tauzero Posted August 30 Share Posted August 30 3 minutes ago, upside downer said: They could merge and become a supergroup. O, a Smith. Not sure I'd use the term "supergroup". "Special group", perhaps. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cairobill Posted August 30 Share Posted August 30 (edited) I was a big fan of the Smiths when they were a going concern. If you had asked me why he was important back then, it was that he was represented empathy and a special concern for the shy/lonely/misunderstood etc and they had some great tunes....it was all good... But when he went and revealed himself to be an intolerant shithead, it immediately de-vibed the whole shebang. Sucked the fun. Poured piss on the bonfire etc He was too personally entwined with what made him 'good' I think. There are loads of musicians (writers/painters) etc who are loathsome personalities but their music is not bound up tightly with what they are like at home. With Morrissey, it's all mixed up. So the more he reveals his grimness, the more it devalues his work (Obviously the swan dive began in the early nineties as well...) Edited August 30 by Cairobill 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NancyJohnson Posted August 30 Share Posted August 30 2 hours ago, meterman said: After the court case, Mike Joyce probably wouldn't share a stage with Morrissey, neither would Johnny Marr, and Andy Rourke is sadly no longer with us. Which begs the question, how would Morrissey tour as The Smiths? Said mate from earlier gets his live Smiths fix via The Smyths. If Morrissey came a knocking for a backing band, what would y'do? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted August 30 Author Share Posted August 30 1 hour ago, NancyJohnson said: Said mate from earlier gets his live Smiths fix via The Smyths. If Morrissey came a knocking for a backing band, what would y'do? I was at a gig Sunday and a mate mentioned the same venue was hosting a pretty big band from the 80's in a few weeks time so I checked it out. Seems the band in question are to all intents a tribute act who one by one have moved over to the band they were tributing, a band that no longer has any of the original lineup (I'm not going to mention names as I think the bassist may be a member here). As musicians would we all do the same if we were asked? Probably. Did I buy tickets? No. Sorry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meterman Posted August 30 Share Posted August 30 2 hours ago, NancyJohnson said: Said mate from earlier gets his live Smiths fix via The Smyths. If Morrissey came a knocking for a backing band, what would y'do? Tell him to get to f*** 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
upside downer Posted August 31 Share Posted August 31 16 hours ago, NancyJohnson said: Said mate from earlier gets his live Smiths fix via The Smyths. If Morrissey came a knocking for a backing band, what would y'do? I saw The Smyths earlier this month just days after the Tommy Robinson brigade went rampaging around England. They were very clear that, whilst they love the songs, they were dismayed at the direction that Moz's politics have gone in. The band were very good, although I thought the singer looked more like ABC's Martin Fry than Morrissey! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyBass Posted September 1 Share Posted September 1 On 30/08/2024 at 09:53, NancyJohnson said: As musicians and music fans, we just want to cling onto and experience something akin to how we felt back then, be this watching Japan at Dingwalls in 1978/79 or The Heartbreakers at the Roxy. You saw the Heartbreakers at the Roxy?😮 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted September 1 Share Posted September 1 On 30/08/2024 at 09:53, NancyJohnson said: As musicians and music fans, we just want to cling onto and experience something akin to how we felt back then, be this watching Japan at Dingwalls in 1978/79 or The Heartbreakers at the Roxy. Love or hate Oasis, you know that if they can keep it together it's going to be off the scale and good luck to them. I'm not a big fan per se (admittedly they do have a decent back catalogue), but I'm quite interested in how it's going to pan out. Lets stop trying to kid ourselves that seeing a bunch of semi-motionless blokes in the their 50s at some enormous venue is going to have a fraction of the excitement of seeing them when they were young, hungry and playing the sorts of venues where you could be stood right in front of the stage. Admit to yourselves that if you didn't see them back in 1993 or early 94 you've missed out, and instead go and see some gigs by new bands where it will cost you less than £15 and you'll be able to turn up and pay on the door. 3 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miles'tone Posted September 1 Share Posted September 1 1 hour ago, BigRedX said: Lets stop trying to kid ourselves that seeing a bunch of semi-motionless blokes in the their 50s at some enormous venue is going to have a fraction of the excitement of seeing them when they were young, hungry and playing the sorts of venues where you could be stood right in front of the stage. Admit to yourselves that if you didn't see them back in 1993 or early 94 you've missed out, and instead go and see some gigs by new bands where it will cost you less than £15 and you'll be able to turn up and pay on the door. They always were semi motionless in the 90s so it will be business as usual! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted September 2 Author Share Posted September 2 18 hours ago, BigRedX said: Lets stop trying to kid ourselves that seeing a bunch of semi-motionless blokes in the their 50s at some enormous venue is going to have a fraction of the excitement of seeing them when they were young, hungry and playing the sorts of venues where you could be stood right in front of the stage. Admit to yourselves that if you didn't see them back in 1993 or early 94 you've missed out, and instead go and see some gigs by new bands where it will cost you less than £15 and you'll be able to turn up and pay on the door. Totally agree with this, not about all comeback bands for sure, but certainly about some. Guess the motivation for many of the ticket-buying masses isn't to see a great gig and be taken back in time to a happier place, but simply social media bragging rights..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulgm1 Posted September 2 Share Posted September 2 I have nothing but admiration for Marr in sticking to his guns and looking forward rather than backwards. Robert Plant took the same view with the Led Zeppelin thing. I can see the attraction of these big reunions though - There is something joyous in celebrating the past though, remembering your youth and reminiscing (boring!) my kids with stories of seeing the Smiths for a fiver at Portsmouth Guildhall in the eighties! