Rick Astley & Blossoms - O2 Forum, Kentish Town post gig thread (October 9, 2021)






Setlist was the same as previous night:

What Difference Does It Make? / Bigmouth Strikes Again / Still I'll / Reel Around The Fountain / Cemetry Gates / Ask / Hand In Glove / Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others / The Boy With The Thorn In His Side / Girlfriend In A Coma / Well I Wonder / Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now / Panic / William, It Was Really Nothing / Barbarism Begins at Home / Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want // How Soon Is Now? / This Charming Man / There Is A Light That Never Goes Out

Regards,
FWD.
 
NME review of the London gig

There are only two people on the planet that could do this better, but until they patch things up, Blossoms, Rick Astley, and a couple of thousand loving fans, all singing in unison, is today the most perfect version of The Smiths you could possibly ask for.

I could almost see this being the impetus that causes Morrissey & Marr to reconcile and do some live dates together... but probably not.
 
The Times (Times 2 / Digital Ed. ), Monday 11, October, 2021:
4/5*s.

Screenshot_20211013-102438~2.png


"... those of us who grew up in the Eighties loving both artists... " - seriously?
Regards,
FWD.
 
It genuinely blows my mind that so many people these days seem unable to understand that if Morrissey had ever been "normal" or "just like us" or "not problematic" then we'd never have had any of these f***ing magnificent lyrics in the first place. He's a glorious mess, and that's where his genius stems from.
 
Most would agree that commercial pop in the 80s was of a higher caliber than pop music from any subsequent decade, and Rick’s two biggest hits (NGGYU and TF) are among the very best. I can see how you can enjoy both Morrissey’s music and Rick’s, at least from a mere musical standpoint.
 
It genuinely blows my mind that so many people these days seem unable to understand that if Morrissey had ever been "normal" or "just like us" or "not problematic" then we'd never have had any of these f***ing magnificent lyrics in the first place. He's a glorious mess, and that's where his genius stems from.

Yes, exactly! A normal, likeable person would not have been able to write something like "Unloveable". He's twisted and he knows it.
 
I watched only one video, "There is a light that never goes out." He lacks the subtlety and stage presence of Morrissey. Maybe he was trying too hard. This is not a criticism just an observation.
I agree. I watched a couple of the Rick Astley videos and I can fully understand that people had fun and I would probably have had fun too, but, unlike some other singers who have sung Morrissey's lyrics (including amateurs), it seemed like Rick never really connected to the lyrics on a deeper level.

For instance, I chuckled several times watching Rick and the Blossoms perform "The boy with the thorn in its side", because his voice is SO LOUD and his movements are so cheesy. However, when I hear or watch Morrissey sing this song, it often moves me to tears.
 
I agree. I watched a couple of the Rick Astley videos and I can fully understand that people had fun and I would probably have had fun too, but, unlike some other singers who have sung Morrissey's lyrics (including amateurs), it seemed like Rick never really connected to the lyrics on a deeper level.

For instance, I chuckled several times watching Rick and the Blossoms perform "The boy with the thorn in its side", because his voice is SO LOUD and his movements are so cheesy. However, when I hear or watch Morrissey sing this song, it often moves me to tears.
I think The Times article summed it up accurately with 'deluxe karaoke'...
 
It genuinely blows my mind that so many people these days seem unable to understand that if Morrissey had ever been "normal" or "just like us" or "not problematic" then we'd never have had any of these f***ing magnificent lyrics in the first place. He's a glorious mess, and that's where his genius stems from.
When problematic means anti-royalty, anti-meat industry, anti-militarism, anti Thatcher etc, it's clearly part of his appeal. When problematic means urging millions of people via his website, his concerts and his live TV appearances to support an ugly, protect-the-rich, far right political party, and declare that he prefers his own race (whilst wrongly assuming everyone else does too), he's obviously past the point where decent people can continue to support and make excuses for him. I don't and you shouldn't either.
 
I think The Times article summed it up accurately with 'deluxe karaoke'...
Yes, I suppose that they hit the nail on the head with that one and it would have been fine if they had left it at that, but I find the sentence "to reclaim these magnificent lyrics from their increasingly problematic author" deeply disturbing.

Of course, anybody has the right to sing these songs and some do it very well, but the British press has some nerve to on the one hand constantly paint Morrissey as a problematic figure, sometimes using quotes dating back to the eighties, and on the other hand try to deny him ownership of the lyrics of the songs of The Smiths - his own words. I even saw some boring middle-aged Twitter dads claim that Rick Astley is more suitable to sing The Smiths than Morrissey as Rick's values are more in line with the lyrics!?

