The Songs That Saved Your Life

August 10, 2008

VOL 25 NO 32

Weather Forecast

The Songs That Saved Your Life - part 2

The Smiths and Morrissey have inspired legions of fans worldwide to don daffodils, hearing aids and librarian glasses and grope their way through the arcane chords sequences of Johnny Marr in musical homage. Eoin Devereux writes about the enduring appeal of Morrissey while Gavin Corbett talks to the tribute acts, from Manila to Manchester, who keep the light from never going out

These Charming Men, from Dublin, have been on the go since 1995. Morrissey himself has said of them 'I'm very flattered and impressed'. Gavin Murphy is the 'Johnny Marr' of the group, and, like his counterpart in the original Smiths, is the band leader and principal hustler

Q: Which five Smiths songs best showcase the genius of Johnny Marr?
A: 'This Charming Man', 'Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others', 'The Headmaster Ritual', 'William, It Was Really Nothing' and 'How Soon Is Now?'.

Q: I have a theory about Marr – it's that he peaked as a composer before he was 22. His earlier songs are really intricate, using very complex chords, whereas the stuff from 'The Queen Is Dead' onwards is much simpler. Would you agree?
A: I do agree to a certain point. From a technical perspective, definitely songs like 'Girl Afraid' are challenging for any guitarist to work out, but I really feel that Johnny's songwriting peaked on The Queen Is Dead. That album to me just sounds naturally beautiful and honest.

Q: Are there any Smiths/Moz songs that still challenge you as a guitarist?
A: It's very tricky to maintain the constant, even flow of the arpeggio picking on 'Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others'.

Q: If Morrissey asked you to join his band, would you be tempted to leave These Charming Men?
A: I would jump at the chance! It would be a dream come true. I did say to Moz before that if he ever needed a great gunslinger by his side, I was his man

Q: How or when did you first discover the Smiths?

A: I was introduced to them in December 1984 by my brother Des, who is the bass player in TCM. He was blasting out Hatful of Hollow, and when I heard 'Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now', with its beautifully melodic chords and totally original vocal melody and lyrics, it blew me away.

Q: Do the Smiths and Morrissey still mean as much to you now as when you were younger?
A: In some ways they're more important than ever to me, although obviously not as important as my wife and kids. In 1987, when the Smiths split, I was 13, and they meant the world to me then. Our teenage years can be tough, and Smiths' songs offered me comfort and hope.

Q: These Charming Men's very existence would seem to confirm that there's a huge Moz/Smiths fanbase in Ireland. Do you think there's a special bond between Ireland and Moz/the Smiths?
A: Absolutely. It stems from the days when the Smiths used to play regularly in Ireland. Morrissey has always spoken in interviews about his love of Ireland. All the members of the Smiths were Irish.

Q: Do you think your audience sometimes forget that they're watching a tribute band and actually believe they're watching the Smiths?
A: Without wishing to sound cocky, a lot of people do! Fans often say to us, "You're the closet thing there is". We put in a lot of energy and effort into our shows. We've been together 13 years now and it's all about attention to detail.

Q: Is every new Morrissey release greeted by you almost like a 'brief'?

A: I really get excited when Morrissey is about to release something new and I can't wait to buy it, but then it dawns on you: I have to learn this.

Q: How many 'Morrisseys' have TCM been through since foundation?
A: Our current one, Lee, is the third and please god the last. Unless the man himself wants to join. Then it's – Lee, on yer bike.

Ambitious Outsiders are from Manchester, Morrissey's home town. Unlike the other bands featured here, their set consists mainly of solo Morrissey songs. Paul (won't give surname for fear of being targeted by 'internet trolls') is their singer

Q: You're from Manchester. Do you think this gives you a better 'feeling' for Morrissey's music?
A: I think that because I'm around the same age as Morrissey, and from a similar background, I understand the reference points, as well as empathise with the lyrics. But the gist of what Morrissey is about, and the essence of his work, has a universality which enables anyone who is sensitive enough, and to a slightly lesser degree intelligent enough, to relate to it.

