Is "Panic" secretly about Jimmy Saville? - James Hargreaves Guitar / YouTube

TLDW; We won't know until Morrissey says whether it is or isn't.

 

[BookishBoy]

No.

 

[Mimi Ramone]

Didn't they (Morrissey and Marr) clarify exactly what it's about and why they wrote it (being annoyed about the the radio broadcast when Chernobyl happened?)

 

[Orange Crush]

No.

Well, I think it is! So there!

 

[Light Housework]

Could be!

 

[Born to Harangue]

I haven’t watched the video but I lean towards yes. John Lydon was aware of the rumours about Savile in 1978, it’s not unlikely that Morrissey would have heard them by 1986, and if he heard them I suspect since it was so shocking he would have felt compelled to write a (cryptic) song about it rather than moving on and keeping it to himself. He had already written a song about child murderers, it’s wouldn’t have been out of character for him. Who else could the lines “the Leeds side streets that you slip down” and “provincial towns you jog ‘round” be referencing? Surely the well known marathon runner and DJ from Leeds?

If Morrissey knew about Savile, he wasn’t going to have come out and said it at the time because there was no proof, and why would he reveal it now when he would get the inevitable “so you knew at the time and could have said something but didn’t” backlash. The Steve Wright/Chernobyl news report is a good cover story but isn’t in-keeping with the panic around Britain theme of most of the lyrics. What has jogging around provincial towns in Britain got to do with Chernobyl or Steve Wright? What’s the “panic” about, what’s the ‘honey pie’ of the song running from and seeking “safety” from? Bad music on the radio?

 

[BookishBoy]

I haven’t watched the video but I lean towards yes. John Lydon was aware of the rumours about Savile in 1978, it’s not unlikely that Morrissey would have heard them by 1986, and if he heard them I suspect since it was so shocking he would have felt compelled to write a (cryptic) song about it rather than moving on and keeping it to himself. He had already written a song about child murderers, it’s wouldn’t have been out of character for him. Who else could the lines “the Leeds side streets that you slip down” and “provincial towns you jog ‘round” be referencing? Surely the well known marathon runner and DJ from Leeds?

If Morrissey knew about Savile, he wasn’t going to have come out and said it at the time because there was no proof, and why would he reveal it now when he would get the inevitable “so you knew at the time and could have said something but didn’t” backlash. The Steve Wright/Chernobyl news report is a good cover story but isn’t in-keeping with the panic around Britain theme of most of the lyrics. What has jogging around provincial towns in Britain got to do with Chernobyl or Steve Wright? What’s the “panic” about, what’s the ‘honey pie’ of the song running from and seeking “safety” from? Bad music on the radio?

Good point, never thought of that angle!

 

[Malarkey]

I haven’t watched the video but I lean towards yes. John Lydon was aware of the rumours about Savile in 1978, it’s not unlikely that Morrissey would have heard them by 1986, and if he heard them I suspect since it was so shocking he would have felt compelled to write a (cryptic) song about it rather than moving on and keeping it to himself. He had already written a song about child murderers, it’s wouldn’t have been out of character for him. Who else could the lines “the Leeds side streets that you slip down” and “provincial towns you jog ‘round” be referencing? Surely the well known marathon runner and DJ from Leeds?

If Morrissey knew about Savile, he wasn’t going to have come out and said it at the time because there was no proof, and why would he reveal it now when he would get the inevitable “so you knew at the time and could have said something but didn’t” backlash. The Steve Wright/Chernobyl news report is a good cover story but isn’t in-keeping with the panic around Britain theme of most of the lyrics. What has jogging around provincial towns in Britain got to do with Chernobyl or Steve Wright? What’s the “panic” about, what’s the ‘honey pie’ of the song running from and seeking “safety” from? Bad music on the radio?

It does fit the lyrics.

But, he was annoyed about the lack of airplay & did believe the Smiths were denied it because of their lyrics.

And he was a supporter of CND, which held demos all over the country, reminding people they weren't safe.

