The World Won't Listen

Johnny Marr later revealed that the back cover was Morrissey’s intentional visual joke; a portrait of four teenage girls whose faces bore an uncanny resemblance to the individual members of The Smiths. Left to right, the girls supposedly represent Joyce, Rourke, Marr and Morrissey. ‘We didn’t discuss it,’ said Marr, ‘but I understood'. 
From Songs That Saved Your Life by  Simon Goddard

 The sleeve was designed by Morrissey, using a photo by Jürgen Vollmer from the book Rock 'N' Roll Times: The Style and Spirit of the Early Beatles and Their First Fans.

Here's a link to a lossless download of the LP.  a selection of  funky FBI / Ministry of Justice / IRP  badges.

http://sradams777.blogspot.com/2011/10/smiths-world-wont-listen-2011-remaster.html

Morrissey - Janice Long Session, BBC Radio 2- December 17th , 2004

A rare excursion (incursion?) in to the 21st century for Burning Aquarium.
This is Morrissey, appearing in session for Janice Long on BBC Radio 2. The set was recorded on December 9th and first broadcast on December 17th 2004.
01 - Intro
02 - Play Easy To Get
03 - Redondo Beach
04 - Interview
05 - Noise Is The Best Revenge
06 - It's Hard To Walk Tall When You're Small
07 - Outro

Redondo Beach is of course a cover of a Patti Smith song, taken from her classic LP Horses.

Morrissey- Desert Island Discs (2009)

Sorry for the delay in bringing you this -

Okay nostalgia lovers, who remembers the heady days of November 2009 when the world was a better, safer place? We used to leave our door unlocked in them days...

For those of you who don’t know (i.e.- those who are not from Britain) Desert Island Discs is a long-running radio programme. It was first broadcast on 29 January 1942 .
Imagine that you are obsessed with pop music from a young age- it is your all consuming passion- you become an aficionado.You enjoy a successful 26 year music career in which your work is rich in pop culture references, all influences reverentially eulogised. Then at the age of fifty, after 45 years of obsessive pop fandom you are invited onto Desert Island Discs and have to choose eight records.
Eight.
Practically impossible.
When he appeared in November last year I thought that Morrissey might include: Sandie Shaw, Jobriath, some Rockabilly, Ludus, Patti Smith, Joni Mitchell.
Here’s what he did choose:
• New York Dolls - (There’s Gonna Be a) Showdown (overall choice)
• Marianne Faithfull - Come and Stay With Me
• Ramones - Loudmouth
• The Velvet Underground - The Black Angel’s Death Song
• Klaus Nomi - Der Nussbaum - The Walnut Tree
• Nico - I’m Not Saying
• Iggy & The Stooges - Your Pretty Face is Going to Hell
• Mott the Hoople - Sea Diver

Included here are the eight records in their entirity and the complete programme.
For a more comprehensive insight into Morrissey’s tastes and formative influences see the LP Under the Influence .

The various writings of Steven Morrissey 1974-1983

Dear person,
So nice to know there's another soul out there, even if it is in Glasgow. Does being Scottish bother you? Manchester is a lovely place, if you happen to be a bedridden deaf mute. I'm unhappy, hope you're unhappy too.
In poverty,
Steven

In 1980 Morrissey responded to an advert in Sounds from a fellow called Robert Mackie (male Bowie seeks female Bowie for relationship, Glasgow area...). Mackie preserved the letters that Morrissey wrote to him and made them available in a 'fanzine' format in the late 80's (apart from one, apparently, which appears in the second link).

Here is a selection of letters and reviews from the pen of Morrissey that appeared in various music magazines from 1974-1981:

I was beginning to fear that the online version of James Dean is Not Dead published by Babylon Books in 1983 had dissapeared into the cyber ether- but here it is:




And here is Steven's 1981 work on The New York Dolls:




I've hunted these down so that you don't have to- respect to the efforts of the original compilers, transcribers and posters and , of course, to the author himself.

15 Covers...

I've always had a thing about cover versions. Not in the Wedding Party Band sense, but in the way in which covers show that rock music is, at it's pure unadulterated heart, essentially about fandom, populism and the do it yourself ethos.
In putting together this compilation my aim was to include songs of quality covered by decent artists with a degree of originality.
1. Debaser- originally by Pixies- covered by Mother Universe.
2. Bonnie and Clyde- originally by- Serge Gainsbourg & Brigitte Bardot- covered by Luna & Lætitia Sadier
3. A Song From Under The Floorboards- originally by- Magazine -covered by Morrissey
4. Sad Dark Eyes- originally by The Loved Ones- covered by Mick Harvey
5. Head On- originally by The Jesus and Mary Chain- covered by Pixies
6. Make Me Smile- originally by Steve Harley’s Cockney Rebel- covered by The Wedding Present
7. Bigmouth Strikes Again- originally by The Smiths- covered by Placebo
8. Just Like Heaven- originally by The Cure- covered by Dinosaur Jr.
9. Ceremony- originally by New Order- covered by Galaxie 500
10. You Sexy Thing- originally by Hot Chocolate- covered by Cud
11. Leave Me Alone- originally by New Order- covered by Chappaquiddick Skyline
12. Pastime Paradise- originally by Stevie Wonder- covered by Patti Smith
13. Flowers In The Rain- originally by The Move- covered by Kaiser Chiefs
14. Hounds Of Love- originally by Kate Bush- covered by The Futureheads
15. Telegram Sam- originally by Marc Bolan & T Rex- covered by Bauhaus

This has been knocked together from many sources, so the bitrate is variable (fact)- the music is good (opinion).

ALAS! for the time being , at least, the link is dead and I never kept the songs all in one file...

Sandie Shaw- Hand In Glove/ I Don't Owe You Anything 7” (1984) Morrissey- Please Help The Cause Against Loneliness-(1988)

Sandie cut an unusual figure, and would herald a new abandoned casualness for female singers… Morrissey, Sounds 1984.

Morrissey was always a huge fan of the female pop stars of the 1960’s, and Sandie Shaw in particular.
In 1984, having being coaxed out of semi- retirement by Morrissey, Sandie recorded a cover of The Smiths debut single Hand In Glove backed by Johnny, Andy and Mike. The record sold 20,000 copies within three days of release.
Also included here are Jeane (which appeared on the 12”- this version is a bonus track on the 2004 issue of her LP Hello Angel) and a duet by Morrissey and Sandie of Please Help The Cause Against Loneliness- an outtake from Morrissey’s Viva Hate LP. The song was written by Morrissey for Sandie and her version appeared on Hello Angel (the title of which came from a postcard that Morrissey sent her).
Here are some of Sandie’s reminiscences about working with The Smiths.