Top Ten Morrissey Moments 2018

I don’t mind New Year’s Eve as a holiday. It’s certainly not up there with Morrissey’s birthday, or Halloween, but it has its own charm. Perhaps I like it because it’s an excuse to drink lots of champagne (or maybe Fernet, a drink I discovered recently in Buenos Aires) and stay up extra late (a plus if you’re nocturnally inclined, like me) but I often do these things anyway. To be truthful, I probably also like it because it means I’ve somehow survived the tinsel tinged social awkwardness and forced joviality of obligatory Christmas gatherings and I don’t have to think of that for nearly another year. Phew!

What Will The Top Morrissey moments of 2018 be?

On the other hand, the passing of time and all of its crimes can be overwhelming, and it strikes me that years become shorter and shorter segments of time as decades pile onto my life. Not to mention, I find the fact I am hurdling towards 40 increasingly daunting – but don’t get me started on that. Anyway, New Years can be a time to reflect on the good parts of a year and hopefully, metaphorically at least, to close the door on some negative parts... or perhaps it’s simply another day bemarked as a holiday. However, since the concept of resolutions is ingrained into many of us, I thought I’d ask my Twitter followers, once again, if they bother with New Year’s Resolutions. It seems like not much has changed since last year, with 44% of 59 voters replying, “What’s the Bloody Point?”

Well, bring on the champagne.

Now, let’s get started on the true purpose of this blog post, which is to list the top ten Morrissey moments of 2018:

Every year someone freaks out about the order, and every year I make a point to say that there is no order and I’m just listing the top ten moments as they come to me... so keep that in mind... here we go:

Top Ten Morrissey Moments of 2018:

1. Latin American Tour

Morrissey played a 9-date tour of South America, including electrifying back-to-back shows in Mexico City and Chile. South Americans and Mexicans showered Moz with love, and after gigs in Peru and Mexico, he referred to the 2 ardent Moz-loving countries as his “heart’s lighthouse.” From footage, and the concert I attended in Buenos Aires, I can attest the fans are passionate, devoted, and full of vigour, and the rush of attending a Morrissey concert in South America is something I will remember for the rest of my life.

Morrissey singing Jack The Ripper in Buenos Aires

2. US Tour

This year, Morrissey played four dazzling sold out shows in Southern California, plus TV and radio tapings, starting with a Halloween date in picturesque seaside town Ventura. Each concert featured a versatile setlist and massive energy from Moz, the band, and the crowd. Tropicalia Festival was a long, hot day, but fans were fresh with excitement for headliner Morrissey, and some were even able to scale the barrier and towering festival stage for coveted hugs from Moz (no easy feat at a festival!) For the TV taping on The Late Late Show with James Corden, Morrissey and his band played new single Back On The Chain Gang. Hooray for Hollywood!

Morrissey at Tropicalia Festival

3. UK and Ireland Tour

Morrissey kicked off 2018 with an 11-date UK and Ireland tour starting in Aberdeen and wrapping up with 3 sold-out London dates in March. With Moz playing a good mix of intimate theatres and large arenas, fans got a chance to see him in a variety of venues, and many queued for hours in ice and snow, as a massive cold front struck the UK (the experience of queuing in below freezing temperatures in Brixton – with my friend from Indonesia who had never seen snow before - is something I’ll never forget!) The grandest jewel in the cap was March 10th’s gig at London Palladium: the packed theatre audience was beaming with love, and Morrissey wore an exquisite black jacket embroidered with a sparkling peacock, singing a 21-song setlist including November Spawned A Monster (for its first live outing since 2013). By the end of the gig, some of the seats in the pit had been ripped out of their hinges! Pure, unbridled, otherworldly ecstasy.

Morrissey in Newcastle

4. Glorious Setlists

2018 featured breathtaking setlists, with a great mix of classics and newer songs. In Aberdeen, there were some first (and only, at the time of writing) appearances of Low In High School tracks Israel and The Girl From Tel Aviv Who Wouldn’t Kneel, as well as powerfully poetic I Bury The Living, which became a setlist staple for many of the remaining UK dates. Classic live rarities such as Hairdresser On Fire (not played live since 2004), Sunny (last played live in 1999), and Break Up The Family (last played 2000) delighted in California, including the emotional live debut of Dial A Cliche. Years of Refusal’s All You Need Is Me and Something Is Squeezing My Skull were also tempo charging highlights.

