Morrissey A-Z: "Cosmic Dancer"

The success of this recording mirrors the success of the 1991 tours as it is all about Morrissey and the crowd. The musicians were very limited at this stage and the acoustic backing is barely adequate here.

Thankfully Morrissey had become a fine live singer at this point and his voice carries the track.

In the poll on the Hoffman board it ranked 199 from 264 solo songs.
 
Mesmerising vocals; the guitar is a mess.
 
The success of this recording mirrors the success of the 1991 tours as it is all about Morrissey and the crowd. The musicians were very limited at this stage and the acoustic backing is barely adequate here.

Thankfully Morrissey had become a fine live singer at this point and his voice carries the track.

In the poll on the Hoffman board it ranked 199 from 264 solo songs.
What is the Hoffman board poll?
 
"I'm your cosmic dancer, a dancer for money
I'll do what you want me to do
I'm your cosmic dancer, a dancer for money
And any old music will do..."
Lol :thumb:
 
Yeah Entertainment is a good one, how ‘bout Skin Storm? not bad too.

I feel that Morrissey covered Cosmic Dancer for personal reasons without
caring really what fans or anyone thinks about it or wants to hear (which usually is the case).

It is his gift to us, a little peak into his heart showing us what he loves and what/who he’s made up of, and why he’s on the stage at all.


‘I was dancing when I was twelve ..’

:)
Yeah, skin storm is a lovely cover too, the other great one of his early years.

Morrissey has always been eager to share his artistic influences with us, his live covers being one channel.
I am sure that he has his reasons for picking a particular song from one of his favorite artists at a particular time.
It would be nice to know more about the particular choices.

Wasn't T-Rex one of the first records he bought?
 
This is one of those songs that I adored when I was younger but doesn't possess much replay value for me now. I probably wore it the f*** out 20 years ago when I was playing it constantly.
 
Maybe? Or was it Marianne Faithfull’s Come stay with me? or did his mother buy that for him?

where is @GirlAfraidWillNeverLearn today? she knows all this. We are lost without her :(
You're right about Marianne. T Rex was his first concert though. He was 13. He recalled being dropped off by his father.

"I think he thought I’d be killed and he waved me off like it was the last time he’d ever see me alive. It must have been like losing your child to a deadly cult and maybe that’s exactly how it was … it was the turning of at least eight corners.’
‘It was incredible, because people literally were breaking their necks against the stage. Really extreme. And a memory to cherish.
"

Think it's not unreasonable to say that few artists had as profound an influence on him as Bolan.

(Jeepster was also the first record Johnny bought.)

Always thought it was fairly obvious why he chose this song in particular.
 
Found this via an old Boz Q&A circa early 2002:

"Who's idea was it for the T.Rex song on the "Kill Uncle tour" and why Cosmic dancer? Anymore in the pipeline ?
ian t.


"During rehearsals for the first tour Moz bought the Born To Boogie video and we watched it a few times. The idea was Morrissey's and it was natural to do it as we liked the acoustic live version off of the film, hadn't really thought of doing anymore although I did Telegram Sam at an acoustic show on Sunday, just an acoustic and piano, that was quite fun"


Which is worth documenting here.
FWD.
 
Found this via an old Boz Q&A circa early 2002:

"Who's idea was it for the T.Rex song on the "Kill Uncle tour" and why Cosmic dancer? Anymore in the pipeline ?
ian t.


"During rehearsals for the first tour Moz bought the Born To Boogie video and we watched it a few times. The idea was Morrissey's and it was natural to do it as we liked the acoustic live version off of the film, hadn't really thought of doing anymore although I did Telegram Sam at an acoustic show on Sunday, just an acoustic and piano, that was quite fun"


Which is worth documenting here.
FWD.
Anything else good in that Q&A?
 
Anything else good in that Q&A?
Hey Boz.
I just want to say that the Polecats are one of my all time favorite bands,
and that your guitar playing has influenced me greatly. One of my favorite
Polecats songs is "Headless Horseman" and i just wanted to ask you what
the chords are for that song. I would love to cover it someday. Anyway, I hope to see you live sometime soon. Take care.

"hi, it was one of the later polecats songs , the intro is based around
G7-C
E7-Am
then the verse is C Am C Am and then maybe Dm E Dm E
the chorus is C -G Am -E C-G E7 Am
something like that, we never played it live, it was a long time ago!"

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Whats your best song you ever wrote? And what is you favorite song to
perform live and will you be playing it at the shows in L.A.?
I love you Boz you rock,
Lisa

"I suppose Moz-wise it would be Jack The Ripper, Now My Heart Is Full,
The More You Ignore Me , Polecat-wise Marie Celeste, solo-wise Save Me A Stool At The Bar, all of which have at some time been played by me during a solo show"

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How did your nickname Boz come about? And who, if not yourself, gave you such a moniker?

"Nick Cregor at school when I was 10 , if I had any sandwiches left in
my lunch box the vultures would pounce and he made the name up whilst
trying to liberate a cheese roll out of my lunchbox. It was actually bozzy boy but it quickly got abrieviated to Bozzy, then Boz"

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Can you list any current rockabilly bands that are on the top of your
list to keep an eye and an ear out for?
Enquiring minds want to know. Thanks and I'll be seeing you at the gigs.
Carry on!
Cheers...Doug

"loads of great bands in the States like Lloyd Tripp's band, Sweden has Jack Baymore. Haven't really been out to see any new bands but I'll be at the Rockabilly Rave in a few weeks and I'm sure there'll be a couple there"

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Who's idea was it for the T.Rex song on the "Kill Uncle tour" and why Cosmic dancer? Anymore in the pipeline ?
ian t.

