Morrissey on Top of the Pops

butley

Well-Known Member
Just watched a great compilation of all his TOTP appearances. Some truly wonderful, and strange, moments. "Pregnant For The Last Time" is bizarre in a good way. I had forgotten how a lot of the band performances were him singing live over the rest of the band miming to a backing track. Irish Blood English Heart is particularly good. "Yowser" indeed. His confidence increased a lot from then on clearly.
 
Just watched a great compilation of all his TOTP appearances. Some truly wonderful, and strange, moments. "Pregnant For The Last Time" is bizarre in a good way. I had forgotten how a lot of the band performances were him singing live over the rest of the band miming to a backing track. Irish Blood English Heart is particularly good. "Yowser" indeed. His confidence increased a lot from then on clearly.

yeah it used to just be miming but then they compromised and let people actually sing. check out the nirvana performance where he openly mocks this process by slowly evenly strumming his guitar through the whole song with a flat open palm and singing in a voice he said was an attempt to sound like morrissey. funny as anything. i miss him. at one point while music is playing he just stands stock still waiting for his vocal cue. i think he hated phony pretending in any context

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1khy9_E4h44
 
Straneg set-up in the "More you ignore me" performance. No Boz, Gary on bass despite the fact Jinny played on the record and on tours in subsequent years.
 
Straneg set-up in the "More you ignore me" performance. No Boz, Gary on bass despite the fact Jinny played on the record and on tours in subsequent years.

Spencer was on the drums for that appearance, too. I believe this was in the short interregnum in early 1994 when they were back onboard, recorded "Moonriver" and "A Swallow On My Neck" and then were dismissed again. If memory serves, THIS dismissal was the one that prompted Gary to carve a "friendly" message in Morrissey's front door.

While not TOTP-related, another strange one is "The Boy Racer"video: Alain on guitar, Boz half-heartedly pretending to play bass, no Bridgwood to be found.
 
If memory serves, this was not broadcast at the time, because the single didn't hit the charts. I think.

 
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If memory serves, this was not broadcast at the time, because the single didn't hit the charts. I think.



Never understood the disdain for Roy's keen. Not sillier than Fatty....
 
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Never understood the disdain for Roy's keen. Not sillier than Fatty....

Me either, but Moz left it off the Maladjusted reissue, and Papa Jack!
 
On another note, what was the criteria on appearing on TOTP? I thought a top20 single. However, Morrissey didn't perform songs as "Piccadilly Palare", for example. Wasn't invited? Turned it down?
 
On another note, what was the criteria on appearing on TOTP? I thought a top20 single. However, Morrissey didn't perform songs as "Piccadilly Palare", for example. Wasn't invited? Turned it down?
I believe there was a BBC rule stating that only singles with videos could be eligible for TOTP, which would explain why "Palare" was never performed.
 
I believe there was a BBC rule stating that only singles with videos could be eligible for TOTP, which would explain why "Palare" was never performed.

Hm, but that doesn't really apply for "Roy's keen", does it?
 
Originally songs from the Top 40 were eligible to be on Top of the Pops. The highest new entry was always played. The criteria changed over the years when new releases before they had charted were sometimes played. Priority was always given to performers who could appear in the studio but videos would be played for the aforementioned highest new entry if that wasn't possible. Sometimes artists who were out of the country would record a performance for transmission as The Smiths did with "Panic".
 
He was scheduled to appear on TOTP with Piccadilly Palare, in with a slightly soggy bullet at number 18. I was sat, video poised on pause and record the whole programme. It was one of his no-shows, a less frequent occurrence back then. Grrr. Next week it was 38 if I recall.
 
I seem to recall appearances on Top of the Pops never resulted in either Morrissey or The Smiths singles ever going up. They always went down the charts the following week. Am sure the appearances helped the songs not drop places so quickly. I think because of the strong fan devotion the first week of sales were usually always highest. I think Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now is the one exception.
 
He was scheduled to appear on TOTP with Piccadilly Palare, in with a slightly soggy bullet at number 18. I was sat, video poised on pause and record the whole programme. It was one of his no-shows, a less frequent occurrence back then. Grrr. Next week it was 38 if I recall.

No other top20 Morrissey-solo single that should have been on? I am on a phone, can't dig out his discography...
 
Top 20 wise He didn't appear with

Ouija
Fatty
LMKY
Jesus

Or anything post-Quarry. Can't remember when TOTP died.

Suedehead and I Drug were promo clip form.

Vaguely interesting adjunct, Mozzer makes a mistake in Autobiography. He claims that He performed EILS on TOTP when it entered at number 9. He appeared when it entered at number 12. It rose to 9 the week after.

I was such an obsessive back then.
 
Top 20 wise He didn't appear with

Ouija
Fatty
LMKY
Jesus

Or anything post-Quarry. Can't remember when TOTP died.

Suedehead and I Drug were promo clip form.

Vaguely interesting adjunct, Mozzer makes a mistake in Autobiography. He claims that He performed EILS on TOTP when it entered at number 9. He appeared when it entered at number 12. It rose to 9 the week after.

I was such an obsessive back then.

sweet
 
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