Morrissey's "UNHAPPY BIRTHDAY BASH"

Saturday May 22.1999, 8:00 p.m.

Unite and take over at the
MIND BOMB
12 King St., St. Catharines, Ontario
(905)688-8397

D.J. - Videos - Patio

*****Contact moz worshipper at [email protected] for more info/directions or contact the site "Wide to Receive"

Celebrate his "Happy" 40th Birthday

Friday, May 21st, 1999
at The Blarney Stone
5701 Geary Blvd. (21st Avenue)
9:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m.

Free for all those brave enough to wear a Morrissey / Smiths T-shirt!

(flyer)

Another Moz night. But a Moz night in Manchester!!!!

It's at The Star & Garter, Manchester, England. They do a few every year, but this one might be a bit full, I 'FINK'

UPDATE 5/10: date of event is May 21, not May 22.

The third annual Offbeat Morrissey / Smiths Special

Friday 14th May,
Raynor Lounge, Sheffield Uni SU
9pm-1am
£2.50

Playing lots of Morrissey / Smiths (approx 15 tracks) plus the usual Offbeat mix of Classic Indie, C86, New-indiepop-underground, and PunkPop 1977-99...

For further info' check out the Offbeat website:
"http://www.shef.ac.uk/~offbeat/"

Just read this at Yahoo News (I remember Morrissey talking of Dirk Bogarde sitting in his kitchen and having tea and Morrissey being delighted about it):

British Film Legend Dirk Bogarde Dies At 78

By Paul Majendie

LONDON (Reuters) - Dirk Bogarde, the British matinee idol who went on to win international acclaim with classic roles in films like ``Death in Venice,'' died of a heart attack Saturday at the age of 78, his family said.

Bogarde was also a prolific writer with seven volumes of autobiography and seven novels all becoming best-sellers.

He suffered the heart attack at his London home. ``He was extremely happy and looking forward to events like his 80th birthday and many plans for the future,'' said his nephew, Brock van den Bogaerde.

Queen Elizabeth, who knighted Bogarde in 1992, said she was saddened by the news of his death.

Dual Oscar winner Glenda Jackson called Bogarde ``our first home-grown film star.'' Director Michael Winner called him ``the Leonardo DiCaprio of his day.''

Bogarde had 60 films to his credit -- but still only joined the profession by chance and was never enamoured of Hollywood.

Going to the wrong room for a British Broadcasting Corporation audition, the young Bogarde accidentally got a part in a stage play that proved so successful he was hailed as a star overnight.

He became one of the few British actors to achieve truly international standing with notable films such as ``The Victim,'' ``The Servant'' and ``Death in Venice.''

But he once confessed he did not like acting very much -- ''I never have. It made me money.''

He moved to Europe in the late 1960s, when he saw his career path lay in the sort of films being produced in Italy, France and Germany, rather than England or America. He lived in France some 20 years, thus fulfilling a childhood ambition.

Only when his close friend and manager Tony Forwood became seriously ill in 1986 and had to be near a hospital did Bogarde give up his French domicile.

Bogarde also forged a successful second career as an author.

``That's because of my name and all the blue-haired ladies,'' he said in 1992, alluding to the female fans of his matinee idol days in the 50s.

Born Derek van den Bogaerde in the north London suburb of Hampstead to an actress mother and an artist father, he went to university in London and Scotland. He made his stage debut in 1939.

Returning from his wartime military service, mainly in army intelligence in the Far East, several smaller stage and television roles earned him a contract with the Rank Organization, the British film production firm, which was grooming promising actors.

With the help of his Latin lover looks and boyish charm, Bogarde quickly became a reliable box office attraction.

Starring in more than 30 films between 1947 and 1961, he spanned the whole range from comedy to war and crime movies.

Then followed a brief and unhappy spell at Hollywood in the 60s, the basis for his novel ``West of Sunset,'' a biting satire on the society he hated so much. He shot a couple of movies there, including a biopic of composer Franz Liszt, practicing the piano until his fingers bled to perform the part.

