Sad Morrissey Stories - Catharsis!

[jayange]

My sad Morrissey story starts with getting tickets for me and my girlfriend for his show in Glasgow on 16th May 1991, as part of the Kill Uncle tour.

We got a National Express coach from Manchester, which took about 4 hours.
When we arrived at the venue there was a tiny note pinned to the door of the Royal Concert Hall, stating “Tonight’s Morrissey Show Is Cancelled” No word of explanation. Nothing. We gleaned from word of mouth that he had a sore throat. My girlfriend had bought a huge bootleg poster and proceeded to shred it in front of the venue – while falling into shreds herself and stamping on the remnants as they were blown away by the wind and the power of her screams, tears and ire.
With nothing else to do that afternoon and evening, we went to the pub. The deflation was such that alcohol was just not an option and only made us feel worse. There was nothing else on in terms of live acts, so to try and distract ourselves until the return coach - which didn’t leave until about midnight – we decided we’d go to the cinema.
Absolutely nothing on. I say nothing - there was Predator 2. (I can only assume by this point we were both delirious!)
So we both sat sobbing while the film unfolded. To this day I have no idea who was in that movie, or how it panned out. I’m pretty sure it wasn’t Arnie. And even the mention of the word “Predator” sends a chill right through me.
Eventually it was time to board the coach back home. A more depressing journey I think it would be impossible to undertake. The coach had a gentle hum of weeping fans and the bee-like buzz of Morrissey through tinny earphones. For four more hours.

On a happier note, the show was re-scheduled for late July that year and with a degree of trepidation we retraced our route – and were rewarded with an amazing performance! We’d been battle hardened by then by going down to Wembley to see him and Blackburn. So it turned out the Glasgow gig was the last show of the tour, if memory serves. My girlfriend regretted the poster incident and bought another one. An official one!

Anyone else have a tale tinged with tragedy? Or redemption?

Cheers
Jay

 

[jayange]

Nobody else, Eh?

Well, it must just be me then.

So we come to March 1994. My girlfriend was in Leicester and tells me of a Morrissey signing happening at HMV, in Manchester where I worked. I figured that an extended lunch break would cover it. Wrong. The queue was already down the street before the shop opened that morning - they’d segregated a part of the thoroughfare to funnel us all through. But that wasn’t going to be for ages – and it was separate to the shop doors. Morrissey lepers.
So, I took up my position in the line and waited. We were told Morrissey would appear about 6 o clock that evening. So I called my boss and told him that I was sick of the site of this queue and he let me take the day off and there I waited.
My girlfriend arrived from Leicester at about 2ish. And we bonded with the masses over whether Johnny Marr featured on Vauxhall. No, said I, a wah wah peddle doesn’t make it the Queen is Dead part 2. Anyway – after about 10 hours the queue started to move. The elation was wonderful. TV cameras had appeared by this time, as the queue stretched further than I could see – and the calls of ‘weirdos’ were commonplace. And not just by the TV people.
We all shuffled forward – inexorably, committed but exhausted.
Why is this a sad Morrissey tale? Because when I met the man, I could only say “I’m Jason and I had so much I wanted to say…but….” I shook my head, words failed.
“Don’t worry Jason – It’s just life” said Morrissey.
Then he signed my CD. And my girlfriend snogged him!

A dodgy day turned great.

Surely one person must have a Morrissey story actually involving the man - and not just some bollocks about daydreams or hair, or - and this kills me! - what you'd feed him.

 

[MadameChaos]

And my girlfriend snogged him!

What? Explain yourself!

 

[jayange]

What? Explain yourself!

It's true! He was happily signing things and passing the odd comment to us star struck gibbering wrecks. When it was my girlfriend's turn before him - she said something like "do you mind if I give you a kiss?" Morrissey offered his cheek... but my girlfriend wasn't having that! She flung her arms round him and snogged him! I remember thinking, "I wish I'd thought of that!"

 

[Paulc]

this is a good thread jayange and deserves better...i have copied my story from the cancelled friday roundhouse gig:

i wanted to post about my experience on friday earlier but couldnt get in front of a PC before now.

As i was able to buy tix in advance for both Monday and Wednesday and because those two gigs were so massively great i persuaded MrsC to let me go to the Friday and i also persuaded two friends to come with me - they were not Morrissey fans but wanted to see "what all the fuss was about". So we headed down to Chalk Farm where i began negotiations with the touts. Met one who said £80 a ticket - as i was gonna be paying for all 3 there was no way i was gonna do that. Eventually i was able to get 3 for £60 each. £180 on tix. Ok its a hell of a lot of money but after my experiences on Mon and Wed i thought it was well worth it.

