Morrissey (Photo by Jake Walters)
Editor’s note: This show was canceled due to illness in the band.
Trailblazing English singer-songwriter Morrissey is on tour once again, and he sings songs new and old at The Anthem on Monday, Nov. 28.
On his most recent tour, Morrissey has been performing a fair selection of songs from early in his career when he was frontman of The Smiths. And so, the audience may hear well-regarded Smiths favorites such as “Girlfriend in a Coma,” “Stop Me If You Think You’ve Heard This One Before,” and “Sweet and Tender Hooligan.” The iconic frontman of The Smiths, Morrissey is widely credited as a seminal figure in British music, leading his former band to 15 studio, live, and compilation albums in their short five years together, with Louder Than Bombs (1987), Meat Is Murder (1985), The Queen Is Dead (1986), and five other releases certified gold in the UK.
Since disbanding The Smiths, Morrissey has achieved even greater success as a solo artist launching a prolific career that has seen all 13 of his records enter the UK charts in the Top 10, including three landing at No. 1. Morrissey has recorded an album of new material, titled Bonfire of Teenagers, which is tentatively to be released by Capitol Records. On tour, Morrissey has been performing songs from the upcoming albums including “Rebel Without Applause” and “Sure Enough The Telephone Rings,” according to recent setlists.
Watch the official music video for “Stop Me If You Think You’ve Heard This One Before” by The Smiths on YouTube:
Morrissey is one of few artists routinely recognized and referred to by critics and fans alike as a true “enigma.” The BBC has cited him as “one of the most influential figures in the history of British pop,” NME declared The Smiths the “most influential act ever” in a 2002 poll, even topping the Beatles. Rolling Stone named him one of the greatest singers of all time in a recent poll and noted that his “rejection of convention” in his vocal style and lyrics is the reason “why he redefined the sound of British rock for the past quarter-century.”
In 1998, Morrissey was presented with the Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Music.
He has courted controversy with his forthright opinions — endorsing vegetarianism and animal rights, condemning royalty and prominent politicians and questioning issues of British cultural and national identity. In a 2006 poll held by the BBC’s Culture Show, Morrissey was voted the second greatest living British cultural icon behind David Attenborough.
Morrissey
The Anthem
Monday, Nov. 28
Doors @ 7pm
$55
All ages