Scribe Weekly

Music

Morrissey - The Ambitious Outsider Returns

I last wrote about Morrissey for Scribe Weekly in September 2002. At that time, he'd been living in Los Angeles, without a recording contract, for almost a decade and hadn't released a single note of music since 1997's poorly received 'Maladjusted' album. However, in that September, the former Smiths frontman sold out two nights at London's Royal Albert Hall in less that 24 hours. He returned to the UK later that autumn for a handful of other dates, as part of a cobbled together European tour and found each date sold out within days of going on sale.

At the time, I concluded my review of the show, which had included numerous new songs by saying "Someone give this man a record deal - Morrissey is just getting interesting again."

And now someone has done just that.

The Sanctuary Records group seem to have made a living out of picking up the artists that other recording companies dispose of. A quick glance through their roster shows a wealth of diverse talent. From The Pet Shop Boys to Iron Maiden, from Anthrax to Blondie it's clear that Morrissey who grew up in the 1970's as pop music most ardent admirer would fit in very nicely indeed. So the stage seemed set for a very low-key comeback and Morrissey fans around the world settled in for a new album followed by the requisite tour and, possibly, a live DVD as a souvenir. But it appears that Sanctuary records had other ideas...'You Are The Quarry', Morrissey's new album has become one of the years most anticipated albums and not just amongst die-heard Smiths/Morrissey fans. Sanctuary records have done what no other record company has done for Morrissey in a very long time by preceding the album's release with a mammoth advertising campaign. A quick glance through the press release shows appearances on programs as mainstream as the BBC's Jonathan Ross show and the more cerebral 'Later...with Jools Holland'. The announcement of a single homecoming show at Manchester's MEN Arena sold out it's 20,000 tickets within 60 minutes of going on sale. Slots at festivals such as Glastonbury and the Carling Weekend at Reading and Leeds have also since been announced. He's currently in the middle of a five night residence at New York's legendary Apollo theatre. He did a similar residency last week at LA's Wiltern theatre. Again, all ten nights sold out within hours of going on sale. And as if all that wasn't enough, he's also been named as artistic director of this year's 'Meltdown' festival, held at London's Royal Festival Hall. Even your mother will remember his name by the end of this summer.

So what is it that makes this man so popular, when the general public have, by and large, consigned him to the 'Where are then now?' file? To a Morrissey fan, the answer is simple - it's simply because it's him. In the 1980's, The Smiths were a beacon of light in the mire of the bubblegum pap (sp) that filled the Top 40. Morrissey's lyrics coupled with Johnny Marr's musical ability made them easily the finest song writing partnership since Lennon and McCartney in the 1960's. But it was easy to dismiss The Smiths as a curiosity based purely upon the appearance of Morrissey himself - dressed in floral shirts, wearing NHS glasses and, iconically, carrying a bunch of gladioli, he was never likely to be embraced by the soul boys or the metal fans that dominated that decade. But the more the mainstream seemed to shun them, the larger their cult following grew. Morrissey would later release a solo single entitled 'The More You Ignore Me, The Closer I Get' and that is a hugely apt description for what happened to the man himself. Following the split of The Smiths, he embarked on a solo career that peaked in the early 90's and then slowly dwindled into decline until being dropped by his record label in 1997.

His legacy remained, however. And, when the new millennium turned, artists such a Oasis, The White Stripes, The Strokes and even band-of-the-moment, Franz Ferdinand were mentioning Morrissey as a huge influence on them. No-one before or since has matched his eye for a lyrical gem. As Noel Gallagher said in last year's Channel 4 Documentary 'The Importance of Being Morrissey', "There's no point trying to compete. No matter how well you write your song, no matter how well you get your point across, Morrissey's already done it. And done it ten times better."

He's never been afraid of controversy. Ridiculous claims of racism surfaced in the 1990's and, even earlier, 'Suffer Little Children', The Smith's beautiful song revisiting the horrors of growing up in Manchester in the shadows of the Moors Murders was singled out in the gutter press as proof that Morrissey was trying to condone the actions of Hindley and Brady. But he never bothered to deign the accusations with a response, allowing his lyrics to speak for themselves. For sure, there'll be the usual accusations thrown at his comeback single "Irish Blood, English Heart" with it's attack on the British government and monarchy but at it's heart, it's probably his most proudly nationalistic song ever. "I've been dreaming of a time when/To be English is not to be baneful/To be standing by the flag not feeling shameful" he sings, passionately wishing for a time long gone, it seems.

But a little controversy is a good thing, especially in this day and age of pre-packaged Pop Idols and Irish vocal groups who have never written a song in the entire career. We should welcome back Steven Patrick Morrissey for he could teach all of the current residents of the Top 40 a thing or two about how to write a well crafted song.

Here's hoping anyway, eh?

The single 'Irish Blood, English Heart' is released on May 10th
The album 'You Are The Quarry' is released on May 17th

Sean G

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