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.
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.
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