I agree with BookishBoy and Dingoatemybaby that an unproblematic, easygoing, uncomplicated person could never have written those lyrics. It's ridiculous to demand that the person who wrote those lyrics should talk and behave like a bland diplomat or a "good guy" like Rick Astley.

P.S. I apologize for the spelling mistake in the song title in my previous post.
 
When problematic means anti-royalty, anti-meat industry, anti-militarism, anti Thatcher etc, it's clearly part of his appeal. When problematic means urging millions of people via his website, his concerts and his live TV appearances to support an ugly, protect-the-rich, far right political party, and declare that he prefers his own race (whilst wrongly assuming everyone else does too), he's obviously past the point where decent people can continue to support and make excuses for him. I don't and you shouldn't either.
Well, I'm happy for you - and slightly envious - that you can live your life with such a profound sense of right and wrong ("I don't and you shouldn't either"). My own mind is much messier than that. I never, ever gave a crap about half of Morrissey's views back in the 80s and I don't give a crap about many of his views now, either. It's the side of him that writes and sings so astonishingly about loneliness, love, loss, lust and self-loathing that I've always adored.
 





Setlist was the same as previous night:

What Difference Does It Make? / Bigmouth Strikes Again / Still I'll / Reel Around The Fountain / Cemetry Gates / Ask / Hand In Glove / Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others / The Boy With The Thorn In His Side / Girlfriend In A Coma / Well I Wonder / Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now / Panic / William, It Was Really Nothing / Barbarism Begins at Home / Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want // How Soon Is Now? / This Charming Man / There Is A Light That Never Goes Out

Regards,
FWD.

If only he would play half this setlist I would die happy. But keep the constant covers, and boring performance jammed down our thoughts!
 
When problematic means anti-royalty, anti-meat industry, anti-militarism, anti Thatcher etc, it's clearly part of his appeal. When problematic means urging millions of people via his website, his concerts and his live TV appearances to support an ugly, protect-the-rich, far right political party, and declare that he prefers his own race (whilst wrongly assuming everyone else does too), he's obviously past the point where decent people can continue to support and make excuses for him. I don't and you shouldn't either.

If you were a decent person you wouldn't be distorting what he said.

He liked a daft feminist, mainly because of animal rights.

And he did not say he preferred his own race - he was saying we all have group biases but we should work it out instead of just calling each other racist. A diversity course would teach you that you have an in-group preference or a preference for the in-group.

 
If you were a decent person you wouldn't be distorting what he said.

He liked a daft feminist, mainly because of animal rights.

And he did not say he preferred his own race - he was saying we all have group biases but we should work it out instead of just calling each other racist. A diversity course would teach you that you have an in-group preference or a preference for the in-group.

He did say that everyone ultimately prefers their own race. That shouldn’t really be that controversial. It doesn’t (I hope) mean that you think the white race (in this instance) is superior to any other. And by the way, ‘race’ is a disgusting word. It reeks of the 1930’s. It just means that when push comes to shove, you’d rather be stuck with the ones you can culturally relate to the most. Generally speaking. And if you deep down inside feel that you “belong” to a race other than the one that is represented in your skin tone, then that’s the ‘race’ you “belong to”. Again, generally speaking.
My two cents.
 
Last edited:
If you were a decent person you wouldn't be distorting what he said.

He liked a daft feminist, mainly because of animal rights.

And he did not say he preferred his own race - he was saying we all have group biases but we should work it out instead of just calling each other racist. A diversity course would teach you that you have an in-group preference or a preference for the in-group.

For f***’s sake, log off.
 
He did say that everyone ultimately prefers their own race. That shouldn’t really be that controversial. It doesn’t (I hope) mean that you think the white race (in this instance) is superior to any other. And by the way, ‘race’ is a disgusting word. It reeks of the 1930’s. It just means that when push comes to shove, you’d rather be stuck with the ones you can culturally relate to the most. Generally speaking. And if you deep down inside feel that you “belong” to a race other than the one that is represented in your skin tone, then that’s the ‘race’ you “belong to”. Again, generally speaking.
My two cents.

No - he was just making a point about identity. Race has a broader meaning & he was addressing being accused of racism, which he thought was unproductive, since it dodged debates about how we were going to accommodate each other's wants.
 
No - he was just making a point about identity. Race has a broader meaning & he was addressing being accused of racism, which he thought was unproductive, since it dodged debates about how we were going to accommodate each other's wants.
Are you now claiming he didn’t say that everyone prefer their own race?
 
You can put me on ignore.

You were itching for a fight for weeks, got one & then got huffy.
Wrong. You simply have a tremendously arrogant and delusional habit of constantly speaking for Morrissey. You assure the other people here of things you couldn't possibly know and contextualize statements of his with information that you most certainly don't have. It's ludicrous and everyone notices this.
 

Trending Threads

Back
Top Bottom