So we get in no problem - we have had plenty of beers in the Enterprise and had a few more inside the roundhouse which i maintain is a superb venue in every way.

I explain to my mates that its gonna get quite rowdy up at the front and they may prefer to hang back a bit but i gotta try to get up the front. So we part company during Girl in a Coma (who i also thought were excellent all 3 times i saw them). I get very close to the front - quite easy as i am not the tallest and i was on my own.

I get chatting to a guy who i recognise from Wednesday who tells me he is AndrewGMooney from these boards - a damn fine gentlemen.

Usual warm up film and usual chanting from near where we are. Then Moz comes out and he looks fantastic in that frilly shirt. Crowd go absolutely mental - more so than on the previous two nights which i think is cos its a friday and maybe everyone has had a few more drinks than usual. I certainly had.

Please x 3 sounded amazing from where i was and i had no clue of what was to come - thought this was gonna be yet another life changing gig!

PLayboyz was next which was also great and i am thinking my friends at the back must be getting a great idea how amazing a Morrissey gig can be. But then it all goes wrong. 3rd song didnt sound right and then Moz just stopped singing in the 4th one. Turned his back on the crowd and then he and the band just walked off.

None of us had a clue what was happening but we knew it didnt look good.

I started singing "i was happy in the haze of a drunken hour, but heaven knows i', miserable now" quite a few people laughed and joined in.

The usual Morrissey footie chants are going when the three stooges come out. RB talks first but no-one wants to listen to him - we want Morrissey. The chant of "who the f***in hell are you" rings out which i thought was very funny - it was to make the point that we knew he was a minor irrelevent celeb compared to Moz and that we really were only here to see Moz. JR taking the photos and laughing was very annoying as many of us now realising the show was over were very upset.

I was especially upset cos of my two mates. To their credit they were more upset for me - they know what these events mean to me.

Anyway we went back to the Enterprise for more drinks - the barman / manager in there really pissed me off too - there were 300 Moz fans in there and he wouldnt put a Moz song on the stereo the tosser.

I got talking to loads of lovely moz fans in and mostly outside the pub - sorry i cant remember anynames!

My friends eventually went home but i wanted to stay - before i knew it i had missed all the trains so had to get a cab - i live in Herts so that was another £60.

Given i had probably spent £50 on beer that was £300 in total. £300 for 4 songs....!

 

[MadameChaos]

It's true! He was happily signing things and passing the odd comment to us star struck gibbering wrecks. When it was my girlfriend's turn before him - she said something like "do you mind if I give you a kiss?" Morrissey offered his cheek... but my girlfriend wasn't having that! She flung her arms round him and snogged him! I remember thinking, "I wish I'd thought of that!"

LOL! OMG how did he react?

 

[jayange]

LOL! OMG how did he react?

He took it quite well!! Just gave a strained grin and said "thankyou"
The security staff gently prised her off - and we went for pizza. No charges were ever brought.

 

[Sharron Needles]

we decided we’d go to the cinema.
Absolutely nothing on. I say nothing - there was Predator 2. (I can only assume by this point we were both delirious!)
So we both sat sobbing while the film unfolded. To this day I have no idea who was in that movie, or how it panned out. I’m pretty sure it wasn’t Arnie. And even the mention of the word “Predator” sends a chill right through me.

Now that's bad. I can feel for you because the same sort of thing happened to me. Except it involved mushrooms and "Baby's Day Out!" All I know is that baby got into a lot of trouble....

 

[neonmad]

My sad Morrissey story starts with getting tickets for me and my girlfriend for his show in Glasgow on 16th May 1991, as part of the Kill Uncle tour.