His talent and ambition began to extend beyond solid routine craftsmanship as he performed more demanding roles, claiming: ''I'm art house, not box office.''

He played a homosexual barrister in ``The Victim,'' the first British movie to deal with the problems of homosexual men in public life and alienated the fans of his matinee idol days.

Internationally, Bogarde established his reputation as a leading interpretative actor after starting to work independently in the early 1960s, in a long-standing cooperation with director Joseph Losey.

He won the British Academy's prestigious Best British Actor Award for his Mephistophelean rendition of the title role in Losey's screening of Harold Pinter's play ``The Servant.''

After a busy life of almost uninterrupted filming he took up residence in a 15th century farmhouse in Southern France, turning to farming and writing.

Receiving no more attractive film offers from Britain, he occasionally starred under top European directors such as Luchino Visconti, Alain Resnais and Rainer Werner Fassbinder.

In Visconti's 1973 adaptation of ``Death in Venice,'' a Thomas Mann short story, Bogarde superbly displayed his particular acting style with a searingly honest portrayal of loneliness.

``I didn't think I could do any better,'' he said later, of his all but silent interpretation of a dying elderly composer enchanted by a handsome teenage boy.

Despite admitting to growing fatigue, he came out of semi-retirement in 1990 to film ``Daddy Nostalgie,'' the tragic story of a girl watching her father die, for French director Bertrand Tavernier.

Bogarde, who moved to London in his later years, said he would like his ashes scattered in France.

I had the chance to meet Stefan Olsdal from Placebo after a concert, and asked him if they ever play their cover version of "Bigmouth Strikes Again" live. He said that they couldn't, as he had played all the instruments (except for drums) on the track and to play it live they'd need extra musicians onstage.

He also mentioned having replaced Morrissey on the Bowie tour, and the fact that although he'd never met Moz he said: "I've heard he's a weird guy, he left everything to go home to his mum."

He also mentioned that they may be doing another Smiths cover for a French Magazine. He tried to remember which one they were doing but couldn't remember because he had a terrible head cold and was drugged up on antibiotics.

Successful English band "The Beautiful South" (spawned from '80s band "The Housemartins," which also featured Fatboy Slim's Norman Cook) has a new biography written by Mike Pattenden which mentions Morrissey on a couple of pages. About their song "Hidden Jukebox," it states:

"...a paean to tolerance and anti-fascism which made a good point a little clumsily. The track was partly inspired by the fallout from solo Morrissey numbers like 'Bengali In Platforms' and 'Asian Rut' which cast a shadow over the singer's position regarding race issues which he refused to clarify. It originally closed with the gentle refrain, adulterated from The Smiths' 'Girlfriend In A Coma'-'skinhead in a coma, let's hope it's serious'. Unsurprisingly it couldn't be cleared and was edited out..."

A few pages later...

"Challenged about its mature view of life, Paul simply pointed out, 'I've got the mind and body of a 30-year-old so I write thirtysomething lyrics.' He had been a great admirer of Morrissey's writing until the dubious sentiments of his solo career, and 'Worthless Lie' is definitely reminiscent of the former Smiths singer and lyricist, with one caveat - its refusal to wallow in the cliches of teen angst.

'An ambulance flashed passed me in the street
just yards from where we were to meet
I was half hoping you were dead meat
That it was you that was under the sheet

And as you lay there alone in the ward
Fumbling for the keys to death's door
At least I'd have summoned up the nerve
To whisper you these words
Finally. Quietly! Actually!
I love you.'

The morbidness and lovelorn melodrama are pure Morrissey, recalling the sublime 'There Is A Light That Never Goes Out', in particular its line 'to die by your side, the pleasure the privilege is mine'. However, 'Worthless Lie' features three words that Morrissey was never able to commit himself to. Emotionally hamstrung, the Mancunian's laments never declare 'I love you'. His tattooed lads and desperate shop girls experience desire, longing, but never constancy. They meet only fleetingly, if they meet at all."

