their hit singles back to back.

That's not true. If you go to setlist.org, you can see that on all their recent tours PSB have played many deep cuts and b-sides from all four decades they have been active on. Their forthcoming tour is the first one they have named a "greatest hits" tour, but even then they have said that they will be playing songs off their new album Hotspot and songs they think should have been hits.