We got a National Express coach from Manchester, which took about 4 hours.
When we arrived at the venue there was a tiny note pinned to the door of the Royal Concert Hall, stating “Tonight’s Morrissey Show Is Cancelled” No word of explanation. Nothing. We gleaned from word of mouth that he had a sore throat. My girlfriend had bought a huge bootleg poster and proceeded to shred it in front of the venue – while falling into shreds herself and stamping on the remnants as they were blown away by the wind and the power of her screams, tears and ire.
With nothing else to do that afternoon and evening, we went to the pub. The deflation was such that alcohol was just not an option and only made us feel worse. There was nothing else on in terms of live acts, so to try and distract ourselves until the return coach - which didn’t leave until about midnight – we decided we’d go to the cinema.
Absolutely nothing on. I say nothing - there was Predator 2. (I can only assume by this point we were both delirious!)
So we both sat sobbing while the film unfolded. To this day I have no idea who was in that movie, or how it panned out. I’m pretty sure it wasn’t Arnie. And even the mention of the word “Predator” sends a chill right through me.
Eventually it was time to board the coach back home. A more depressing journey I think it would be impossible to undertake. The coach had a gentle hum of weeping fans and the bee-like buzz of Morrissey through tinny earphones. For four more hours.

On a happier note, the show was re-scheduled for late July that year and with a degree of trepidation we retraced our route – and were rewarded with an amazing performance! We’d been battle hardened by then by going down to Wembley to see him and Blackburn. So it turned out the Glasgow gig was the last show of the tour, if memory serves. My girlfriend regretted the poster incident and bought another one. An official one!

Anyone else have a tale tinged with tragedy? Or redemption?

Cheers
Jay

Nobody else, Eh?

Well, it must just be me then.

So we come to March 1994. My girlfriend was in Leicester and tells me of a Morrissey signing happening at HMV, in Manchester where I worked. I figured that an extended lunch break would cover it. Wrong. The queue was already down the street before the shop opened that morning - they’d segregated a part of the thoroughfare to funnel us all through. But that wasn’t going to be for ages – and it was separate to the shop doors. Morrissey lepers.
So, I took up my position in the line and waited. We were told Morrissey would appear about 6 o clock that evening. So I called my boss and told him that I was sick of the site of this queue and he let me take the day off and there I waited.
My girlfriend arrived from Leicester at about 2ish. And we bonded with the masses over whether Johnny Marr featured on Vauxhall. No, said I, a wah wah peddle doesn’t make it the Queen is Dead part 2. Anyway – after about 10 hours the queue started to move. The elation was wonderful. TV cameras had appeared by this time, as the queue stretched further than I could see – and the calls of ‘weirdos’ were commonplace. And not just by the TV people.
We all shuffled forward – inexorably, committed but exhausted.
Why is this a sad Morrissey tale? Because when I met the man, I could only say “I’m Jason and I had so much I wanted to say…but….” I shook my head, words failed.
“Don’t worry Jason – It’s just life” said Morrissey.
Then he signed my CD. And my girlfriend snogged him!

A dodgy day turned great.

Surely one person must have a Morrissey story actually involving the man - and not just some bollocks about daydreams or hair, or - and this kills me! - what you'd feed him.

"It's just life"

Well, I didn't meet him; I missed him at the CnF twice between Palladium gigs- once narrowly (I had no expectations of seeing him there, mind you, but, still...).
I got off the subway at the wrong stop and took too long reaching my hotel, which cut into queueing time and resulted in "only" being in the 3rd row even with the special tickets, then I missed my flight home the next night due to excessive record-shopping, a late bus, and LA traffic, and had to spend the night at LAX and catch a flight the next morning.
But it was a GREAT show and experience with good people throughout - and I still made it to work on time that morning.
Btw this was one of the "it's gonna be cancelled!" shows, so I was really on edge leading up to it.

 

[jayange]

Phew, thanks guys!

I love hearing of Morrissey experiences.

I'll tell you another involving the MEN Arena in Manchester during the recording of "Who Put the M in Manchester" DVD, a high balcony, a crowd below and a trip to casualty and a missed gig.
In fact - that's the story encapsulated just there!

 

[Sharron Needles]

