Elusive Morrissey still packs 'em in

By KIERAN GRANT -- Toronto Sun

There are two events that invariably stand out for Morrissey's legion of Southern Ontario fans.

One is the British pop icon's performance with his now-legendary former band The Smiths at the Kingswood Music Theatre in 1986. The Smiths' last show in these parts, it ended when dozens of enthusiastic punters invaded the stage and practically tore it apart. (I was out on the lawns, aged 13, surrounded by a crowd of 14,000 which, unbeknownst to me, contained my future wife and countless future friends.)

The other, less-triumphant memory would have to be Morrissey's 1997 debacle at Massey Hall, where after a loud 'n' pasty set of solo numbers and a pair of Smiths classics, he was dragged off stage by a pair of security guards who, during his encore, apparently mistook him for a fan. The same crowd that minutes earlier had been showering "Moz" in gladioli, chrysanthemums and hugs -- a tradition at his post-Smiths shows -- followed with a round of booing.

To the guy's credit, he does make a unique impression.

Stephen Patrick Morrissey, now 40, will have a legacy to live up to when he plays Hamilton Place tomorrow night. Not that the self-styled Oscar Wilde of pop and spokesman for sexually repressed bookworms has much to worry about.

For one thing, the Mozzer has already got supporters' tongues wagging with his decision to side-step Toronto.

He doesn't do interviews. He hasn't released an album since 1997's disappointing Maladjusted, and so far, he's without a label for his next record, which is said to be a Mexican-themed affair.

Of course, all this pales next to past controversies.

Clean-cut and impossibly eloquent, he made celibacy and vegetarianism sexy in the '80s. He later drew fire for his clumsy commentaries on immigration -- the claims were somewhat justified given the "ironic" ambiguity of tunes like Bengali In Platforms and National Front Disco.

In 1997, former Smiths drummer Mike Joyce successfully sued him for #1 million of unpaid royalties. Joyce now plans to write a book on The Smiths, though, according to what Joyce told Select magazine, "It won't be a vitriolic rant."

TERRITORIAL REACH

Still, tomorrow's concert is nearly sold out, suggesting that Moz has maintained quite the territorial reach, or at least that he's worth a wintry drive to the Hammer.

"It was his idea to play outside Toronto in another market," says Steve Herman, president of concert promoters Core Audience. "He has lots of fans in the Niagara Region, and there was talk of a show in London. I think he just wanted to play a different place for a change."