"During rehearsals for the first tour Moz bought the Born To Boogie
video and we watched it a few times. The idea was Morrissey's and it was
natural to do it as we liked the acoustic live version off of the film, hadn't
really thought of doing anymore although I did Telegram Sam at an acoustic show on Sunday, just an acoustic and piano, that was quite fun"

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Its been several years now since there has been any fresh material, when do you think that a new album will be coming out? (approximately) Also what direction will the band's sound be going in?
ian tivendale

"very hard to say even approximately, there is no record deal , and the sound tends to take it's own direction while we're doing it. Southpaw
started off very acoustic , ended up quite progressive"

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Favorite T-Rex song?

"Get It On, the first I bought"

--------------------------------------------------------
How did you meet your wife?

"She started coming to Polecat gigs and it went from there!"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Boz,
First of all, I want to express how much of an influence you have been
on my life as a musician/guitar player, I can't wait to see you in LA. My
question is: Do you as a writer, ever get writer's block and if so, how do you
overcome it?

"yes I think that's quite common, I'll change the surroundings or try
writing on a different instrument or listen to some very varied kind of music,
that kind of thing , usually does the trick"

PS: My Fiance and I are going to name our first two children Martin and
Lynn.....God Bless!! :o)

"I hope they're both boys!"

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Who would you consider to be the best guitarist alive today(excluding
yourself)?
thanks,
richard

"very difficult , can't really answer, greatest innovator , probably
Les Paul, greatest technical player for me? dunno!"

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Favorite city to perfom in?
eric t.

"LA, New York , Tokyo"

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Hello Boz.
You're the best. You played here in Estadio Chile, with Morrissey about 2 years ago, and it was very nice. Would you come someday again? (alone or with the bands you're playing),

"I'd love to , I enjoyed South America very much , The kids in Chile
were great, very appreciative, and knowledgable about their music"

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Can you tell me about your gear?
Well, i hope you stay well and rocking around a lot this year.
Bye
Felipe (Phillip)

"have a few Fender Telecasters, A nice Martin acoustic , a lot of
pedals , some Boss some vintage , I used to have loads but I had to many to use, my most favourite is the Muton micro 5 filter"

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Favorite current rockabilly band?
Johnny J.

"have to be the Folsom 4 or Sonny George , but I am very biased!"

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Hello boz Dave Pearson here,
Any chance of you coming to Minneapolis to do a show?

"well The Polecats are playing Greenbay in July , the 9th I believe,
and I looked on the map, you're not too far. Considered Minneapolis as I have stayed there a few times and drank in the Brits bar, but don't really
know anyone there to hook up a show"

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Hallo!
Although becoming a fan of Boz through his work with Moz, I was
wondering if Boz has plans to in the future on performing on the traditional UK festival circuit? Glastonbury is back this year and I think Boz would be a big hit, possibly on the Acoustic stage with its intimate environment or maybe at a smaller festival such as Bracknell festival the following week.
What do ya reckon?

"It never even crossed my mind , could be quite fun though"

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Who would you like to play you in a movie about your life?
Jesse T.

"no! I'm sure Tim Roth could play it with more conviction!"

--------------------------------------------------------
Hello, could someone please tell me if Boz will be playing with the Delta's
this april 6th 2002?

"yes , in Hamburg"

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What has been your favourite recording session?
Cheers
Garrett

"Vauxhall And I session"

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When can we book John's Children in Los Angeles? =P
Frank & Larry

"when you send me the Airfares!"

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What bands do
you listen to(non-rockabilly)? Who are your favs?
Love Monica

"3 main new Cds on my hi-fi are White Stripes , The Hives and The
Strokes"

--------------------------------------------------------
Do you have any solo material coming out soon?
Oscar

"no I have thought about it, couldn't really decide what sort of thing
to do"

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As a musician myself, I was wondering what aspect of your job do you
find most fulfilling. Recording in the studio? Playing shows? Writing?
Kindest regards,
Sara

"engineering in the studio seems to be my forte although I love touring
seeing new places , new people ... It's fun recording specially with Moz as we get the most time to try things out"

p.s. any advise for an upcoming band would be a great help.

"don't remix your demo too many times, don't skip rehearsal too many
times!"

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will boz be playing with anybody at Viva Las Vegas?
Danny Magana

"yes i'll be guesting with the folsom four , lyn's on double bass ,
we're downstairs sat nite around 12.30"

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hi boz,
i'm a beginning guitarist trying to figure out how to start writing songs
now that i can play my instrument all right- i'm a great fan of your
playing and songwriting and was wondering how you start about writing a new song. Do you come up with some nice chords first, or a melody, or is it
different each time?
thanks, and stay wonderful!

"hi , it's always different but a lot of times it comes from stringing a few
chords together , then a melody will come and as the melody flows so
you'll change the chords to fit under it"

cheers
boz
 
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