Morrissey Central "STEVE WRIGHT, RIP" (February 13, 2024)

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"Steve Wright, Annie Nightingale, Janice Long, John Peel … a generation gone. I once bumped into Steve outside Woolworths in Henley-on-Thames. He said "what the hell are YOU doing here?" and I replied "precisely." During an interview he edited out diarist when I mis-pronounced it as diary-ist … he resisted the perfect opportunity to make fun of me. He played 'I Have Forgiven Jesus' and 'That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore' when no other radio DJ would. Great minds play the music, small minds block the music. But it's too late for compliments now. Appreciating the living is still a ludicrous concept for most people, alas. "

MORRISSEY 13 February 2024.



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He was young and a lot of what he said was a wind-up.....it's called maturing.

Maybe he was more mature when he was a critical puritan who hated "zany" disc jockeys. Sometimes people lose their mature stance. Like the Dylan song goes, "ah but I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now."
 
In my first job, I was a painter and decorator, painting wooden show-home signs, in a freezing cold run-down shed in winter. The radio and radio 1 in particular, was my only friend. His show in the afternoon kept me sane and provided many a giggle. Thanks for the fun Steve.
Those were the days
I also started life as a painter and decorator, well I baby and a child first .but when I left school I was a painter and decorator
I miss those days with a passion
 
Sad when anyone passes of course.

BUT…

I lived the 80’s in Britain and Steve Wright show was the antithesis of John Peel and Janice Long - it was 98% banal Muzak of that era with talkovers and poor humour from him and his hangers on in the studio. It was a show you heard in garages or on engineering shop floors, aimed at Sun newspaper readers and those who were poorly educated.

Sorry but that’s how it was.

No offence to him, probably a nice chap etc but his output was banal and anti most of the things that were progressive in that era.

Moz changes with the wind, he wore a T-shirt with Wright on it with his hands in his ears at the time, seemed to actively dislike him in 80’s
Yes you are right. I was in my 20s in the early 80s and Steve Wright in the afternoon was anti Smiths world in many ways and yes M seemed to dislike him at the time SW was one of the “ dreaded Djs “ that panic was written about
M did wear a Tee with him on with rope around his neck . I think

I remember the interview M did with him around Quarry or ROT and M pretended he never had an issue with him in anyway
when you are a teen and into the smiths
In the 80s m seems very principled at first , you soon learned he changed his mind depending on his needs
 
Sad when anyone passes of course.

BUT…

I lived the 80’s in Britain and Steve Wright show was the antithesis of John Peel and Janice Long - it was 98% banal Muzak of that era with talkovers and poor humour from him and his hangers on in the studio. It was a show you heard in garages or on engineering shop floors, aimed at Sun newspaper readers and those who were poorly educated.

Sorry but that’s how it was.

No offence to him, probably a nice chap etc but his output was banal and anti most of the things that were progressive in that era.

Moz changes with the wind, he wore a T-shirt with Wright on it with his hands in his ears at the time, seemed to actively dislike him in 80’s.
This is the truth. The Steve Wright BBC Radio 1 shows had awful music and horrible presentation. I have recently leapt across the the kitchen on a Sunday morning to save myself from hearing the banalties on radio 2. It seems that Morrissey simply now likes anyone who plays his tunes. Seems a bit desperate really.
 
And while I agree re Morrissey pretty much liking anyone who plays his records, I get the impression that pretty much everybody who ever *met* Steve Wright in person genuinely liked the guy, and that his slightly wacky radio persona was...a persona.

I remember him playing Momus' "Hairstyle of the Devil" way back when, and he was a massive fan of Stewart Lee - which always, for me, suggests someone more interesting.
 
This is why Moz posted something about Steve Wright. Because he was shafted by the BBC. And now the BBC is talking about how great he was.


That's how it'll always go. I know when Morrissey parishes he will be glorified by all the media outlets and people that have talked about how "crappy" he was while he's alive. That's the usual rhetoric. It always annoyed me, it comes off as fake.

They can never taint you in my eyes...
 
I believe the phrase is 'morning zoo' style of radio presenting. Not to everyone's tastes. God, Steve Wright's style was corny as hell in many ways, with a very 'pop' style that pleased the masses. His mentor starting off apparently was Kenny Everett. He became one of the most highly paid personalities at the BBC at the height of his success. He accepted a pay cut in more recent times to reduce the gap between himself and other female presenters. But because his show was listened to by millions, everyone wanted to get their records played on his show. Of course The Smiths and Moz always saw themselves as operating in a different world to the 'pop' world of Steve Wright - but it is commendable to see Moz marking his passing in this way. As I said earlier, Steve Wright in the Afternoon was part of the furniture of British culture for decades. Like it or not.

A lot about Morrissey's statement in this piece from the English Mirror - https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/morriseys-tribute-steve-wright-nod-32126271
 
A nice quote from Steve Wright from around 2004 (I think).
"Actually it's an open secret that 'Hang The DJ' was written about me. I was certainly a DJ at the time, and if he did write it about me then that's okay. I actually met Morrissey about three years ago when I was doing a piece for CNN. We had a chat, and we got on okay. I'd love to get him on the show"
 

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