An 80s CND demo:

 

[Famous when dead]

The Reddit post that clearly influenced the video is a rehash of bits circulating in 2012 (when the scale of things was emerging) eg:

web rumour claims lyrics to the Smiths 'Panic' refer to Jimmy Savile

internet claims to find new meaning in Smiths classic

louderthanwar.com

Panic!: Jimmy Savile, The Smiths & Synchronicity

The Jimmy Savile saga shows no sign of abating, though thankfully we’re seeing less of his leering mush on the front pages these days. Instead, headlines are filled with apparently-misidentif…

cowanandthestupiddream.wordpress.com

For myself, I'd peg this somewhere near the 'Princess Di' level of speculation given absolutely zero to support it at the time or thereafter and the band's separate explanations.
Especially when an article cites:
"On David Icke’s site..." - the first source of this suggestion.
(meaning a forum user post there - not by him IIRC).
The Steve Wright t-shirt says more about the song than perhaps anything!?
FWD.

 

[Fact Checker]

There were many reasons to Panic in 1986, including the on-going problems of the Middle East, which lead to US bombings of Libya. The idea of a major confrontation between the US and an Islamic country, or countries, wasn't fanciful at all.

 

[Fact Checker]

With regard to Jimmy Savile, 1987 was the year Jerry Sadowitz got in trouble with his Gobshite live comedy LP. Although he was banned, the subject wasn't exactly off-the-radar. In the days before internet and social media, there were lots of stories about celebrities which *everyone* knew but never talked about on record.

Jerry Sadowitz - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Ricky Gervais is one of several mediocre later comics who got a career off doing a weak imitation of Sadowitz.

 

[No 27]

Surely, if it were about Saville, it would've been his face on the T-shirt, not Wright's.

 

[Fact Checker]

Surely, if it were about Saville, it would've been his face on the T-shirt, not Wright's.

Wright was known for saying The Smiths weren't suitable for daytime Radio 1. I don't think that t-shirt was official Smiths merch even though Morrissey wore one of them.

 

[Jamie]

Who else could the lines “the Leeds side streets that you slip down” and “provincial towns you jog ‘round” be referencing? Surely the well known marathon runner and DJ from Leeds?

It's seems pretty clear it's a return to the litany of cities and towns at the top of the song that was a rhyming/scansion choice by the songwriter. Nothing more.

 

[The Irish Hare]

James Hargreaves Guitar Channel on YouTube has over 30, 000 views on his video - THE SMITHS: Is 'Panic' secretly about Jimmy Savile?
Interesting and plausible.

 

[Born to Harangue]

Morrissey with a child onstage singing the “hang the DJ” part:



Why would a child have been brought on stage to sing “hang the DJ”, what’s the connection? It’s all just a big coincidence, of course. Slipping down Leeds side streets, jogging around provincial towns, hanging the DJ while a child/sound of a children’s choir sings along. It’s about Steve Wright and ‘I’m Your Man’! It must be!

 

[Mozzypaws]

There needs to be more evidence but it's certainly possible

 

[Cornflakes]

There's no possibility Panic is about Jimmy Savile. It's something originaly suggested by noted musicologist David Icke.

Mind you, that probably does mean that Morrissey believes it.

 

[Malarkey]

There's no possibility Panic is about Jimmy Savile. It's something originaly suggested by noted musicologist David Icke.

Mind you, that probably does mean that Morrissey believes it.

David Icke was getting punted at Morrissey by a fan - but he doesn't seem to have any interest in Icke. Also Icke's son was extremely rude about him, so no love lost there.

 

[FactChecker]

You'd be

Morrissey with a child onstage singing the “hang the DJ” part:



Why would a child have been brought on stage to sing “hang the DJ”, what’s the connection? It’s all just a big coincidence, of course. Slipping down Leeds side streets, jogging around provincial towns, hanging the DJ while a child/sound of a children’s choir sings along. It’s about Steve Wright and ‘I’m Your Man’! It must be!

Because there's a children's choir on the studio recording? And that was added to give it a more anthemic singalong style to the big line repeated at the end?