RTE: "How The Smiths' Irish tour turned incendiary - Documentary On One" (August 18, 2023)

How The Smiths' Irish tour turned incendiary - Documentary On One

In November, 1984, The Smiths' lead singer Morrissey praised the IRA for an assassination attempt on Margaret Thatcher and turned their upcoming Irish tour into a political storm.
Louder Than Bombs is the story of a tour like no other.

Below, programme maker David Coughlan writes for Culture about this week’s Documentary on One production.

How The Smiths' Irish tour turned incendiary - Documentary On One

In November, 1984, The Smiths' lead singer Morrissey praised the IRA for an assassination attempt on Margaret Thatcher and turned their upcoming Irish tour into a political storm.

www.rte.ie

Written piece (with lots of historical images) to accompany the podcast - stands on its own as an article.
Worth a read.
Regards,
FWD.

---

Related item:

• "Louder Than Bombs: The Smiths in Ireland, Nov '84" - RTE 1 Radio Documentary on The Smiths' Nov. 1984 Irish tour, 2pm Sat. 19 Aug, 2023 - August 13, 2023

 

[Malarkey]

Again, you're equating support for those on hunger strike with support for the IRA. Not the same thing.
The really tragic thing about the hunger strike is that within a few years all the demands of the hunger strikers were met. So all 10 men died totally needlessly. For that reason hatred for Thatcher amongst many Irish people still burns with a passion. But that's not the same as supporting the actions of the IRA.
The IRA, along with loyalist paramilitaries of course, were responsible for killing and knee capping hundreds of mostly young men, and 'disappearing' many too. Some of their unmarked graves have never been found. Do you really think Moz would support that? Just stop now because you are seeking to smear a man who has been smeared enough.

They were literally in the IRA.

There isn't a difference.

The argument is that the British government caused all of the violence by oppressing Catholics, enabling the Loyalists & occupying Northern Ireland.

The Hunger Strike Election, June 1981

Remembering 1981 – Two H-Block prisoner TDs elected

www.anphoblacht.com

 

[Crisstti]

They were literally in the IRA.

There isn't a difference.

The argument is that the British government caused all of the violence by oppressing Catholics, enabling the Loyalists & occupying Northern Ireland.

The Hunger Strike Election, June 1981

Remembering 1981 – Two H-Block prisoner TDs elected

www.anphoblacht.com

View attachment 94530

That's a lame argument. People are responsible for their actions.

 

[TheSmiths_1985]

They were literally in the IRA.

There isn't a difference.

The argument is that the British government caused all of the violence by oppressing Catholics, enabling the Loyalists & occupying Northern Ireland.

The Hunger Strike Election, June 1981

Remembering 1981 – Two H-Block prisoner TDs elected

www.anphoblacht.com

View attachment 94530

You are the most stupid person who has ever been on this site. Telling actual Irish people about their own history like you know everything. But that’s what you do.
You genuinely think that because everyone who supports the IRA is a republican, that also means everyone who is a republican supports the IRA. To use one of your Scottish-isms; you are thick as mince.
Your bitterness towards Loyalists/Unionists/Protestants is palpable, and was especially so in your interactions with David Vance on Twitter before he had to block you.

I can’t believe you genuinely think Morrissey supports the f***ing IRA, and that you seem to love the idea that he does.

 

[goinghome]

Danny Kelly, sports and music journalist, ex-NME, took part in the documentary. Someone posted an interview with him on the Strange...thread - https://www.buzz.ie/sport/evan-ferguson-spurs-harry-kane-30740315
He recalls his Irish family's fear of retaliation after IRA attacks when living in London growing up. It's not black and white. Empire reach is still being inflicted, fought and lied about around the world, which without music, dies for sure...

