Miss Wilde writes:

Yet another review.

Incredible sulk

Morrissey's US exile has left him out of time and out of place, but the bequiffed Betjeman still has presence

Sean O'Hagan
Sunday September 22, 2002
The Observer

Excerpt:

Morrissey Royal Albert Hall, London SW7
Just a few days after the Last Night of the Proms, pop's favourite, and most problematic, Englishman returns from exile, bitter but unbowed, for two sold-out shows at - where else? - the Royal Albert Hall. Thankfully, though, no Union Jacks are being waved - nor, indeed, worn on stage. Just a lone banner that reads, There Is A Light That Never Goes Out. Along with the intermittent terrace chant of 'Morr-is-sey, Morr-is-sey, Morr-is-sey', this betokens an adulation undimmed by his long and latterly grudgeful absence from these shores.

From the back of the stalls it seems as if the wit of Kenneth Williams is emerging from the body of Alvin Stardust. On cue, the four-piece band tear into 'I Want The One I Can't Have', the first of three Smiths songs resurrected tonight. Pandemonium ensues. Gladioli are waved. As statements of intent go, though, it is an odd one, the ghost of Johnny Marr not so much exorcised as evoked from the off.