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

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

 

[Dusty Miller's Hornpipe]

Yes, it about Jimmy Saville. I also think the Earth is flat, the moon landings were fake, the Queen put out a contract on Lady Di and circumstances are often unforeseen

 

[Born to Harangue]

You'd 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?

An interesting musical choice to have what sounds like children singing the words “hang the DJ” on the studio recording. Of all the choices they could have gone with to accompany Morrissey’s voice and make the closing moments sound more anthemic: a soaring guitar solo, violins, regular layered backing vocals, keyboards, thumping ominous drums, they went with the sound of children singing the words. Children’s voices are often used to evoke something specific in song: childhood innocence or the removal of innocence, not just “let’s do this to make it sound more anthemic”. I’d like to think Morrissey put more thought into his decisions than that where the band and its music and imagery were concerned, and everything we know about him during that period suggests that he did. I know some people cling to established narratives like their lives depend on it, but there’s no ‘conspiracy’ thinking to this, no dark hidden secrets. It makes sense from one point to the next and logical leaps don’t have to be made in order to make it work. For that reason it’s an intriguing alternative explanation for the origins of ‘Panic’, but without some sort of confirmation it can only ever be guesswork.

 

[j*e*t]

An interesting musical choice to have what sounds like children singing the words “hang the DJ” on the studio recording. Of all the choices they could have gone with to accompany Morrissey’s voice and make the closing moments sound more anthemic: a soaring guitar solo, violins, regular layered backing vocals, keyboards, thumping ominous drums, they went with the sound of children singing the words. Children’s voices are often used to evoke something specific in song: childhood innocence or the removal of innocence, not just “let’s do this to make it sound more anthemic”. I’d like to think Morrissey put more thought into his decisions than that where the band and its music and imagery were concerned, and everything we know about him during that period suggests that he did. I know some people cling to established narratives like their lives depend on it, but there’s no ‘conspiracy’ thinking to this, no dark hidden secrets. It makes sense from one point to the next and logical leaps don’t have to be made in order to make it work. For that reason it’s an intriguing alternative explanation for the origins of ‘Panic’, but without some sort of confirmation it can only ever be guesswork.

British radio DJs were associated with children in the public mind of that time, whether from Top of the Pops, the Sunshine Club or records made for kids by the most popular DJs.

 

[CrazyFaceGenes]

A. It would ruin the song for me as the generally accepted meaning is far more interesting and really connected with me when it was released.

B. Saville has been dead a long time and Moz would have spilled the beans by now, let's not go back in time and ruin songs like Panic, i don't want to think of that corpse shagger when i hear it.

 

[The Irish Hare]

The channel "James Hargreaves Guitar" on YouTube has 51,000 views in 24 hours for a video entitled THE SMITHS: Is 'Panic' Secretly About Jimmy Savile? Interesting take on the lyrics.

 

[DagenhamDan]

Saw this the other night on you tube, interesting but i think if it was about Savile Morrissey would have made the lyrics a bit more direct and obvious, and we would have known by now via Autobiography etc. That would have been great tho, a song directed at him, would have been nasty, but in a great way.

 

[Anonymous]

How did this lunatic rubbish make the front page? It's bad enough with Morrissey doing his conspiracy theory nonsense in 'Notre Dame' without this crap as well.

 

[DagenhamDan]

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.

Amazingly, the only time i heard Pregnant for The Last Time ever on the radio was on Steve Wright in The Afternoon. I think he made a pissy remark afterwards, but still, he did play it.

 

[DrStatham]

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?

I don't think those parts of the lyrics fully fit with the Jimmy Savile interpretation either though.

The Chernobyl thing perfectly explains the Hang the DJ part, but I imagine song lyrics will often have different parts inspired by different things, and that one part of the song can be a sort of tangent from another part. I think the first part could tie into the Hang the DJ part because even if there was some Chernobyl-style existential catastrophe in the UK, the radio DJs would probably still just play cheesy, meaningless pop, just as they did after that radio report about Chernobyl.

 

[ACTON]

It's possible. Almost anything is possible. The 'jog' lyric would make sense, the 'not safe here', but I think it's a stretch to say it was about/inspired by that filth Jimmy Sadsack. Conspiracy theories find one thread and try to weave a carpet out of it. I don't buy this particular theory.

 

[gordyboy9]

jimmy saville was famous for going on cruises,nearly all cruise ships doing the west of scotland will land in my town,five minutes from the port was st marys and he would always attend mass.disgrace to his catholic faith.
cant see panic being about jimbo.

 

[TheSmiths_1985]

More importantly, is What Kind Of People Live In These Houses about Fred West??

And I’m working on a theory about the song Jack The Ripper. Stayed tuned to folk-devil.org for updates.

 

[William Fisher]

No.

 

[DagenhamDan]

Anyway, forget that monster Savile, Panic has to be one of the best singles ever released in my opinion, 2 minutes of a band at the top of their game, a big f**k you to the doubters and radio 1 and godammit, a hit! Pure class.

 

[mabuk]

More importantly, is What Kind Of People Live In These Houses about Fred West??

And I’m working on a theory about the song Jack The Ripper. Stayed tuned to folk-devil.org for updates.

It's fairly obvious that Jack The Ripper is about The Boston Strangler.

 

[BookishBoy]

"Panic" is pure genius, obviously. And I love that when you see the handwritten lyrics, they look like they were written by someone half deranged:

 

[TheSmiths_1985]

It's fairly obvious that Jack The Ripper is about The Boston Strangler.

That’s what they want you to think.

 

[Banbury Moz Army]

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

Yes and Jack the Ripper is about Jack Sugden from Emmerdale.

 

[Was I ever any good]

"Panic" is pure genius, obviously. And I love that when you see the handwritten lyrics, they look like they were written by someone half deranged:

View attachment 98996

Only half?

 

[goinghome]

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.

Sadowitz being banned for accusing Saville is mentioned in Hargreaves' video in the 10th minute along with reference to Lydon getting in trouble for pointing the finger too.

I went to have a look at the official video again, and hands do reach down the streets!



But really it's just slow December meandering down rabbit holes, to turn foolish, ghoulish and childish, but I don't mind, I don't mind, I don't mind!