WEDNESDAY, 12 JULY 2023
Vocals: MORRISSEY
Guitars: JESSE TOBIAS
Guitars: CARMEN VANDENBERG
Bass: JUAN GALEANO
Drums: BRENDAN BUCKLEY
Keyboards: CAMILA GREY
Support: THE SLOW READERS CLUB
THE LOTTERY WINNERS
This would be only my 14th Morrissey show in total since I attended my very first one
in 1991 at Wembley Arena, London (I know, I don’t get out that much!), and the
first time I'd seen Moz at an outdoor venue since the infamous Madstock shindig
in Finsbury Park, London way back in 1992 (two days before I turned
20!). Boy, was THAT an eventful day! Of course, I was due
to attend the Manchester Castlefield Bowl gigs in 2018 but because of the
shenanigans of Dickhead Dave Hasbeen, these were sadly called off and
cancelled. Boo!
The tickets for Millennium Square were originally supposed to go on sale in March, but due to unknown circumstances they were postponed until April. Luckily, they were then released as planned and I managed to score some for me and The Almighty Spacelord of Ashton-under-Lyne (also known as my awesome husband Jay!)! I booked us a room in the same hotel (Ibis Styles Leeds City Centre Arena) as the last occasion we were in Super Leeds for a Mozzer gig, in March 2020 (you all know what happened after that! Yeah, that’s right, I’m looking at YOU, Covid-19!), but it cost a good £50 more than then. Ouch! I kept checking for a less expensive room, but there was nothing much available and I wanted to be as near to the square as we could afford.
My youngest sister, who worked in Leeds for many years and knows it well, said
it was a good 10-15 minute walk from our accommodation over to Millennium
Square. As it happens though, it wasn't even five so despite the
expense it was actually a really good spot to be based at.
Before long, we’d hit 12th July 2023. MORRISSEY DAY! I’d switched some annual leave I already had booked so we could go, but Jay had some loose ends to tie up so we didn't manage to catch the train across the Pennines to Super Leeds in Yorkshire, my esteemed county of birth (West is the Best!) until late on in the afternoon. When we got there, we went straight to the hotel to check in and leave our bags, then we went to the Pizza Express in the Merrion Centre for our tea.
Once we'd finished our scran which was well fit, we headed straight for
Millennium Square which was remarkably easy to find with the help of Google
Maps. We spotted a poster for the night's entertainment just as we were heading
towards the gate to gain access, so we of course took some photos of it.
When we got to the entrance, I was advised by the security staff to roll up my small Adidas tote bag and put it in my pocket so that we adhered to the rules. Once our tickets had been scanned (which I'd printed off so as to have physical copies for my collection), we went inside and headed over to the PETA stall. My friend George Bray was one of the team staffing it, and I picked up some flyers, a booklet and some badges whilst having a chat to him.
After this, we went to the merch stand to see what was available. I went with a grey tour tee and a right nice (to coin a Yorkshire phrase, when in Rome and all that!) Shoplifters Of The World Unite tote bag which came in dark green with neon pink lettering. The pay app on my phone, which had already taken a bit of a hammering earlier, decided not to play ball and my virtual card was declined at least twice. Most embarrassing! Thankfully, I also had my credit card on the app so I was able to use that to pay for my goodies. It's essential to have precious things from a gig in the form of souvenirs, or spoils as I like to call them!
My spoils from the night including my tee and tote bag!
We had a bit of a mooch around the square after that and ran into quite a few people we know at this point.
Presently, The Lottery Winners, the first of the two support acts came on. I wasn't at all familiar with their output although I'd heard of them, but they were ruddy ace!
One track in particular that they played, Letter To Myself, was
beautiful, heart-rending, poignant and triumphant! I rather think everyone in
attendance must have felt like a loner or an outsider when younger like Thom
Rylance the singer and lyricist, but having The Smiths and Morrissey
in our lives gave us all something wondrous in common. They did a fantastic set
which was vibrant, full-on and enthusiastic, and they were so happy to be there
supporting Morrissey as they’re all huge fans of his and The Smiths. They were
proper giddy kippers and in particular Thom. Thom was very chatty and animated
during their set, which he explained was due to his ADHD. I thought he was endearingly sweet and funny, such a good lad!
There was a short break before the next band was due to appear on stage, so Jay and I took this opportunity
to have another wander around the square and catch up with some more of our Moz
Army chums.
The Slow Readers Club was the second support act of the evening,
and they produced an extremely slick and polished set. Again, they were delighted to
be supporting Morrissey, and they were most appreciative of the love sent their
way from the crowd.
The pre-show videos kicked in after SRC had finished and left the stage, which
included the likes of Siouxsie Sioux and the Banshees, the New
York Dolls and Chloe Poems amongst many others.