Q: If Morrissey died on a day you were due to play a gig, which song of his do you think would be the most poignant to play that evening?
A: If that were to happen, perish the thought, I would cancel the gig immediately. 'Asleep' by the Smiths has an almost unbearable poignancy, and I think that were I to hear that having just learned of Morrissey's death, I would be inconsolable with grief. Actually, that sounds like a typical day for me.

Q: If Morrissey's next album showed a drastic change in style and image (say, if he were to release a hip-hop album), do you think you'd follow him down that route?
A: Morrissey doing 'hip-hop'? After I'd picked myself off of the floor, I'd certainly give it a listen, before setting fire to it immediately.

Q: Where do you stand on
Morrissey's recent alleged
pronouncements on immigration? If he were to say something really indefensible on the subject, would it put you in a
difficult position?
A: I believe it's completely beyond the realms of possibility that Morrissey would say anything, on any subject, that was truly indefensible. Most of the time I agree with [his views] simply because I'd already considered the subject and arrived at the same opinion.

Q: Do you find it easy to
de-Mozify yourself after a gig, or does a part of you always stay in character?
A: Over the years, through some weird process of osmosis or something, I have absorbed more and more of Morrissey's physical characteristics, so if I speak like him, or even move my hands in the same way he does, it's not intentional and really not my fault.

Q: You're asked to step in for Morrissey in a reformed Smiths. What do you do?
A: If the offer was made, the financial incentive would be ridiculously difficult to ignore (although God knows who'd buy the tickets for such a debacle), given the state of abject poverty which has always been my lot, and looks like being my lot indefinitely. It's not as if I could even write to Morrissey and ask him if he'd mind. I can't afford the stamp for starters, and I'm sure he'd simply say "to thine own self be true", or words to that effect.

Q: Is this your full-time job?
A: No. My attitude to having 'a job', long before I'd ever heard the song ['Still Ill'], was that 'if you must go to work tomorrow, well, if I were you I really wouldn't bother', so I didn't, and I don't.

The Smyths are from London. Their guitarist has been described as 'actually one step better than Johnny Marr'. Graham Sampson is their 'Morrissey'

Q: Where does 'Morrissey' end and
Graham Sampson begin, or have the boundaries slightly blurred at this point?

A: On stage, yes they blur. I look on the 'Morrissey' character as a theatrical role. This allows me to assume the role, as one would Hamlet or Richard III (without the hump of course), and then live that role; this gives me the freedom to act without mimicry.

Q: If Johnny Marr, Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce approached you to join a reformed Smiths, would you be tempted?

A: Ian Astbury couldn't replace Jim Morrison in the Doors; how could I replace Morrissey? Very nice, very nice, but maybe in the next world.

Q: Have there been any songs that Morrissey has released that have made you scrunch up your face, shake your head and go: 'Sorry Moz, I'm not having that one'?

A: Hand on heart... I haven't got a heart.

Q: Do you get showered with gladioli and daffodils at your gigs?

A: Sometimes showered, sometimes a light drizzle.

Q: Do you get showered with Moz 'groupies'?

A: I keep mine hidden.

Q: What do you think of this recent trend of foul language in Morrissey songs? He used never use swear words, but there were two songs on 'You Are The Quarry' and one recent b-side with 'shit' in the lyrics?

A: I've always admired the man's positive use of anger and sometimes a good swear word is better than a David Cameron.

Q: How do you keep your quiff upright? What do you say to the hairdresser?
A: After so many years of having it, my quiff knows naturally which way is up. My hairdressers are strenuously auditioned and know they hold my life in their manicured hands.

Dead Pop Stars were formed in 1999, in Marikina City, in the Philippines. They are based in Manila. Rudolf 'Pogz' Paz is their 'Morrissey'

Q: Is there something about the Smiths' and Morrissey's music which appeals to young Filipino people in the same way that it appeals to young people in other countries with a Spanish influence?

