Guardian: "Offending Ringo and probing Thatcher: Tom Hibbert, the man who ‘brought the bonkers’ to Smash Hits" (February 6, 2024)

There is a Tom Hibbert/Smash Hits article on The Guardian website today, in which there’s this: “Over in Smash Hits, Tom Hibbert’s first question for the singer is: “What’s the matter with you?” Moz’s persistent lethargy, Hibbert suggests, may be down to the vegetarian’s “daily intake of yoghurt and bread”. He grills him on whether his heroes ate meat and what he feeds his cat,…”

Offending Ringo and probing Thatcher: Tom Hibbert, the man who ‘brought the bonkers’ to Smash Hits

As a new collection of his work, Phew, Eh Readers?, is published, former colleagues including Neil Tennant recall the irreverent music journalist’s phrasemaking genius

www.theguardian.com

Which is interesting. What has Morrissey been feeding his cat? Has to be meat, right?

 

[Lucifer Sam]

Which is interesting. What has Morrissey been feeding his cat? Has to be meat, right?

Does he have another cat after Dude? Someone will know. I think a vegan can feed his cat meat, because cat food is essentially offal. The animal was tortured and killed for human consumption; the pet portion is like carrion. The real problem would be, if everyone was vegan, how would cats get fed? It could only be lab-grown meat, or letting them fend for themselves and sustaining the lean periods with soy.

 

[ACTON]

Does he have another cat after Dude? Someone will know. I think a vegan can feed his cat meat, because cat food is essentially offal. The animal was tortured and killed for human consumption; the pet portion is like carrion. The real problem would be, if everyone was vegan, how would cats get fed? It could only be lab-grown meat, or letting them fend for themselves and sustaining the lean periods with soy.

Well now my dearest McFate, the answer is obvious. Doesn't our Moz chant "Rats, rats, their red eyes!" at the end of Jack The Ripper on stage? He's telling the stage hands to round up some dinner for the dastardly Dude.

It is common knowledge that Moz (when he's not up front on the tour bus guffawing with the driver) can often be found with his nose in high brow books by James Herbert.

 

[Loup]

Which is interesting. What has Morrissey been feeding his cat? Has to be meat, right?

Well, feeding carnivorous animals by necessity pales in comparison to willingly participating in the slaughter of 200 million farm animals a day, as a human with free will and alternative choices.
We should strive to minimize harm as much as possible – in the case of cats, it’s not inherently a shocking contradiction.

 

[gordyboy9]

Well now my dearest McFate, the answer is obvious. Doesn't our Moz chant "Rats, rats, their red eyes!" at the end of Jack The Ripper on stage? He's telling the stage hands to round up some dinner for the dastardly Dude.

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It is common knowledge that Moz (when he's not up front on the tour bus guffawing with the driver) can often be found with his nose in high brow books by James Herbert.

i remember seeing that book for sale a long time ago,there is also the horror film Ben about a boy who befriends a rat,michael jackson sang the main theme song also called ben.
few rats on here as well.

 

[gordyboy9]

smash hits was a decent mag to be fair,had a bit of everything,even a crossword.
it ran from 78-86 and was edited by neil tennent of the pet shop boys,it was quite serious in its style but changed in its last few years to a more irreverent style,it would take the piss out of big stars asking stupid questions and very seldom asked them about their music.

 

[Malarkey]

In the interview Morrissey admits that his cats eat meat, because they won't eat anything else, but he would like his cats to be vegetarian.

I'll have to read the book to see if Hibbert's wife was being a bit harsh saying he refused to get well.

 

[Jamie]

I imagine Morrissey had a "game respecting game" reaction to Hibbert's Colonel Sanders "gotcha."

 

[Mayfly]

These were the good old days when I used to go to the English bookstore nearly every week to look at the British music magazines and buy one of them if it covered an artist that I liked. Lits of Moz and Smiths those days.

Dude was Morrissey’s cat, but I think he stayed with his mother in his mansion in Altrichan. No idea if Morrissey has another cat now, haven’t seen any pictures of a new cat so far. But if it isn’t the case yet, then I hope he gets one asap. It would cheer him up.

 

[goinghome]

Interesting but slightly inattentive review, in that those who put the book together hardly get a look-in. Per Amazon,

Compiled by Barney Hoskyns and Jasper Murison-Bowie at Rock's Backpages, the archive of music journalism, Phew, Eh Readers? showcases some of Hibbert's greatest pieces. Presented thematically and chronologically, they highlight his marvellously eccentric perspective on life and popular culture.

Many leading writers and journalists attest to Hibbert's genius. This compendium supplements his writing with new reflections on Tom from some of his peers, colleagues and admirers, including Mark Ellen, Bob Stanley, Tom Doyle, Chris Heath, Sylvia Patterson, along with his widow Allyce.