In the May SELECT, there is a cover story entitled: "Belle and Sebastian: Inside the Bizarre Cult of the New Smiths"... The article features tons and tons of great photos, scans of pins and flyers, interviews with fans and DJ's, and focuses on the relationship of B&S fans in the 90's, their goals and hopes, and those of Smiths fans of the 80's... a very interesting read. Also here are a few references I found funny:

Above a photograph of the charming Isobel Campbell, there is a line that reads: "Some girls are bigger than others: B&S cellist/singer and Gentle Waver, Isobel Campbell."

(The Gentle Waves is her new side project, though not at all like Stuart's "Looper"!)

According to a poll being conducted on the Dotmusic website, "Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others" contains some of the worst lyrics ever. See details at this URL.

'Some girls are bigger than others, some girls are bigger than others, some girls' mothers are bigger than other girls' mothers..' - The Smiths

Found this on the May issue of Uncut. there's a pretty long feature on Suede and Brett Anderson talks about Moz:

..."I had a bit of a run-in with him; it turned a bit nasty. I kind of slagged him off in The Face. It was a very confusing time. I was doing too much press and not really thinking straight, and I ended up slagging the guy off and regretting it, and he got narky. He decided he hated us after covering one of our songs!"

Anderson received a viperous lash from Morrissey's tongue - "He seems like a deeply boring young man with Mr. Kipling crumbs in his bed; he'll never forgive God for not making him Angie Bowie" - but later, at the Q awards, they appeared to kiss and make up. "It all got straightened out in the end," Brett confirms. "And I can still listen to a Smiths record and think it's fucking brilliant"

Morrissey's name pops up a few more times in the article (i.e. attending one of Suede's first performances and jotting down the lyrics to "My Insatiable One") and even Mike Joyce's short involvement with Suede is brought up:

...Mike Joyce picks up the story "I was flicking through Melody Maker, and there was this ad saying: 'Influences: Smiths', and I thought 'There can't be any more Smiths-influenced drummer than me!' I sent a tape and said where I lived, but I didn't say who I was. I think they were a bit suspicious when I said, 'Distance has never been a problem before, I've been around the world, it's part of the job.' When I finally said I was in The Smiths, there was a deafening silence."

I'd recommend the feature to new fans of Suede and long time 'drowners'.

Sloan, one of Canada's top pop/rock bands, recently released a double live album, 4 Nights at the Palais Royale. In the liner notes, they talk a little about each of the songs:

KEEP ON THINKIN':
Chris: This potboiler is in the trilogy of songs from Navy Blues that are too high for me to sing. True to form, I can barely make my way through this version either. I wanted Jay to take an acoustic guitar and a capo on tour for this song. I got the capo but I assumed he didn't like the look of himself with an acoustic because we never brought one (and maybe there are no pictures of Johnny Marr with one). In the end, he wouldn't mind using one, we just never bought one.

It's interesting to see just how far reaching the Smiths' influence has been on today's pop/rock groups.

The long-awaited "My Favorite" CD was released this week on Cambridge's own Double-Agent Records here in MA.

Aside from every song being a total gem, magical to say the least, the song "Working Class Jacket" seems to have been re-worded from the 7" version with the lyrics: "alone at school she sits and dreams of Johnny Marr and Morrissey"

Here's something I meant to post ages ago and completely forgot about.

There's a new sitcom on BBC2 Wales (it doesn't get better than that) about a crappy local radio station, and the programme is called 'Hang The DJ'. I kid you not.

I'm looking for a publisher who might be interested in my book.

The books called THE MALE PAUSED.

It's set in contemporary Britain, well early '90's and is a black comedy that involves a circle of friends who are loosely connected by the close friendship of one man, Shaney Sadler.

Shaney begins to crack under the weight of a mid-twenty something lifestyle, whose cultural diet of sexual experimentation, working-class morality and the songs of The Smiths, finally bring him under scrutiny by his own sensitivity, and he starts to search through the splinters of his existence and identity.

The burden of lust, broken hearts and a quest for immortality via fame, awakes Shaney's sense of displacement, forcing him to pause and examine, looking back on how 1980's British culture shaped his gay teenage identity.

I hope some of your Moz readers maybe able to help.

Thanks, John Nevin.