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MORRISSEY: Charming man
MORRISSEY: Charming man

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In my view: The Importance of Being Morrissey

Eric Jackson
9/ 6/2003

THE title of the programme was The Importance Of Being Morrissey (Channel 4, Sunday), but, to borrow another line from Oscar Wilde, it could have been called I've Nothing To Declare But My Genius.

Because Steven Patrick Morrissey, formerly of The Smiths, professional Mancunian and undoubtedly the greatest writer of pop lyrics ever, gave absolutely nothing away about his personal life in this one-hour documentary.

Certainly not his ambiguous sexuality, nor anything as mundane, say, as a preference for rich tea biscuits over custard creams.

Nope, all he kept trying to reinforce in our minds was what a great, misunderstood, creative colossus he was. And when he wasn't doing that he was taking pops at numerous targets from Elton John to the Queen, proving that when it comes to hate, Morrissey is fit to bursting.

But the Stretford warbler reserved his most venomous attack for ex-Smiths member Mike Joyce, wishing him nothing but misery for the rest of his life - simply because he had the temerity to win a court case against him.

At which point I spluttered an unrepeatable expletive against Morrissey - Mike Joyce is a decent bloke who was seriously wronged - but however nasty Morrissey gets, however ill-informed his rants or however peculiar he acts, there's that mitigating genius factor. And there were people queuing up to proclaim it, including Noel Gallagher, Kathy Burke, Will Self, JK Rowling, Bono and even Nancy Sinatra.

These days Morrissey has not only tired of Manchester, but also of London and England in general, basically because we just don't love him enough. So we saw him shacked up in Los Angeles, like some Hollywood recluse, with only his wolf-like doggie for company.

It was a weird, incongruous sight, especially as these days he looks more like a cross between a middle-aged George Best and actor Tony Booth than a pop star.Which, strangely, only seems to add to his unfathomable mystique.

As Will Self summed up what Morrissey probably thinks of himself, "I am what I am, but you're not allowed to know what I am."

Fascinating stuff.

What did you think of the show? Have your say.


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Most recent 2 of 2 user comments

   Well, IB4m still at the "escenario verde" in Benicasim... Where is Morrisey?
CAPITAN EXIN, BURRIANA, SPAIN
29/09/2004 at 17:50

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   It is only in the last few months that a dear friend took the trouble to alter my misconceptions about Morrisey. I have had immense pleasure from hearing his albums for the first time and agree with other contributors to this site that he is a genius. Really enjoyed the programme too and the fact that he won't cooperate with the media and be packaged as a commodity for the public to use then abuse.
Stephi, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire
2/07/2004 at 00:27

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