I know this ranks pretty high on the trivia scale but on 16 Feb. on BBC 2's 'The O Zone' there was a preview of the forthcoming Brit Awards.  Various music people were shown expressing their view on what they thought about them and one of them was Moz.  He was wearing shirt and suit jacket and said "I don't think anybody believes the Brits to be honest.  I think they're all fixed."  The clip lasted for all of about 4 seconds and looked as though it was filmed at some awards ceremony  (maybe from the 'Q' awards a few years ago, when he picked up a gong from Bono).

The British pop icon Momus, pioneer of Analog Baroque, mentions Morrissey in his "Thought of the Day" column under the subject heading "Write the Fucking Manual". Momus was mentioned several months ago in your guestbook, and if Morrissey fans have yet to introduce themselves to him, they certainly ought not wait any longer.

This fits into the "just small enough to be mentioned category". It looks as if name droppin' Moz is somewhat newsworthy if it strikes up...something. But unlike ALL the others I've read, this one is from way left field (for most fans)... and, bygod, its positive!

In an interview circa Feb 25, 88 the songwriter\poet Robert Hunter was asked by David Gans:

"Q: Any pop music tastes you'd care to discuss?

A: Just picked up the new Nina Hagen CD yesterday, the compilation disk. I'd say for the terminally weird, this is your piece of pie. She does "White Punks on Dope" in German...

I'm very fond of the Smiths' work, especially the album 'Louder Than Bombs'. I think Morrissey really has a handle on something. I do admire his work..."

..copyrighted (w\o pom) from Gans' "Conversations With the Dead" (1991)

It's been reported on a few unofficial sites on the net that the Smoking Popes have broken up. One of the reports references the source of the news as the Popes drummer, Mike Felumlee.