Yesterday's Men have enough fuel for today

I was in Dublin on Sunday night to see Madness play at The Point Depot. I've been to loads of gigs at The Point and always make it my point to check the back of the hall to see if it's as bouncing there as it is at the front. Normally it isn't, on account of the fans occupying the front rows and the back being populated with those just out for the night. This was not the case for Madness. All 8,000 people were on their feet from the very moment the band started their set with a rousing 'One Step Beyond'. All the hits were there - 'Baggy Trousers', 'Our House', 'Embarrasment', 'House of Fun', 'My Girl', 'Night Boat to Cairo' and loads more. A few dodgy covers aside, the night was stomping and Suggs has not aged a day since his '80s heyday. Unfortunately they didn't play two of my favourites - 'Michael Caine' and 'One Better Day'. So to make up for it here's the video for the latter:

It Was 20 Years Ago Today

On December 12 1986 The Smiths played their final live concert at Brixton Academy in London. Although no-one could've predicted the future, few would've believed that 9 months after this show the band would officially split up. It was the end of arguably the most influencial British band of the period. The Ins and Outs of the split have been done to death ever since. The band would eventually re-unite but only in a courtroom over a well documented financial dispute.

Books have been written, pockets lined and wicked whispers echoed down the corridors for the 20 years since it all ended. Despite this, the band's intrigue has endured and shows no sign of faltering. Morrissey and Johnny Marr have moved on. Whatever they have done or continue to do as artists, the short 5 years they spent as Smiths has followed them, setting a standard they have understandably struggled with for 20 years.

The further away December 12 1986 gets, the more The Smiths legend grows. Like all legends, there is a possibilty of over-indulging, letting the myth dominate the reality. Perhaps in reality the achievements of The Smiths are as over-observed as the achievements of post-Smiths Morrissey and Marr are under-observed.

It's easy and lazy to say they never again touched the standard they set as Smiths. It could well be the case but I think such an opinion colours how one engages with what they presently do. This is not just the case for Morrissey and Marr but for anyone who was once part of something special but who has since moved on. Regardless of where they are now, it's worth remembering The Smiths today for how they were. Here's a wicked medley from that final show 20 years ago today:

Kill 'Auntie'

The BBC are currently getting very excited about their Greatest Living British Icon poll. After a top ten that included the likes of Vivienne Westwood, David Bowie, Alan Bennett, Kate Moss and Stephen Fry, the voting public has now voted their top three. They now have to vote between David Attenborough, Paul McCartney and Morrissey as to who is number one British living icon.

Personally as a Morrissey fan since my early teens, and given the fact that I probably couldn’t put a sentence together without the influence of his music, I know where my loyalties lie. Yet therein lies the problem. Debates are now raging up and down the country as to who should get the number one spot. Ultimately what you’ll find is someone (myself included) airing opinions as to why ‘so and so’ should be number one. Yet we do this with a minimal or non-existent knowledge of the other two candidates. What’s even more absurd is that all three cannot be compared. It’s basically about comparing the impact of popular music to that of television. It cannot be that simple.

Morrissey, for instance, has never and will never compete with the broadcasting and wildlife expertise of David Attenborough, whose programming for over 40 years has been an inspiration. Yet Attenborough has never and could never write ‘The Queen Is Dead’, ‘I Know It’s Over’, ‘There Is A Light That Never Goes Out’, ‘How Soon Is Now’, ‘Everyday Is Like Sunday’ or ‘November Spawned A Monster’ or devise a lyrical style of universal impact which combines cinema, literature and wet Friday nights outside a chip shop in Stretford.

Morrissey’s early appearances on Top of The Pops in 1983/84 were a revelation for many young viewers – a life changing moment. So perhaps it can be argued that Morrissey has used the medium of television to inspire. Many of his biggest fans who are now in the public eye such as writer Mark Simpson and Noel Gallagher will cite those early TV appearances as a revelation. But only a fool would argue that Morrissey has used the medium successfully to the same degree as Attenborough. Attenborough still broadcasts stunning documentaries. Morrissey pulls out of Jonathon Ross’s show at the last minute. Attenborough gets close to the blue whale. Morrissey sinks behind the cushion during another awkward interview – hard to believe at times that this was the same young man who was so inspiringly articulate on TV in the 1980s.

But never mind the bollocks. TV is not what Morrissey is about. Yet it is what Attenborough is about. So can they be compared? No they can’t. So why does this poll even exist? I haven’t a clue. It’s like saying which is better – gum or Fridays. It makes as little sense as that. Morrissey’s impact as a lyricist and as a striking multi-faceted persona in an industry that thrives on vacuity cannot be measured against 40 years of innovative documenting of wildlife. Both deserve addressing. Both deserve celebrating. But both exist in separate columns making them impossible to compare.

Ultimately it doesn’t really matter anyway because Paul McCartney will probably win. Why does the prospect bore me?

Since it’s a stupid concept to start with I think we should have some fun with it. Vote for Morrissey. Not because I’m a fan and would like to see it. In fact I think the prospect of topping the poll would horrify Morrissey. Vote for him because it will shock the Sunday roast out of middle England. Attenborough and McCartney are establishment figures. Morrissey is still despised in establishment circles for being an anti-Thatcherite anti-Royal sexually ambiguous Northerner. He won’t whistle to the preferred tune. So the prospect of him topping this silly poll would be a nice little ‘up yours’ to the incestuous horse-faced bed wetting etonians that still block up the corridors and the phone-lines of the BBC.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/livingicons/vote/