Morrissey autobiography guardian

But, it would appear, the case Morrissey had may have been weaker than what he puts forward. Perhaps not everything could be proven, and this after all is what counts in court. What is clearly on show in this section is a sharp and clear mind. One often fears that those they look up to may turn out to be vacant and dull. However much a self-indulgent and fractious personality Morrissey may have, this is definitely not what transpires.

Morrissey autobiography guardian: This book is superb: Mozzer is

Having lost the case, the due course of action was naturally to flee England. Although batting away the open hand of Bowie on many occasions, the pair would both find themselves in Los Angeles in the late 90s, meeting on one occasion in a hotel bar:. I nestle up beside him. Although, as I have previously mentioned, dividing this book into any shape or form is a difficult task, given that its only semblance to order is a rough chronology.

Instead, albums — and particularly those of the post-Smiths era — pass blithely like clouds, fabricated without too much effort or fuss as the mist of commercialism descends upon the beleaguered artist. This being said, the last hundred pages were not a kind of Pat Hackett-style meet-and-greet with Hollywood royalty. There remain huge tracts of text between page and which are all worthwhile, entertaining and easy to digest, yet the increasing whimsy of this prose is far less memorable and thus harder to segment than the rest of the autobiography.

Whilst undoubtedly a page-turner and an instant favourite of mine, even the most avid fan of Morrissey must be prepared to not have it their own way. Autobiography is the instant classic its editors envisioned: a captivating read, even if not every page is memorable. Acidic and hard-hitting where it matters, yet flowing elegantly in a way that renders it extraordinary as a piece of unstructured prose, I would commend it to any interested reader.

Share this post. The Bobby J Project. Review: Autobiography — Morrissey. In other projects. Wikidata item. Publication [ edit ]. Content [ edit ]. Reception [ edit ]. References [ edit ]. Morrissey: Scandal and Passion. London: Robson Books. Retrieved 16 September Reuters UK. Archived from the original on March 6, The Independent. The Independent Print.

Retrieved 29 December The Guardian. Archived from the original on October 17, The Guardian adds :. Morrissey never specifies whether they were lovers, but talks of sharing hotel suites, of being photographed with his head "resting on Jake's exposed belly", and of Jake bringing him tea in the bath. He also recounts an exchange at an airport. Morrissey writes intimately about Walters.

He doesn't seem to have the same interest in women:. Girls remained mysteriously attracted to me From being kidnapped in Mexico to not even being expected to survive infancy, Morrissey has nearly died many times. It is not revealed if Morrissey is actually part cat. Proving that Morrissey can achieve things he doesn't put his mind to, Morrissey explains that he was an morrissey autobiography guardian very good high school jock:.

Not long afterwards, hordes of young people throughout the world are wearing his face on their chests. He returns to the streets where he grew up, now with a police escort, to sing to 17, fans from a stage overlooking an odious Inland Revenue office where he once worked. Having failed to find love from one man or woman, he can now find it from thousands.

Morrissey autobiography guardian: Review: Morrissey is brilliant when he's

Mick Jagger and Elton John are eager to shake his hand. He enjoys his celebrity, but the sardonic self-irony of the book seeks to persuade us otherwise. There is a relish and energy about its prose that undercuts his misanthropy. Its lyrical quality suggests that beneath the hard-bitten scoffer there lurks a romantic softie, while beneath that again lies a hard-bitten scoffer.

Implausibly, he claims to be "chilled" by road signs reading "Morrissey Concert, Next Left". It's true, however, that having spent years yearning to be seen, he now spends years longing to be invisible.

Morrissey autobiography guardian: Brilliant one minute, petulant the next,

Living in Hollywood is hardly the best place for that. He deals with his own egocentricity by being wryly amusing about it: his birth almost killed his mother, he comments, because even then his head was too big. Even so, he remains for the most part icily unillusioned, like a monk passing through a whorehouse. His contempt for the music industry is visceral, and he prefers to spend his time reading Auden and James Baldwin.

Spotting Baldwin in a Barcelona hotel, he decides not to approach him, since even the mildest rejection would apparently mean he would have to go and hang himself. The solution to all problems, he tells us, "is the goodness of privacy in a warm room with books".