Okay, when I was 16, I went to Hawaii to go see him play. I was originally going to have to catch a bus into town because I was staying in Kailua, which was a 45 min drive into Honolulu, and I had no car. I got on the bus, and realised that my ticket wasn't where it was supposed to be, so I told the bus to stop, and I ran (literally) back to the house I was staying. Searched everywhere, no ticket. I was young mind you, so the thought of going all the way to the venue in a strange city to try and buy one from a scalper when I didn't even have more than $20 left was not an option. I was SCREWED. I decided to go to Zippy's to drown my sorrows (anyone that's been to Hawaii should know Zippy's as the place to get some grub after a long night of excessive drinking) in their amazing veg chili, and as I sat down to wait for my order these two girls to my right kept staring at me. I think I looked like I was going to cry. One of them finally said, "Hey, are you going to the concert?" I wondered wtf are they talking about, and I looked down and noticed I was still wearing my Moz t shirt. They must have been about 20. I explained to them the events that had just happened, and they both did a harmonious "awwwww!" that almost frightened my 16 year old body under the table. They told me that they had a friend that had an extra ticket, and I explained that it didn't matter because I only had $20 left; $15 after the chili. They whispered to each other for a few seconds, and looked at me and said, "Right, you're coming with us!" I asked them what are you talking about, and one of them said that they would get the ticket for me. I reluctantly agreed, and went with them into town in the back of a jeep, and we met a few friends of theirs at a coffee shop to pick up a ticket. I got into the show, and I of course was ecstatic. I got separated from the two girls within minutes because the crowd was swirling everywhere, and I can't even remember their names except that one of them said she was from Washington. I was supposed to meet them after the gig because I needed a ride back, but when I got out of the show I felt like I was going to faint from dehydration, so I just had to start walking to find a shop with water or something. My shirt was ripped and stretched completely, and there was blood all over it (not mine), and people were looking at me funny because I think I looked like a zombie. I walked back to the venue, but by that time, there was nobody there since I had been gone awhile. I eventually got back by way of 3 different buses. I went to the next gig a few weeks later in San Diego on Halloween, and my friend and I got there the night before because we both wanted to be in the front. But there were already about 100 people there with tents and some had already been there a day!

 

[jayange]

Sharron, that's a great story! Tragedy, benevolence, redemption, loss and regret! You should write a song about it. In fact, you probably have!

Paulc - did you ever find out why Moz walked off? Was he ill, pissed off, or what?
£300 for four songs - WOW that's costly. It puts my £30 quid tear-soaked coach journey to Glasgow and back in a new perspective. Perhaps I'll be able to re-visit the city now, or maybe get Predator 2 on DVD.

 

[Paulc]

Paulc - did you ever find out why Moz walked off? Was he ill, pissed off, or what?
£300 for four songs - WOW that's costly. It puts my £30 quid tear-soaked coach journey to Glasgow and back in a new perspective. Perhaps I'll be able to re-visit the city now, or maybe get Predator 2 on DVD.

yeah it was the famous old sore throat - he announced on the monday he had a frog in his throat "and its not a little frenchman" tuesday and wednesday were fine although fans with a keen ear could tell something was up - and by friday it was no good...very sad. My story is sad but lots of the guys on here came down from the north for the weekend in the hope of seeing him fri, sat and sun - and of course none of them took place. I believe there were also many fans who came from abroad - so my £300 is not so bad in comparison.

All my other Morrissey stories, and there are many, are joyously happy affairs....

 

[Voodoo Doll]

My sad Morrissey story starts with getting tickets for me and my girlfriend for his show in Glasgow on 16th May 1991, as part of the Kill Uncle tour.

Should have been my first gig too! Maybe we were on the same coach - I set fire to a box of matches by accident & nearly got chucked off. We found a bar called 'Smiths' and got fussed over by a kindly Scottish lady who didnt have a clue who Moz was and then met loads of lovely people at the Smiths/Moz night later so it wasnt all bad.

 

[jayange]

Should have been my first gig too! Maybe we were on the same coach - I set fire to a box of matches by accident & nearly got chucked off. We found a bar called 'Smiths' and got fussed over by a kindly Scottish lady who didnt have a clue who Moz was and then met loads of lovely people at the Smiths/Moz night later so it wasnt all bad.

Hey, maybe we were! I don't recall any pyromaniacs though.
You should have tried a bit harder to start a conflagration and saved me from the Predator!
I imagine you went back on the rescheduled date? It was a wonderful show. I've still got a tatty Edith Sitwell t-shirt to commemorate the event.

 

[Voodoo Doll]

Hey, maybe we were! I don't recall any pyromaniacs though.
You should have tried a bit harder to start a conflagration and saved me from the Predator!
I imagine you went back on the rescheduled date? It was a wonderful show. I've still got a tatty Edith Sitwell t-shirt to commemorate the event.

I did & i was in the balcony with some meat head bouncer telling me to sit down/ stop dancing/ put my camera away etc etc. I didnt realise at the time how bad it was cos I had never been close to Moz but subsequent gigs were definitely better for me. Did you go to Liverpool on the 91 tour when all the seats got ripped out? That was awesome.

