Just got word that "The Bed Took Fire" (Morrissey/Stephen Street MAY '91), an unreleased early version of "At Amber" is circulating on Napster. From what I understand, it is indeed real. I think this is the first time (and hopefully not the last time) an unreleased song has been made available via Napster.

• Related item: Unreleased Morrissey - '90 - '93 - Nov. 18, 1997

TrblLuvsMe sends:

The Dayton Daily News, December 29, 2000
SEEN & OVERHEARD

THE OTHER TIME HOOTIE SHOCKED ANYONE WAS WHEN THE BAND ACTUALLY SOLD RECORDS.

Can Hootie be hip? Let's not get silly. Still, the new album by the habitually safe band Hootie and the Blowfish dares to include a remake of the Smiths song Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want . For many who know it, the original can belong to no one except the Smiths' mopey singer Morrissey, whose every pen stroke seemed to touch many a hipster who ever wore black in the 1980s. Still, before concluding that the Hootie unit has wide-ranging tastes, know that the group (in the CD's liner notes) calls Please, Please, Please . . . 'one of two Smiths songs that the band liked.' Only two? C'mon, Hootie. This is the closest the modest band's liner notes come to a put-down. The Smiths had an amazing and prolific run in the mid-'80s. Luckily (or maybe not, depending on your point of view), the Blowfish's version turned out all right. It is 20 times better than Wilson Phillips' attempt of Hotel California.

- Bob Underwood

• Related item: Hootie in the press re: their Smiths cover - Nov. 7, 2000

Dan Butt writes:

The Christmas issue of NME has an interview with Tim Burgess of the Charlatans, which, while discussing his new life in L.A., notes that "last week enjoyed a drink with Morrissey". That said, he goes on to claim he prefers New Order to the Smiths...

TrblLuvsMe sends:

Chicago Tribune, December 29, 2000
KUDOS TO THOSE WHO LIT UP THE YEAR'S CONCERT SCENE
By Greg Kot, Tribune Rock Critic.

After stepping out to 200 shows last year and experiencing countless magical moments on the concert scene, it's time to hand out a few awards:

[snip]
Saddest spectacle: The once charismatic Morrissey, now without a record label and apparently feeling more unloved than ever, going through the motions at the Chicago Theatre.
[end snip]

Related items:
• Chicago Daily Herald picks Moz show as one of the best in 2000 - Dec. 28, 2000
• "Fading Fame Aside, Morrissey Still Has His Faithful Followers", Chicago Tribune (Feb. 13) - Feb. 15, 2000
• Chicago Tribune - review of Aragon/Riveira by Greg Kot - Sept. 1997

mozsing writes: Just got a copy of Q's Feb issue. The theme is: "The Year on Drugs" -- features a very colourful front cover design (you can't miss it).

Anyhoo, Moz/Smiths are featured on pgs 44 and 45 in the "Eyewitness" section. The headliner reads, "31 January 1984 - 20 March 1984: The Smiths' First UK Tour". It features blow-by-blow accounts by Johnny Marr, Geoff Travis, and Sandie Shaw (to name a few). Morrissey does not contribute. It's hardly surprising considering that his favourite people - Johnny Rogan, Mick Middles and John Robertson - compiled the article.

There are 6 B&W pictures of Moz, 4 of them previously published elsewhere - the other two I haven't seen before. There's one of Moz scratching his head looking quizically at the camera. I don't have a scanner so hopefully someone else will supply the Q photos to this website.
---
L'Estrange also writes: The latest issue of Q magazine features (page 44) a two page spread on the first tour. It tells the story of the first tour in quotes from promoters, Johnny Marr & Grant Showbiz etc. Rourke's heroin problem, Morrissey's illness (seemingly genuine this time!) and Johnny's near electrocution at Reading University are all dealt with in the feature.

Dan Butt writes: The excellent Schneider TM cover of "There is a Light That Never Goes Out" came in at a very respectable 8th place in the annual Festive Fifty listeners' poll on the John Peel show on Radio 1.

sleeper also writes: Here is a scan of the Select (Jan 01) article mentioning the Schneider TM cover.

• Related item: Schneider TM - "The Light 3000" - Nov. 7, 2000