In no time at all, the main man himself made his grand entrance to greet his adoring fans. Always such a thrilling moment!
When Morrissey strode confidently onto the stage with the familiar visual of James Baldwin behind him on the backdrop, he opened up the show by singing acapella: "Too old to be a child star, too young to take.... LEEDS!" (a clever play on a lyric from Little Man, What Now?), before launching into a thunderous How Soon Is Now?
Morrissey was on fine form, and had a good old chat with everyone between songs. He came up with nuggets such as: "We are from Quarry Hill flats, and we've come to do you over", comedy gold!
There were people from the apartments opposite the stage (above the Cuthbert Brodrick pub) watching the whole show, with a great view from their balconies. Jammy gets!
Okay then, here’s a quick rundown of all the tracks played in the set:
How Soon Is Now? (The Smiths)
Always such a pleasure to hear this most amazing number, and I was impressed by how well the newest members of the band, Carmen and Camila, slotted in. Good work, gals! This first song of the set ended with Brendan bashing the proverbial shit out of his tom-tom drums, flippin’ ‘eck! As someone subsequently posted on social media, Brendan sure did have his Weetabix that day!
Suedehead
Suedehead is like an old friend as it’s been in my life since
not long before I left school. It was performed and sung so
beautifully, it’s a reminder of Nineteen Eighty Hate when my head was starting
to be turned by Our Lord and Saviour Mozzer!
Stop Me If You Think You’ve Heard This One Before (The Smiths)
I remember this being played at the end of The South Bank Show special
on The Smiths which I watched for the first time probably in around 1989 when I
was a fledgling fan buying bootleg videos. So to hear this one in
all its live glory was frankly beyond belief! Wow!
Irish Blood, English Heart
The crowd went mental for this one, as is always the case as it’s such a
rousing number! I still think that the Royal Line didn’t actually
salute Oliver Cromwell though, as I could be wrong but I thought he wanted rid
of them whilst also aspiring to be them in all but name at the same
time. Silly boy, Olly! Having said that, I’ve definitely had my fill
of both the Labour and Conservative Parties (the future’s Green!) so I hear ya
there, brother!
Girlfriend In A Coma (The Smiths)
Morrissey claimed to have had three girlfriends in his "short"
(as if, the man is a bona fide Timelord!) life: Virginia Woolf, Diana
Dors and Ena Sharples, before Girlfriend In A Coma kicked
in. I’d never heard Morrissey sing this live, and it’s a particular
favourite of mine as it’s one of the few tracks by The Smiths I actually liked
at the time it was originally released back in 1987 (on my 15th birthday,
which I discovered years later!). It was wonderful to be in the
presence of Mozzer performing this highly humorous track.
I’m Throwing My Arms Around Paris
This really shows off Morrissey’s incredible vocal range, and it was great to hear this one. Mozzer’ll not like this, but it always brings to mind a daft sketch on Harry Hill’s TV Burp I once saw, where he did a fun little tribute dressed as His Very Mozzerness holding onto a Paris Hilton not so look-a-likee! It was hilarious! Soz, Moz!
Notre-Dame
From Morrissey’s latest album awaiting release, Without Music The World Dies. A hard-hitting number lyrically, proper in your face! With music to match!
I Wish You Lonely
From Low In High School and a fairly regular member of
the setlist now. Always nice to make its acquaintance.
Sure Enough, The Telephone Rings
From one of Morrissey’s two outstanding albums yet to be released, Bonfire
of Teenagers. It ROCKS! POW!
The Night Pop Dropped
From Without Music The World Dies, and one I’d not heard
live prior to tonight. A reet marvellous ditty for sure!
Half A Person (The Smiths)
As I’ve said many times before, I actually was 16, clumsy and shy
the first time I ever heard this song as a wee one in my hometown of
Huddersfield. Hearing it live again was such a thrill!
Our Frank
Really nice to be experiencing this one live once more in recent times
after an absence of many years, and it took right me back to my days as a
student going to gigs in London to see Morrissey and “The Lads” (Boz
Boorer, Alain Whyte, Gary “Gaz” Day and Spencer Cobrin).
Everyday Is Like Sunday
As the world and his dog knows by now, this is my favourite Morrissey
song of all time. It’s the track that changed my life
forevermore. I was very emotional hearing it out in the open with
thousands of other devotees, thinking about just how very different my life
would have been had it not come marching into my life when I was a mere 15
years of age. It found me exactly when I needed it literally just as
I left school, and I don’t think I’ll never get over that. How did
you KNOW, Moz?! THANK YOU!
Knockabout World
I absolutely adore this one, from I Am Not A Dog On A Chain. The
line “You’re okay by me, with your handsome teeth” always
makes me grin like a loon! He sure does have a way with words, does
Our Moz!