 

[vivabob]

My sad Morrissey story starts with getting tickets for me and my girlfriend for his show in Glasgow on 16th May 1991, as part of the Kill Uncle tour.

We got a National Express coach from Manchester, which took about 4 hours.
When we arrived at the venue there was a tiny note pinned to the door of the Royal Concert Hall, stating “Tonight’s Morrissey Show Is Cancelled” No word of explanation. Nothing. We gleaned from word of mouth that he had a sore throat. My girlfriend had bought a huge bootleg poster and proceeded to shred it in front of the venue – while falling into shreds herself and stamping on the remnants as they were blown away by the wind and the power of her screams, tears and ire.
With nothing else to do that afternoon and evening, we went to the pub. The deflation was such that alcohol was just not an option and only made us feel worse. There was nothing else on in terms of live acts, so to try and distract ourselves until the return coach - which didn’t leave until about midnight – we decided we’d go to the cinema.
Absolutely nothing on. I say nothing - there was Predator 2. (I can only assume by this point we were both delirious!)
So we both sat sobbing while the film unfolded. To this day I have no idea who was in that movie, or how it panned out. I’m pretty sure it wasn’t Arnie. And even the mention of the word “Predator” sends a chill right through me.
Eventually it was time to board the coach back home. A more depressing journey I think it would be impossible to undertake. The coach had a gentle hum of weeping fans and the bee-like buzz of Morrissey through tinny earphones. For four more hours.

On a happier note, the show was re-scheduled for late July that year and with a degree of trepidation we retraced our route – and were rewarded with an amazing performance! We’d been battle hardened by then by going down to Wembley to see him and Blackburn. So it turned out the Glasgow gig was the last show of the tour, if memory serves. My girlfriend regretted the poster incident and bought another one. An official one!

Anyone else have a tale tinged with tragedy? Or redemption?

Cheers
Jay

jay that was an amazing show , the day he cancelled was also a lovely day , i met so many new friends that day we sat on the steps all day then went to a smiths night that night i still have the flyer and everything

ah memorys ....

 

[jayange]

I did & i was in the balcony with some meat head bouncer telling me to sit down/ stop dancing/ put my camera away etc etc. I didnt realise at the time how bad it was cos I had never been close to Moz but subsequent gigs were definitely better for me. Did you go to Liverpool on the 91 tour when all the seats got ripped out? That was awesome.

Hi voodoo, No, i never got to Liverpool. The rescheduled Glasgow gig was the end of the line for me. Why did they rip the seats out? Not enough furniture at home, perhaps?
By the time of the rescheduled gig, I'd been down to Wembley and a short hop to Blackburn. I was pretty green, as far as gig going went in them days - and was scared of dealing with touts. But by the time of the new Glasgow gig I'd got my shit together and haggled for miles better seats at a small premium!
It would have looked hysterical if everyone was coming out of Liverpool with a souvenir chair.

Vivabob - I wish we had taken a few minutes to get a grip and see what was happening. My recollection is that by the time we got to the venue the place was pretty much deserted. The bastard bootleggers were still out in force though! Preying on us few wide-eyed expectant sods who had yet to realise it wasn't going to happen.
We tried various bars - but none were welcoming. I had a jacket with the t-shirt depicting the cover of Hatful Of Hollow sewn onto the back of it. So it's hardly surprising that the indigenous population were a bit off.

Thinking of Morrissey's bouncers - the Blackburn ones on that tour were great. One gave me a look that said, "yeah, right!" when he noticed the enormous bulge in my trousers that was hiding not one, but two cameras! He didn't stop me though. And they were fine about us standing and moving to the stairs to hang on the balcony edges. Don't remember anything at all now about Morrissey's performance that night. And the photos I took were rubbish.
Not sure if that was due to my terrible photography, or the cameras prolonged exposure to the inside of my pants.

 

[Renia]

Whenever I watch Who Put The M in Manchester.

I always cry.

 

[mauve21]

I had a very similar dispiriting experience(s) back in the late eighties.
Mr. Morrissey actually cancelled his concert at Festival Hall, for which we had tickets, due to an illness of some kind.
We were told to come back the next night and the same thing happened.
None of us ever got to see him. I'm not sure where he played in Australia that year. I think perhaps Brisbane or Adelaide.
Anyway, needless to say I was well pissed about the whole thing.