On a personal note, a high point for me was seeing Life Is A Pigsty back on the setlist. I have longed to see Pigsty live since I first discovered Morrissey, and I got my chance for the first time in San Diego this year. It was one of the most moving experiences of my life.

Morrissey singing I Bury The Living in Dublin

5. A Big Year For Cardigans!

2018 was one of the biggest cardigan years for Morrissey ever, as he donned the dashing knitwear item at the majority of his shows on the Californian and South American tours. Be still my heart! Cardigans are my favourite Morrissey fashion look and he is very handsome devil every time he steps out in one. Other notable cardigan years include 2002 and 2009, the Grado cardigan of 2012, the Sparkly Bergen cardi of 2016, and 2017 – where Moz wore a navy and white number at some of his US dates and a peacock-feathered one on French TV. I keep track of these important details! There’s nothing like a good-looking man about town in a cardigan!

Charming cardigan Moz in Ventura

6. Chain Gang Single and Video

Since its debut at Maida Vale in 2017, Morrissey’s cover of Pretender’s song Back On The Chain Gang has been a fan favourite. This fall, Morrissey released the seven inch single version, including a reggae intro, and it debuted at #1 on the official vinyl charts, with terrific radio airplay in North and South America. The single was accompanied by a music video, aesthetically inspired by 60’s flavoured Everlasting Love by Love Affair, complete with pouty cat-eyed backup dancers and a swoon-worthy Morrissey strumming guitar.

7. Low In High School Deluxe Album

On December 7^th, Morrissey released Low In High School’s “edition extreme de luxe” (excuse my lack of french accents) on vinyl. Released on Morrissey’s label Etienne, the deluxe edition features teenage (or early 20’s) Morrissey on the sleeve, and is dedicated to Dick Gregory. It includes all 12 tracks from the original Low In High School album, plus an entire bonus record, which features three previously unreleased songs, a bevy of of live covers, and new single Back On The Chain Gang. Lover-to-Be has a 60’s feel, with flirty vocals and groovy organ riffs and This Song Doesn’t End When It’s Over is haunting high drama. My personal favourite is Never Again Will I Be A Twin, a bass-driven deep, dark piece with reverberant cascading guitars. The lyrics are Morrissey at his cynically romantic best, with lines like: “...the plastic art of falling in love, what a joke that was.” For the covers, Moz shows his prowess for dynamic vocal versatility, covering styles ranging from punk (The Ramones) to country classics (Waylon Jennings), while still making each song absolutely his own.

8. Covers Album Announcement

It’s great to have something to look forward to in the coming year, and Morrissey gave us an early Christmas gift by announcing the release of a new covers album, California Son, set for release March 2019. According to Morrissey Central, the album will include an eclectic variety of tracks from artists such as Jobriath, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Bob Dylan, and Dionne Warwick. I’m particularly excited to hear Moz cover fellow crooner Roy Orbison, and judging by the cover work spanning his career since the Smiths days, the album should be a gem.

Morrissey and Buffy Sainte-Marie - photo via TTY

9. Morrissey Announces He Is Returning To Canada

When I awoke on September 20^th, my phone was buzzing and blazing with notifications that Morrissey would be returning to Canada – as he had announced on Central that he had lifted his ban on touring the country. Due to the barbaric seal hunt, Morrissey banned touring Canada back in the mid-2000’s, and I've always understood and supported his reasoning, but thought I would never have the opportunity to see him appear live in my home country. This announcement felt like a dream come true, and what’s absolutely wonderful is Morrissey will be making donations to Animal protection groups, such as Toronto Pig Save and Vancouver Chicken Save, in each city he will play in. The last time Morrissey played in Canada was Toronto during the You Are The Quarry tour in 2004, and he hasn’t played the West coast, where I’m from, since a Vancouver date for 1997’s Maladjusted tour.

Morrissey with Canadian Pam Anderson

10. Morrissey Wears His Own Merch

2018 was definitely a dashing fashion year for Moz, as he rocked everything from tailored shirts and jackets to divine cardigans. In fact, Morrissey proved he can make casual wear look impeccable too, wearing his own merch tees with incredible style. He even customized his tees, cutting the necks and sleeves, giving them a 70’s feel – and also probably making them easier to tear off for the shirt toss! Vegan life is certainly treating him well, as he looks extra fit and youthful. The tees also pair oh so charmingly with cardigans.

T-shirt Moz photo by basia_ana via Instagram

This seamlessly leads us to our yearly favourite merch item, and no doubt, for me this year, it was the Morrissey Sugar Skull tee, worn by the man himself!

Happy New Year and thanks for reading!