What is your first memory of Morrissey?

[Jamie]

The first two memories are fragmentary. MTV played Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before and, being young, naive, and unsure of what separated a conceptual video from performance, I thought the actual Smiths members (that phrase sounds phunny) were the various "Moz-a-likes."

Second, I saw Suedehead -also on MTV. I remember thinking that the gent with the hat seemed inordinately awkward driving a tractor--and wondered what the hell something as mundane as that was doing in a video.

The third is unforgettable: the Johnny Carson performance in 1991. The quiffs, the rockabilly style - unheard of "round my way" in the early Nineties. And the crazed reaction - like a second coming of Elvis. I understood and completely did NOT understand the reaction all at once, if that is possible.

Three years later, with that last appearance logged somewhere in my subconscious, I checked Your Arsenal out from a public library and I fully surrendered without a shot fired.

Cheers,
Jamie

 

[London By Night]

TOTP singing This Charming Man.My dad peered over his newspaper and said "bloody poof" ...which was enough for me.

This really made me laugh!

One can only wonder what he made of Soft Cell!

 

[Unwitting Observer]

I plead the fifth on the details, but... it took my breath away.

Ahhh.

 

[soloyan]

My first memory of Morrissey is the cover of "Meat is Murder". I was about 12 and some kid brought it to school and showed it to us...he was the kind of kid who borrowed stuff from his older brother and showed off with stuff he didn't understand...

Anyway, I didn't hear the record itself but as I was discovering english, the title & picture "somehow impressed me".

I discovered the music much later, at age 16, a friend made a mix tape of the Smiths for me. I remember I found it odd first but by the 3rd listen I was hooked. Forever.

 

[Cowshed]

I have no idea what my first memory of Morrissey is. I remember buying a compilation album about 8 years ago with How Soon Is Now on and I used to always skip to that track. But I knew the song already, probably off tv as I never used to listen to the radio. In fact the compilation also had Suedehead on it, but I didn’t feel the same about that track. I don’t think I even knew Morrissey was the singer of The Smiths.
Then a few years later The Importance of Being Morrissey was on and I watched it for no apparent reason. I don’t watch much tv at all, and I must have been aware of him to watch that programme, but I’m at a loss to work out why I had heard of him (apart from Suedehead).
A couple months later I got The Very Best of The Smiths as it was dirt cheap in my local music shop and I remember vividly walking for an hour in the rain from the hospital after visiting my mum and it summed up everything in my life. I instantly starting picking up their back catalogue and Quarry came out a few months later. From that moment I fell in love with Moz solo as well as The Smiths. I hate the criticism Quarry gets as it’s a pivotal album for me. By the end of that Summer I had seen him 3 times.
I still think it could be a phase, but it’s four years later and 1,000’s of pound later. Nothing has had such a great effect on my life, and nothing has ever been so lasting in my life.

 

[CaliforniaMozGirl]

My first Morrissey memory is when I was in 4th grade summer of 1984, my High School aged cousins came to visit from NY awakening me to alternative rock. They brought Meat Is Murder, The Queen IS Dead, and The Smiths, (Along with some Depeche Mode and Cure) forever changing my life. My cousin copied all his albums for me onto cassettes so I could continue to explore this amazing music after this visit. So glad he did! It's been a constant companion ever since...

 

[Thistown]

first memory of Morrissey, Kill Uncle tour.. Phoenix, AZ.. They had this gate around the stage so no one could come near the stage. People were going crazy to get over the gate. The big monkey men were pushing everyone back being really asses. Anyways Morrissey tried to reach out to his fans that were trying their hardest to get to him. Flowers were being thrown (usual suspect at a morrissey gig) He said that he was sorry that they were trying to keep us away from him. He was great.

 

[sistasheila]

I was searching for a certain Oscar Wilde photo online, that picture of Moz surrounded by all the Wilde books appeared and I thought "Who the F*ck is this person who has a bigger collection than I have?"
I did some research then. I was hopelessly hooked after just a couple of songs.

And I've always hated that being so ridiculously young forced me to be late to the game, like so many others

thats a great story and most of all unique...i wonder how many people got into moz through oscar wilde and not the other way round

F
It wasn't until last year, when my German teacher (the hottest teacher I ever had might I add) gave me a Morrissey mixtape with a couple Smiths songs mixed in. By then I knew more Morrissey and Smith songs, but it wasn't until then that I got hooked.

thts great..so how come that off all people your teacher did give the tape to you?

 

[mozziestar]

It was 1988 and I was riding around in my best friend's Mother's cadillac. She put in The Queen is Dead and I was mesmerized. And that day began the beginning of a lifetime obsession.

 

[Sharron Needles]

first memory of Morrissey, Kill Uncle tour.. Phoenix, AZ.. They had this gate around the stage so no one could come near the stage. People were going crazy to get over the gate. The big monkey men were pushing everyone back being really asses. Anyways Morrissey tried to reach out to his fans that were trying their hardest to get to him. Flowers were being thrown (usual suspect at a morrissey gig) He said that he was sorry that they were trying to keep us away from him. He was great.

That was at the now gone Compton Terrace, wasn't it? What's there now?