 

[Malarkey]

Danny Kelly, sports and music journalist, ex-NME, took part in the documentary. Someone posted an interview with him on the Strange...thread - https://www.buzz.ie/sport/evan-ferguson-spurs-harry-kane-30740315
He recalls his Irish family's fear of retaliation after IRA attacks when living in London growing up. It's not black and white. Empire reach is still being inflicted, fought and lied about around the world, with without music, dies for sure...

I've been going through the Troops Out Movement archive. There was a lot of heavy policing that would have made them more inclined to think there was no choice but to fight back.

 

[gashonthenail]

Danny Kelly, sports and music journalist, ex-NME, took part in the documentary. Someone posted an interview with him on the Strange...thread - https://www.buzz.ie/sport/evan-ferguson-spurs-harry-kane-30740315
He recalls his Irish family's fear of retaliation after IRA attacks when living in London growing up. It's not black and white. Empire reach is still being inflicted, fought and lied about around the world, with without music, dies for sure...

The power of music to bring people together cannot be underestimated. Whether it was punk in the 1970s, or indie / alternative music in the 1980s, or rave music in the 1990s, for kids growing up in Northern Ireland it was music that gave you an escape from the madness going on around you. And for anyone with half a brain, regardless of your upbringing and your 'sympathies' to either side, you grew to hate anyone with a gun, whether it was the RUC, or the British Army. or the IRA, or the INLA, or the UDA, or the UVF, they were all the same, they were a f***er pointing a gun at your head and telling you what you do. Good Vibrations, based on the life of Terri Hooley, is an excellent film about those times that is a must see for anyone who wants to find out what it was like growing up in Northern Ireland and preferring Iggy and the Stooges to sectarianism, preferring teenage kicks to violence and cruelty.

Paramilitary punishment attacks in Northern Ireland - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[j*e*t]

The power of music to bring people together cannot be underestimated. Whether it was punk in the 1970s, or indie / alternative music in the 1980s, or rave music in the 1990s, for kids growing up in Northern Ireland it was music that gave you an escape from the madness going on around you. And for anyone with half a brain, regardless of your upbringing and your 'sympathies' to either side, you grew to hate anyone with a gun, whether it was the RUC, or the British Army. or the IRA, or the INLA, or the UDA, or the UVF, they were all the same, they were a f***er pointing a gun at your head and telling you what you do. Good Vibrations, based on the life of Terri Hooley, is an excellent film about those times that is a must see for anyone who wants to find out what it was like growing up in Northern Ireland and preferring Iggy and the Stooges to sectarianism, preferring teenage kicks to violence and cruelty.

Paramilitary punishment attacks in Northern Ireland - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

About hating anyone with a gun, what did you think of the photo of Morrissey on the front of his album You Are The Quarry?

 

[gashonthenail]

About hating anyone with a gun, what did you think of the photo of Morrissey on the front of his album You Are The Quarry?

It's the cover of an album. As album covers go, I really liked it. And made me think about this pic of The New York Dolls, not state or paramilitary violence in Northern Ireland, to which it clearly is not related.

 

[j*e*t]

It's the cover of an album. As album covers go, I really liked it. And made me think about this pic of The New York Dolls, not state or paramilitary violence in Northern Ireland, to which it clearly is not related.

View attachment 94543

Yes, that's how I see it - dressing up as a type from history. I've just been watching this 2019 series about the Troubles on YouTube. This episode covers the Brighton bombing and details how the IRA got their guns and explosives generally. A close relative of mine worked as a receptionist in a prestigious hotel at that time. I guess you were never really safe anywhere, but working in a hotel that was right next door to the American embassy in London was probably as safe as it got!

 

[goinghome]

I've been going through the Troops Out Movement archive. There was a lot of heavy policing that would have made them more inclined to think there was no choice but to fight back.

View attachment 94532

You're discovering some really significant material, Malarkey. Re. Dick Gregory, the article mentions civil rights several times, and others becoming involved, such as the Berrigan brothers, known for their life-long non-violent resistance to war and other wrongs.

