As Mishima pointed out below, there's a short review of the Stafford gig, and a brief Q&A. New material, eh? Also, there's a huge full page ad for "In The Future...", the bottom section of which is put over to Kristeen Young - "Morrissey proudly presents debut single from Kristeen Young.."
Text of article and interview here...
From today’s NME…
Stafford, 9:15pm, V Stage
MOZZER’S GREATEST HITS SET LIFTS SPIRITS AT SODDEN STAFFORD
“England, my country, the home of the free…” warbles the bequiffed one with a cursory glance to the heavens “…such miserable weather”.
He’s not wrong. Life may be a pigsty, but V Stafford is a quagmire – and with James Morrison the order of the day, NME’ not just talking about the weather. For this reason alone, there was never any danger of tonight being anything less than a triumph. But it’s not without its nagging irritants: what would Moz circa-‘Paint A Vulgar Picture’ (his anti-music industry diatribe from 1987) make of a cringeworthy plea before ‘In The Future When All’s Well’ to “text the number onscreen to get my new single in the charts”?
But there’s much to enjoy in his set: the inclusion of the last great song he wrote with Johnny Marr, ‘Stop Me If You Think You’ve Heard This One Before’ and a spectacular airing of the brilliant B-side (!) ‘Ganglord’.
Above all, despite the fact that he’s finally found love, his fire is nowhere near extinguished, proving that Moz is undoubtedly, exquisitely back on top.
V FESTIVAL & I – MOZ SPEAKS
NME – V is your last UK date for the foreseeable future. Has it been a fitting farewell?
Morrissey – “It was fantastic, the crowd were remarkable and they lead it – I simply follow. I thought it was joyous. It couldn’t be better – I was certainly moved. And I, err, get so much flak that, at moments like this, it means more than it normally means to people.”
NME – Do you feel you’ve had a lot of flak recently?
Morrissey – “I don’t know. Just by me being me it tends to happen, but I live with it. It doesn’t matter because nights like tonight are what the whole thing’s about.”
NME – What are your impressions of the festival so far?
Morrissey – “When I arrived it just looked horrendous and I wondered, ‘How can people possibly stand and wait and wait and wait?’ And to listen to some music they might not care about, and they’ll still stand and wait. I saw people covered head-to-toe in mud and I came to the conclusion that they do enjoy it! I guess it’s too late to try and look respectable by then. Who’s to say what’s enjoyable and what’s not enjoyable?”
NME – What was with the texting to buy your single stuff?
Morrissey – “We’re forced into this situation because airplay is impossible – I cannot get airplay in England. In other countries, yeah, but not in England. So now if you text blah blah blah blah blah, it actually counts as an over-the-counter single sale, and this is what other people do. So now we’re forced to join in. I do feel a bit uncomfortable about it because it can almost seem as if you’re begging, but what choice? None really? This is how things have changed.”
NME – When will you start working on new material?
Morrissey – “Well, it’s very easy; it’s just a question of how much people can take, really. You can’t constantly flood people and put pressure on them to keep buying things because many don’t have that much money, so you have to value the whole thing out. How will the new stuff sound? Well, um, it will remain as being identifiable as me. I’m not the kind of person who can change horses mid-stream. I never have, and why would I now?”
Text of article and interview here...
From today’s NME…
Stafford, 9:15pm, V Stage
MOZZER’S GREATEST HITS SET LIFTS SPIRITS AT SODDEN STAFFORD
“England, my country, the home of the free…” warbles the bequiffed one with a cursory glance to the heavens “…such miserable weather”.
He’s not wrong. Life may be a pigsty, but V Stafford is a quagmire – and with James Morrison the order of the day, NME’ not just talking about the weather. For this reason alone, there was never any danger of tonight being anything less than a triumph. But it’s not without its nagging irritants: what would Moz circa-‘Paint A Vulgar Picture’ (his anti-music industry diatribe from 1987) make of a cringeworthy plea before ‘In The Future When All’s Well’ to “text the number onscreen to get my new single in the charts”?
But there’s much to enjoy in his set: the inclusion of the last great song he wrote with Johnny Marr, ‘Stop Me If You Think You’ve Heard This One Before’ and a spectacular airing of the brilliant B-side (!) ‘Ganglord’.
Above all, despite the fact that he’s finally found love, his fire is nowhere near extinguished, proving that Moz is undoubtedly, exquisitely back on top.
V FESTIVAL & I – MOZ SPEAKS
NME – V is your last UK date for the foreseeable future. Has it been a fitting farewell?
Morrissey – “It was fantastic, the crowd were remarkable and they lead it – I simply follow. I thought it was joyous. It couldn’t be better – I was certainly moved. And I, err, get so much flak that, at moments like this, it means more than it normally means to people.”
NME – Do you feel you’ve had a lot of flak recently?
Morrissey – “I don’t know. Just by me being me it tends to happen, but I live with it. It doesn’t matter because nights like tonight are what the whole thing’s about.”
NME – What are your impressions of the festival so far?
Morrissey – “When I arrived it just looked horrendous and I wondered, ‘How can people possibly stand and wait and wait and wait?’ And to listen to some music they might not care about, and they’ll still stand and wait. I saw people covered head-to-toe in mud and I came to the conclusion that they do enjoy it! I guess it’s too late to try and look respectable by then. Who’s to say what’s enjoyable and what’s not enjoyable?”
NME – What was with the texting to buy your single stuff?
Morrissey – “We’re forced into this situation because airplay is impossible – I cannot get airplay in England. In other countries, yeah, but not in England. So now if you text blah blah blah blah blah, it actually counts as an over-the-counter single sale, and this is what other people do. So now we’re forced to join in. I do feel a bit uncomfortable about it because it can almost seem as if you’re begging, but what choice? None really? This is how things have changed.”
NME – When will you start working on new material?
Morrissey – “Well, it’s very easy; it’s just a question of how much people can take, really. You can’t constantly flood people and put pressure on them to keep buying things because many don’t have that much money, so you have to value the whole thing out. How will the new stuff sound? Well, um, it will remain as being identifiable as me. I’m not the kind of person who can change horses mid-stream. I never have, and why would I now?”