Doing a collection of popular culture journalism like this is a really worthwhile idea. A little while ago, a thread recalled the work of another music press writer, a German man Olaf Marx who died young, but who people still remember for the passion he conveyed. Maybe something like that could be done for him too.

 

[Anonymous]

What has Morrissey been feeding his cat? Has to be meat, right?

Not necessarily. You can apparently buy vegan catfood, though my undertstanding is it's quite controversial as to whether you should try and force your cat to follow your own dietary choices. I expect mine would turn his nose up at it. https://www.livekindly.com/vegan-diet-cats/

 

[Anonymous]

Does he have another cat after Dude? Someone will know. I think a vegan can feed his cat meat, because cat food is essentially offal. The animal was tortured and killed for human consumption; the pet portion is like carrion. The real problem would be, if everyone was vegan, how would cats get fed? It could only be lab-grown meat, or letting them fend for themselves and sustaining the lean periods with soy.

You can’t just pop to the shops and buy meat products for your pet if you’re vegan.

That’s like boycotting Morrissey’s solo albums and then buying The Smiths!

 

[ZOOM FROM GLOOM]

Does he have another cat after Dude? Someone will know. I think a vegan can feed his cat meat, because cat food is essentially offal. The animal was tortured and killed for human consumption; the pet portion is like carrion. The real problem would be, if everyone was vegan, how would cats get fed? It could only be lab-grown meat, or letting them fend for themselves and sustaining the lean periods with soy.

My cat’s vegan. He also does yoga, meditates, and once, I even caught him levitating! Just like this …

 

[Vesper Nocturne]

I didn’t click on the article, my cat is not vegan and he definitely doesn’t eat offal, i am not even going to say what he does eat because it is truly AWFUL (har!), and he doesn’t do yoga, BUT he does do BALLET

 

[Lucifer Sam]

You can’t just pop to the shops and buy meat products for your pet if you’re vegan.

That’s like boycotting Morrissey’s solo albums and then buying The Smiths!

I think it's different, because Morrissey doesn't record albums based on previous sales and projected sales. He continues to make music because he likes doing it. (Presumably) the meat industry wouldn't torture and kill animals because they like to. They do it for the money. They breed animals based on meat sales, not on pet food sales. Pet food is just the byproducts. Only if the demand for pet food outpaced the demand for meat would it become an issue for vegans.

 

[Ashley_TakeABow]

i remember seeing that book for sale a long time ago,there is also the horror film Ben about a boy who befriends a rat,michael jackson sang the main theme song also called ben.
few rats on here as well.

I love that song.

 

[celibate]

Journalist hasnt done homework, as Morrissey's cat died...don't know He has more, but dunno if He has a steady home/appartment, or living in hotel. Q&A?

 

[Loup]

You can’t just pop to the shops and buy meat products for your pet if you’re vegan.

That’s like boycotting Morrissey’s solo albums and then buying The Smiths!

You're right in the sense that buying meat products leads to supporting, either directly or indirectly, some byproducts of the meat industry. This is also why, among vegans today, this question strikes debate : after deciding to boycott the animal industries, can you decide have a pet and if so, is there a moral limit to this question ?

I currently have a black labrador dog from my childhood. Not feeding your carnivorous pet meat is less "vegan" than doing so, because it would inevitably lead to health problems and carences, especially in the case of big dogs – still trying to turn your pet "plant-based" when this is the case often equates to animal neglect and abuse.

There are pets that can exclusively feed off of plants such as parakeets and hamsters, but that's still a problem when it comes to the morality of keeping an animal in a cage, just like how owning a fish wouldn't be considered ethical.

In theory, domestic pets shouldn't even exist in order to completely correspond to antispecist ideals. Many animals were bred into existence and raised over thousands of years to serve humans, which is why they necessarily depend on us today.

Owning a cat doesn't automatically put you at the antipodes of a vegan/vegetarian (in Morrissey's case in the 1980's) standpoint in your own personal identity.
That being said, I would find it difficult to consider getting another pet in the future.

 

[Dorothy]

Would be an interesting read. Also interesting that among all the artists Hibbert interviewed, the review starts off immediately with the section on Morrissey, he really has left an indelible mark in the headspace of Guardian journalists.

 

[Johnnie Ray]

Well, feeding carnivorous animals by necessity pales in comparison to willingly participating in the slaughter of 200 million farm animals a day, as a human with free will and alternative choices.
We should strive to minimize harm as much as possible – in the case of cats, it’s not inherently a shocking contradiction.

Disagree. Cats need to be held to the same standard. Dogs also.