It was how Bobby Sands and his mates on hunger strike was let callously die that moved people.; an injustice more complex than physical violence, but just as bad, in Johan Galtung's theory of conflict that has three interacting dimensions: direct violence (e.g war); structural violence, also called social injustice, perpetuated by influential institutions, systems, and policies (tick); and cultural violence, about attitudes or beliefs used to legitimise direct and structural violence (tick).

The power of music to bring people together cannot be underestimated. Whether it was punk in the 1970s, or indie / alternative music in the 1980s, or rave music in the 1990s, for kids growing up in Northern Ireland it was music that gave you an escape from the madness going on around you. And for anyone with half a brain, regardless of your upbringing and your 'sympathies' to either side, you grew to hate anyone with a gun, whether it was the RUC, or the British Army. or the IRA, or the INLA, or the UDA, or the UVF, they were all the same, they were a f***er pointing a gun at your head and telling you what you do. Good Vibrations, based on the life of Terri Hooley, is an excellent film about those times that is a must see for anyone who wants to find out what it was like growing up in Northern Ireland and preferring Iggy and the Stooges to sectarianism, preferring teenage kicks to violence and cruelty.

Paramilitary punishment attacks in Northern Ireland - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

The Undertones from Derry grew up in the thick of it, and were key to that film. But during their Top of the Pops appearing in 1981, just after Sands died, you can see guitarist John O' Neill wearing a black arm-band in solidarity and in protest -

About hating anyone with a gun, what did you think of the photo of Morrissey on the front of his album You Are The Quarry?

Some countries didn't allow the gun on the cover. It was cropped out. There's a thread still up suggesting that Morrissey was imitating a Tony Blair pose? -

The gun on the cover of You are the Quarry

Around the time of Meltdown, I saw promotions for a book on Tony Blair on the walls of the underground. Blair was in the same pose as Morrissey is on the cover of You are the quarry. Now I can't remember from where but at the time. I was told or read that the picture of Blair on that cover, was...

www.morrissey-solo.com

 

[gashonthenail]

The Undertones from Derry grew up in the thick of it, and were key to that film. But during their Top of the Pops appearing in 1981, just after Sands died, you can see guitarist John O' Neill wearing a black arm-band in solidarity and in protest -

Yes, the (needless) death of the hunger strikers was cruel and heartless and produced sympathy and anger all around the world. As did the death of Terrence McSwiney in 1920, often cited as an inspiration for Gandhi and his use of the hunger strike as a non-violent means of protest against the British Empire. The death of the 10 men on hunger strike almost certainly extended 'the troubles' by another decade, resulting in thousands more dead, and many in Ireland will never forgive Thatcher for that. The hunger strikes were the best recruiting sergeant the IRA ever had. The 5-part BBC series on Thatcher made back in 2019 didn't even mention the hunger strikes. BBC scum indeed.

In Europe, there were widespread protests after Sands's death. 5,000 Milanese students burned the Union Flag and chanted "Freedom for Ulster" during a march. The British Consulate at Ghent was raided...The Iranian government renamed Winston Churchill Boulevard, the location of the Embassy of the United Kingdom in Tehran, to Bobby Sands Street, prompting the embassy to move its entrance door to Ferdowsi street to avoid using Bobby Sands Street on its letterhead.

Bobby Sands - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[stealth144]

Finally RTE does something to try to justify the waste-of-money TV/Radio licence fee.

Have you a mp3 file that you could send me asci cannt seem to be able to find a downloadable podcast unless you can point me in that direction

 

[Famous when dead]

Have you a mp3 file that you could send me asci cannt seem to be able to find a downloadable podcast unless you can point me in that direction

Post in thread '"Louder Than Bombs: The Smiths in Ireland, Nov '84" - RTE 1 Radio Documentary on The Smiths' Nov. 1984 Irish tour, 2pm Sat. 19 Aug, 2023'
https://www.morrissey-solo.com/thre...ur-2pm-sat-19-aug-2023.151354/post-1987540544
FWD.