A: I don't think the Spanish influence has any relevance. The Smiths and Morrissey have always been popular in this country, in the mainstream and in the underground. Maybe yes and maybe no – there is something about the music that speaks to the Filipino people. I guess it depends on the individual, on how he looks on the music. At first you'd think it's all about death, misery and depression. But if you look at it from a different angle, it's not from Morrissey's pen. It's from his eyes. The words he writes are the things he sees in reality.

Q: What do you draw from Morrissey's lyrics?

A: They inspire me to be a stronger individual.

Q: Has Morrissey ever played in the Philippines?

A: In my dreams

Q: Have you ever seen Morrissey live?

A: I wish I could. A glimpse of his shadow would do.

Q: If you ever met Morrissey, what would you say to him?

A: "What took you so long?"

Q: What sort of people come to your gigs?

A: Thirtysomethings. But we've spotted some teens watching us. There's a group called 'The Smiths of Makati' who follow us around.

The Smiths Indeed are based in Liverpool. Jurgen Wendelen, originally from Antwerp in Belgium ('a charming place to leave'), is their singer

Q: You're based in Liverpool, the Smiths were from Manchester. Do you see yourselves as a powerful symbol for cross-M62-divide relations?
A: Personally, I choose not to see a divide. I think the north-west region as a whole has an incredibly rich musical history. It's wonderful to live here and make a small contribution.

Q: What does Morrissey's music mean to you personally, Jurgen?
A: It's impossible to explain an infatuation. The Smiths made music that pleases all the senses; Morrissey is still doing so. It reflects my life and enriches it.

Q: You pay a lot of attention to detail in your shows. Do your audience show a similar attention to detail?
A: Our audience have a wicked sense of drama as well as a good sense of humour. They appreciate our efforts to recreate an authentic Smiths gig and reciprocate in kind. We look out on a sea of Smiths
tee-shirts, flowers, spectacles and glowing faces at every show.

Q: What was your formative Smiths moment?
A: Being suddenly exposed to 'Sweet And Tender Hooligan' during a school trip. A friend passed me some headphones and said "listen". I was pulled in.

Q: Did you always sound like Morrissey when you sang, or did you have to practise at it?
A: I don't have to 'put on' a Morrissey voice. When I was younger I was extremely self-conscious and did not dare to sing loudly for fear of being overheard. Hence, I think, the soft voice.

Q: Do you buy oversize blouses in Evans/Simply Be, like Morrissey used to?
A: No, but thanks for the tip.

Q: Do you, like Morrissey, wish [Smiths drummer] Mike Joyce "the very worst in life"?
A: No. I have no reason to.

Q: Reds or Toffees?
A: As a Morrissey fan, you'll never walk alone.

Sweet And Tender Hooligans have been together since 1992, and are popular among Los Angeles's Latino community, for whom Morrissey and the Smiths are cult figures. Jose Maldonado is their singer

Q: Why are Latinos in LA so drawn to the Smiths and Morrissey?

A: The experience of growing up Mexican in southern California is not unlike what I understand the experience of the Irish in northern England to have been. Our families are tight-knit, we grow up in working-class homes, raised Catholic, and are lovers of boxing and soccer. As a Latino in a mostly anglo/Protestant school, there is definitely that feeling of isolation and being treated different. If you come to a Morrissey show here in LA, the overwhelming majority of the audience is Latino. At our shows, in southern California and parts of Texas, Hispanics outnumber Anglos as much as four to one.

Q: When Morrissey lived in LA, was he a 'personality' about town?
A: He frequented a pub near Hollywood that many fans would stop by in the hope of catching a glimpse of him. Many even camped outside his house near Sunset Boulevard. But you'd never see Morrissey being photographed at a red-carpet movie première or discover he'd been asked to be grand marshal of the Pasadena Rose Parade or anything like that.

Q: Have you ever met Moz?
A: Yeah, a few times. He told me he'd seen a couple of our performances. The coolest acknowledgement he's ever made about me has to be the time he entered the stage at the Wiltern and announced to the crowd: "Hello. We are the Sweet and Tender Hooligans. I'm Jose."

