A few weeks ago I quoted from Ged Duffy's book "Factory Fairy Tales" on when Ged bumped into Morrissey pre Smiths.
www.morrissey-solo.com
Having finished the book, Ged also describes being at two early Smiths gigs when working as an in-house roadie and also as support band in his new band Lovolta Lakota.
Richard Hell and The Smiths at Rafters (21st February 1983, The Smiths 4th gig)
"After both bands had done their soundtrack, Alan (Wise) asked me and Slim to carry down about 30 chairs from Fagins (the club above Rafters) and set them all up in front of the stage.
When the audience came in we had to keep them away from the chairs. Just before The Smiths came on the seats were occupied by family members of the band. Parents and grandparents were all there. Once The Smiths were on, me and Slim had to stand behind the chairs to make sure no one banged into the people sitting there.
It was strange as comments were being passed from the families to the stage and back from the stage to the families.
"Oh Steven, that was wonderful" or "Oh John I never knew you could play like that", that kind of thing. It was like a private concert for the family. Very f***ing strange. I must say, despite all that The Smiths sounded very good and when they had finished we had to get the chairs back upstairs into Fagins."
The Hacienda 6th July 1983 (the 2nd of The Smiths three gigs at the Hacienda that year)
"We supported The Smiths at the Hac. We had done several gigs with Death Cult (featuring Billy Duffy, a good friend of Ged but no relation) and Play Dead in small venues. This was the first large venue we played. We had a right laugh with Mike Joyce and Johnny Marr, but Morrissey was up his own arse.
Morrissey used to wear flowers sticking out of the arse pocket of his jeans and would throw some out into the crowd. The box of flowers was sat at the side of the stage, so Glen cut all the heads off them. There were no flowers visible when they went on. During our set, Glen got some Tampax, dipped it in red wine and threw them into the crowd. I announced "we can't afford flowers like The Smiths, so please accept these gifts" The audience moved back as quickly as they could. I thought it was funny but I guess we were too rock n roll for the serious indie crowd.
Loads of our mates, including Mani (future Stone Roses) was there and we got a good reception from them. Tony France had a heated argument with Morrissey at the bar before we went on. I think a few home truths about his image and The Smiths record sleeve designs were discussed between the two."
Related item:
Ged Duffy (Stockholm Monsters) on meeting Morrissey in 1980
I've just started reading this book and came across this little snippet inside. Ged Duffy (no relation to Billy Duffy) was the bass player in the Factory Records band Stockholm Monsters and prior to that, he was working in venues around Manchester setting up / taking down gigs from the late...
www.morrissey-solo.com
Richard Hell and The Smiths at Rafters (21st February 1983, The Smiths 4th gig)
"After both bands had done their soundtrack, Alan (Wise) asked me and Slim to carry down about 30 chairs from Fagins (the club above Rafters) and set them all up in front of the stage.
When the audience came in we had to keep them away from the chairs. Just before The Smiths came on the seats were occupied by family members of the band. Parents and grandparents were all there. Once The Smiths were on, me and Slim had to stand behind the chairs to make sure no one banged into the people sitting there.
It was strange as comments were being passed from the families to the stage and back from the stage to the families.
"Oh Steven, that was wonderful" or "Oh John I never knew you could play like that", that kind of thing. It was like a private concert for the family. Very f***ing strange. I must say, despite all that The Smiths sounded very good and when they had finished we had to get the chairs back upstairs into Fagins."
The Hacienda 6th July 1983 (the 2nd of The Smiths three gigs at the Hacienda that year)
"We supported The Smiths at the Hac. We had done several gigs with Death Cult (featuring Billy Duffy, a good friend of Ged but no relation) and Play Dead in small venues. This was the first large venue we played. We had a right laugh with Mike Joyce and Johnny Marr, but Morrissey was up his own arse.
Morrissey used to wear flowers sticking out of the arse pocket of his jeans and would throw some out into the crowd. The box of flowers was sat at the side of the stage, so Glen cut all the heads off them. There were no flowers visible when they went on. During our set, Glen got some Tampax, dipped it in red wine and threw them into the crowd. I announced "we can't afford flowers like The Smiths, so please accept these gifts" The audience moved back as quickly as they could. I thought it was funny but I guess we were too rock n roll for the serious indie crowd.
Loads of our mates, including Mani (future Stone Roses) was there and we got a good reception from them. Tony France had a heated argument with Morrissey at the bar before we went on. I think a few home truths about his image and The Smiths record sleeve designs were discussed between the two."
Related item:
- Ged Duffy (Stockholm Monsters) on meeting Morrissey in 1980 - October 30, 2023
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