Home
Film
Film
& DVD Archive
Music
Music
Archive
Television
Sport
Features
Features
Archive
Food & Drink
Food & Drink Archive
Wijke's Weather
Weather
Specials
Contact
Crossword
Guestbook
Donations
Classifieds
Links
Link To Us
Forum
Maillist
Scribe Weekly
Radio
Dedications for Scribe Weekly
Radio
Write for Scribe Weekly
|
Morrissey
- Royal Albert Hall
Who'd be Morrissey? From the outside, it must
look like this is a former star who is clinging desperately on to the
last frayed fragments of stardom. Ask almost anyone in the street about
Morrissey and you'll get a response asking if you mean "that depressing
bloke who had a bunch of flowers stuck up his a**e?". He's been without
a record contract for over four years and, if rumours are to be
believed, he spends most of his time holed up in his LA hideaway, which
just happens to be the house that Clark Gable had built for Carole
Lombard. In his spare time, again according to the rumours, he hounds
local record executives about giving him a new deal.
So - all washed up then? Not if you ask any
members of the audience here at the first of two sold out nights at the
Albert Hall. The two shows sold out within 24 hours, so maybe the lack
of new releases hasn't diminished the adoration in which his fans hold
him. This certainly seems to be the case when he opens the show with
The Smiths' "I Want The One I Can't Have". Grown men who really should
know better rush towards the stage and the air is filled with waving
gladioli.
Even though the years have passed (he is 43
now), Morrissey hasn't forgotten a thing about how to please his
audience. "Hello, Kensington. We've come to give you a good thrashing,"
is his opening salvo. He gyrates his hips, feigns boredom and admires
his fingernails, flings himself to the floor whilst singing. Every
member of the crowd will have seen this before, but every single one of
them laps it up fervently. There are even new songs to be aired. In the
absence of a record deal, Morrissey is keen for us to know that he has
not been simply resting on his laurels and living off past glories. And
they're not half bad either : "Mexico", "I Like You", "The World Is
Full Of Crashing Bores" are slipped in between old favourites. But
there are two truly outstanding new tracks "The First Of The Gang To
Die" is introduced as being about some "friends of ours from back in
Los Hangeles" (sic) and "Irish Blood, English Heart" is described as
being "autobiographical, in four words". Both songs could easily have
come from either of Morrissey's brace of early 90's albums, "Your
Arsenal" and "Vauxhall and I", when he was truly at the top of his
game. The lack of a record deal seems rather laughable when these new
tracks are aired.
"Sister, I'm A Poet" heralds the arrival of the
first stage invader. These fanatics used to be a regular fixture at
Morrissey shows, when the man himself would be mobbed from the moment
he stepped on stage until the moment he stepped off. Nowadays, security
is much tighter and what once was a tide of fans has been reduced to a
mere trickle. It is, however, a stage invader that provides the
evening's highlight. During the encore of "There Is A Light That Never
Goes Out", a very determined fan leapt on to the stage and ran at
breakneck pace towards the far end of the stage. Unfortunately, he
reached Morrisey just as his hero flung out his arm, just in time to
catch the interloper flush on the chin and knock him to the floor. Two
security guards were needed to take the fan from the stage. The singer
paused just long enough to say "Whoops" before continuing with the song.
But from the twinkle in his eye, I think he
enjoyed it more than he was letting on. Someone give this man
a record deal - Morrissey is just getting interesting again.
8/10
Sean G
Stop press---- Someone has given this man a
record deal. Check out Sean's latest article here.
I Want The One I Can't Have
Hairdresser On Fire
Suedehead
Little Man, What Now?
The First Of The Gang To Die
Jack The Ripper
I Like You
Mexico
Sister I'm A Poet
Alsatian Cousin
Everyday Is Like Sunday
The World Is Full Of Crashing Bores
Meat Is Murder
Irish Blood, English Heart
Late Night, Maudlin Street
Speedway
There Is A Light That Never Goes Out
http://www.leonardslair.co.uk/images/covers/morrissey.JPG
|