Q: What's your favourite Smiths/Moz lyric?
A: Too many to mention, but I love the "In my own sick way, I'll always stay true to you" line at the end of 'Speedway'.

Q: Are you disappointed Morrissey has moved from LA?
A: Deeply. It hasn't been the same without him. I'll never forget the time he announced to the audience at the Greek Theatre in Hollywood, "It's good to be home!" I felt so proud that he was one of us. But Steve Jones of the Sex Pistols told me he thinks he'll be back. "They always come back," he said.

This Charming Band are based in San Francisco. Orlando 'Orlandissey' Cerecedes is their singer

Q: Give us some insight into how someone of an Hispanic background, growing up in California, becomes a Smiths fan?

A: Growing up as a Latino, I felt the Smiths could relate to what I was experiencing at the time, of not fitting in. I used to get harassed by my peers because I didn't speak Spanish, and some gang members thought I acted 'whitewashed', so the music of the Smiths became my soundtrack.

Q: Has being a Smiths/Moz fan made you more Anglophilic? Do you spell the word color as 'colour', or find yourself saying 'Cheerio, mate' quite a lot, etc etc?

A: I own a Triumph Bonneville motorcycle, so does that make me an Anglophile?

Q: Which of Morrissey's 'looks' do you like the best?

A: His early, fedora-wearing, Art
Nouveau look.

Q: What goes into a name for a Smiths tribute band? Why not 'Rusholme Ruffians' or 'The Press In Belgium'?

A: Marketing, marketing, marketing. I actually wanted us to be called Sorrow's Native Sons but This Charming Band, our drummer's choice, won out.

Q: Have you ever tried to hit on someone while being 'Morrissey'?

A: Well, there was one incident, with a woman who used to attend our shows, who I began to date. One evening, while we were in the middle of 'things', she announced: "I can't believe I'm with Orlandissey." It made me feel very strange. We broke up soon after that.

Girlfriend In A Coma are based in Baltimore in the US. Their lead singer, Chris Quinn, is, like Morrissey, 'full-blood Irish but born in another country'

Q: You live on the east coast of the US, in a large city. There must be a big audience for what you do, right?

A: Yeah, there are loads of Smiths and Morrissey fans in Baltimore, but Americans are fickle and very 'flavour of the month'. I've had more than a few people tell me over the last 10 years, "Yeah, I liked Morrissey back when he was relevant".

Q: Are your audience well up on the Smiths' lore and rituals?

A: Oh yes. When we play the Ottobar in Baltimore the stage invasions can get out of hand. One night we counted 36.

Q: Have you ever been confused for Morrissey?

A: Around '95 to '97, Morrissey and I really crossed appearance paths. I remember going to see him in Philly in '97 and having dozens of people come up to me with their hand out, and then suddenly realising I wasn't him. That was bizarre.

Q: Your set doesn't touch on Morrissey material beyond the early '90s. Why is that?

A: I don't think he's done a great album since Vauxhall & I. There has been some good, even great, material on all of the later albums. But Maladjusted – ugghh. I think the first few albums of his solo career, lyrically, could have been Smiths albums. I suppose he finally exhausted all of those old notebooks.

Q: Any favourite lyric?

A: 'What she asked of me at the end of the day, Caligula would have blushed' from 'Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now'. That was the one that hooked me. Just brilliant.

Q: Is there any particular song that's a joy to sing?

A: 'This Charming Man'. It's irresistible. If you're in a club or even in your car and that song comes on and you're not moving, singing along, going a little nuts – check your pulse.

Q: Can you remember the moment when you thought: this is the artist I will follow for the rest of my life?

A: It was 1984 and I was driving around listening to a show called Rock Over London on a local station. They played 'Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now' and I was floored. I had never heard anything like it. At the time I was into Iron Maiden and Judas Priest. Within two weeks I owned the Smiths' first album and a proper haircut.

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