 

[goinghome]

Yes, the (needless) death of the hunger strikers was cruel and heartless and produced sympathy and anger all around the world. As did the death of Terrence McSwiney in 1920, often cited as an inspiration for Gandhi and his use of the hunger strike as a non-violent means of protest against the British Empire. The death of the 10 men on hunger strike almost certainly extended 'the troubles' by another decade, resulting in thousands more dead, and many in Ireland will never forgive Thatcher for that. The hunger strikes were the best recruiting sergeant the IRA ever had. The 5-part BBC series on Thatcher made back in 2019 didn't even mention the hunger strikes. BBC scum indeed.

In Europe, there were widespread protests after Sands's death. 5,000 Milanese students burned the Union Flag and chanted "Freedom for Ulster" during a march. The British Consulate at Ghent was raided...The Iranian government renamed Winston Churchill Boulevard, the location of the Embassy of the United Kingdom in Tehran, to Bobby Sands Street, prompting the embassy to move its entrance door to Ferdowsi street to avoid using Bobby Sands Street on its letterhead.

Bobby Sands - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

I wasn't aware of the international protests, but I suppose people still gather at embassies when injustices are carried out. And that sure hasn't stopped. The likes of the Gitmo set-up gives no rights to the detained, and includes measures to prevent public access to information. Too many horrors still going on.

Terence MacSwiney is indeed still revered in Cork where he was the elected city mayor at the time. That republicans approached The Smiths before their Donegal appearance asking to say a few words on stage, but were refused, again shows less than full endorsement.

The Cork show got probably least air-time in the documentary, and the band reception was quite mixed by the sounds of it. A hail of spit doesn't sound very nice! Morrissey is heard changing words in a line of 'Am I Still Ill' to 'Ireland is mine'.

Johnny Marr remarked that his family was not only steeped in music but his father was actively involved in recruiting Irish bands to play in England, which must have been good experience for an aspiring rocker

 

[stealth144]

Does anyone have a mp3 of the

RTE: "How The Smiths' Irish tour turned incendiary - Documentary On One"​

 

[Famous when dead]

Does anyone have a mp3 of the

RTE: "How The Smiths' Irish tour turned incendiary - Documentary On One"​

This was reposted again for yourself on August 26th - it is now expired.
I will sort when I have time.
FWD.

 

[goinghome]

The Wolfe Tones tip into grisly sectarianism & tour around stirring up old hatreds...

This was the first year since the festival started in 2004 that the Wolfe Tones were invited to play at Electric Picnic, on a side stage. The veteran rebel balladeers, on the road for 50 years, whose songs were often banned and remain controversial and sometimes disruptive, drew over 50,000 people to their show yesterday, which breaks the record for biggest audience ever since the festival started 19 years ago! There's a hunger for - something.
https://www.dublinlive.ie/whats-on/wolfe-tones-bring-biggest-crowd-27648203

 

[Malarkey]

This was the first year since the festival started in 2004 that the Wolfe Tones were invited to play at Electric Picnic, on a side stage. The veteran rebel balladeers, on the road for 50 years, whose songs were often banned and remain controversial and sometimes disruptive, drew over 50,000 people to their show yesterday, which breaks the record for biggest audience ever since the festival started 19 years ago! There's a hunger for - something.
https://www.dublinlive.ie/whats-on/wolfe-tones-bring-biggest-crowd-27648203

Rebel songs are popular. I don't mind them in small doses but then I think, Jesus, we're still banging on about this?

 

[goinghome]

Yesterday, on the 37th anniversary of the conversation, a radio interview was uploaded, which was conducted for Irish broadcaster RTE by Dave Fanning with Morrissey on 11 February 1987, when they discussed the future of the Smiths and the legal battle with Rough Trade, amongst other things. If I'm not mistaken, parts feature in the 2023 documentary.