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverfoxnik Posted September 2 Share Posted September 2 (edited) Haven't read the whole of this thread but I can concur completely with any of the comments here about what an absolutely obnoxious, hypocritical, loathsome, shit-bag Morrisey is... Back in the early 90s, I was a rep on the Musicians Union North London Committee for a few years. And pretty much every 6-9 months, we'd get a letter from Morrisey's then bass player (Johnny Bridgewood, IIRC) saying that he'd not been paid for recording and touring work that he'd done for Morrisey. So, we'd have to chase up payment for Johnny so he could pay his rent and put food on the table for his family.. Which obviously would take months! One thing that really p*isses me off is when 'successful' musicians treat other musicians like dirt... It's bad enough that the rest of the world treats musicians like second-class citizens, without scumbags like Morrsey doing it too.. As if that wasn't enough to taint my opinion of Morrisey, in 1994, when I was on tour with a band I was in at the time, our then manager ( guy called James Todd, who'd managed Sinead O'Connor, World Party and a whole load of other artists), was taken on by Morrisey to be his manager for 6 months - I remember seeing the signed contract in James' office. On that tour, Morrsey was literally cancelling gigs a day or two before they were supposed to happen, not giving a second thought as to what that did to his fans, the musicians, venues, agents, and of course, his manager. Sadly, James died of a heart attack about 6, 7 months later (he was only 42) and in my mind, I can't help but think that managing Morrsey somehow contributed to the situation. So, just reiterate, my personal opinion is that Morrsey is an absolutely obnoxious, hypocritical, loathsome, shit-bag. Having said all that, I do think The Smiths were an important band of their era, and were very talented writers/musicians. As an aside, one of the band members of The Smyths lives round the corner from me, and you couldn't wish to meet a nicer person. Anyway, just my 2p worth... Edited September 2 by silverfoxnik 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted September 2 Author Share Posted September 2 8 minutes ago, silverfoxnik said: Haven't read the whole of this thread but I can concur completely with any of the comments here about what an absolutely obnoxious, hypocritical, loathsome, shit-bag Morrisey is... Back in the early 90s, I was a rep on the Musicians Union North London Committee for a few years. And pretty much every 6-9 months, we'd get a letter from Morrisey's then bass player (Johnny Bridgewood, IIRC) saying that he'd not been paid for recording and touring work that he'd done for Morrisey. So, we'd have to chase up payment for Johnny so he could pay his rent and put food on the table for his family.. Which obviously would take months! One thing that really p*isses me off is when 'successful' musicians treat other musicians like dirt... It's bad enough that the rest of the world treats musicians like second-class citizens, without scumbags like Morrsey doing it too.. As if that wasn't enough to taint my opinion of Morrisey, in 1994, when I was on tour with a band I was in at the time, our then manager ( guy called James Todd, who'd managed Sinead O'Connor, World Party and a whole load of other artists), was taken on by Morrisey to be his manager for 6 months - I remember seeing the signed contract in James' office. On that tour, Morrsey was literally cancelling gigs a day or two before they were supposed to happen, not giving a second thought as to what that did to his fans, the musicians, venues, agents, and of course, his manager. Sadly, James died of a heart attack about 6, 7 months later (he was only 42) and in my mind, I can't help but think that managing Morrsey somehow contributed to the situation. So, just reiterate, my personal opinion is that Morrsey is an absolutely obnoxious, hypocritical, loathsome, shit-bag. Having said all that, I do think The Smiths were an important band of their era, and were very talented writers/musicians. As an aside, one of the band members of The Smyths lives round the corner from me, and you couldn't wish to meet a nicer person. Anyway, just my 2p worth... Thanks for that Nik, too often we overlook how ‘stars’ treat other musicians, agents, managers, and crew, without whom none of the magic - for which 99% of the time the star takes the credit - would happen 😕 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverfoxnik Posted September 2 Share Posted September 2 12 minutes ago, Beedster said: Thanks for that Nik, too often we overlook how ‘stars’ treat other musicians, agents, managers, and crew, without whom none of the magic - for which 99% of the time the star takes the credit - would happen 😕 The celeb/star system perpetuates all this of course, Chris... Same in most situations where there's a power dynamic at play. ☹️😬 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted September 2 Author Share Posted September 2 Just now, silverfoxnik said: The celeb/star system perpetuates all this of course, Chris... Same in most situations where there's a power dynamic at play. ☹️😬 Funnily enough I was on the receiving end of some pretty serious abuse when working with a well known muso, although not from him, from his management company. He was always a real gent and would have been mortified if he’d known how his representatives were behaving. That was 30 years ago but I still feel quite angry about it, so I dread to think how Morrisey’s former colleagues - including Marr of course - feel given the massively amplified shit they had to deal with for years Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverfoxnik Posted September 2 Share Posted September 2 4 minutes ago, Beedster said: Funnily enough I was on the receiving end of some pretty serious abuse when working with a well known muso, although not from him, from his management company. He was always a real gent and would have been mortified if he’d known how his representatives were behaving. That was 30 years ago but I still feel quite angry about it, so I dread to think how Morrisey’s former colleagues - including Marr of course - feel given the massively amplified shit they had to deal with for years Sorry to hear that, Chris... Not a surprise though, sadly. The music industry has always had more than it's fair share of a-holes in it's rank. Just have a read of this book about the 90s UK music industry: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kill_Your_Friends It paints a pretty black and bleak picture of the 90s a&r scene as it was then.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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