The Loop
This was such a romping, raucous, joyful jaunt, and especially as Juan
was twanging away on his double bass which was just like old times in the early
1990s when the top man that is Gary Day did the very same.
Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want (The Smiths)
Such a heart-wrencher, and everybody singing along with Moz was utterly
breathtaking. It was unbelievable to be there with so many other people feeling its imploring intensity at
the same time as me.
Jack The Ripper
This is a staple of Morrissey’s set, and the obligatory red smoke filled
the stage as he held out his arms aloft and his voice soared into the
night. Always such a stirring sound and sight, and even more so in
the Leeds dusky eventide sky as it turned to sunset.
ENCORE:
Sweet And Tender Hooligan (The Smiths)
A corker of a track to end the show with, and I watched keenly as
Morrissey tossed his tee into the crowd. We discovered about five
minutes later to our sheer delight that our charming friend Nige Pierce was
able to leap into the air (like a migrating salmon, was his excited
description, haha!) and grab it before scampering away like a good 'un when the coast was clear. Nige was immediately protected after his death-defying feat of the Gods in a bear hug by the fabulous Elisabeth Summlar-Prince, who made
sure that no fucker got near despite the brutal and violent attempts to do
so! I tell thee, you wouldn’t catch me anywhere near the madness
that is the Morrissey Shirt Scrum if my life depended on it. I’ve
said it many times: I am SERIOUSLY too old for that shit, Bruv! Fair
play to you all that get involved!
Standing in the gradually fading sunlight in Leeds on a beautiful evening with my beloved soul mate Jay by my side, who came with me to see my idol despite being completely knackered after a hectic day at work, was nothing short of outstanding. WHAT a damned night, y'all! I would have to describe it as Manc-tastic, seeing as all three acts were from (Greater in the case of The Lottery Winners) Manchester!
When it was all over and the lights went up, we hung around for a bit at which point we saw more of the wonderful Moz Army. Then we headed back to our hotel and had some cheeky drinks in the bar before taking them to our room and retiring for the night.
During the course of the night, we bumped into so many of our lovely Moz Army pals including: George Bray as mentioned earlier, Gordon Frew, Paul Staveley and his daughter Georgia, Maria Stewart, Mike Coy, Laura Beth and Mark Stevenson, Alasdair McDougall (on the day after he’d turned 50 and joined the Half Century Club!), Ana Maria Nazario, Nige Pierce (literally just after he got the FULL Mozzer tee from the toss!), Elisabeth Summlar-Prince and her fiancé Ian Slightly Vulgar Red Pullover, Gail Gumbley, Gemma Baron, Matthew Jacobson and Gary “Sir Gaz” Shatliff.
I was also recognised by at least three people from Twitter; a guy with his partner when we’d just hit Leeds, a sweetheart of a woman who was with a friend at the gig whose name I have shamefully forgotten and for which I apologise profusely (I blame it on my age you know, I'm no Spring Chicken anymore!), and a lady in the lift at the hotel when we’d returned from our evening out, had been to the bar and were heading back to our room. Fame, fame, fatal fame! For a few seconds, anyway!
We also saw Tracy Shambles the next morning in Jumbo Records,
which was grand.
The next day, we had a wander around Leeds and took in the City Museum, the Art Gallery and the Corn Exchange, then went to Doner Summer for our lunch (lush vegan junk food!) before popping to the huge Leeds Kirkgate Market and finally making our way to the train station to head home to Manchester.
We really did have the most glorious, spectacular time in Super Leeds. It was such a majestic, magnificent and magical night, one I shall never forget. I know that all is not well in the Land of Moz right now due to irksome issues with lack of management, record deals falling through and all kinds of insanity, but he always prevails and he’ll be just fine. Of that, I have no doubt whatsoever.
ANGIE J COOKE nėe LEWIS
Manchester, ENGLAND
WEDNESDAY, 12 JULY 2023
The full setlist for the concert is as follows:
ENTRANCE: Little Man, What Now? (Morrissey Acapella)
01) How Soon Is Now? (The Smiths)
02) Suedehead
03) Stop Me If You Think You’ve Heard This One Before (The
Smiths)
04) Irish Blood, English Heart
05) Girlfriend In A Coma (The Smiths)
06) I’m Throwing My Arms Around Paris
07) Notre-Dame
08) I Wish You Lonely
09) Sure Enough, The Telephone Rings
10) The Night Pop Dropped
11) Half A Person (The Smiths)
12) Our Frank
13) Everyday Is Like Sunday
14) Knockabout World
15) The Loop
16) Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want (The Smiths)
17) Jack The Ripper
ENCORE:
18) Sweet And Tender Hooligan (The Smiths)
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