At 58, Morrissey could be forgiven for just going through the motions on the live circuit. With nothing left to prove, why should the fire still burn? As he eloquently puts, “because of you”.
There is something however, clearly more to Morrissey's colossus stage presence than the adoration of fans. None more prevalent than on 'The Bullfighter Dies'. Backed with extreme images of animal cruelty, the Manchester icon lays bare his anguish and hopes for change.
So often now, the press hones in Mozza's political views. Friday night at Brixton he professed a longing for 'free speech', and the worse was presumed. For the Brighton crowd, the lovable roguish Morrissey was the only thing on show.
'When You Open Your Legs', so embroiled in humor and melody, the crowd is either singing or laughing. After The Pretenders cover 'Back in the Chain Gang', he quips “the easiest song I ever wrote' and, when a rose is tossed at him, a one handed catch stuffs it in his pants. This is not the work of a man who has lost all sense of humour or hope, as discussed in the Guardian or the Telegraph.
Frankly, this charming man's light has not and will not go out!
Image courtesy of Jamie Macmillan & https://brightonsfinest.com/html/index.php/component/eventgallery/event/Morrissey