The Verse’s Tom Palmer tells us what he thought of Morrissey’s show at Brighton Centre on 3rd March 2018
Last Saturday I saw Morrissey return to the stage in Brighton for the first time in 14 years as he debuts songs from his latest album Low in High School.
No support acts were billed for this UK tour; however, the show began with a 30-minute video projected on stage. The short film spanned a number of decades and included a number of live performances of iconic songs. Some of them being the Sex Pistol’s God Save The Queen and Sally’s Song by Fiona Apple. They also included a live rendition of The Smith’s hit, How Soon Is Now performed by t.A.T.u on Top of the Pops in Germany.
The 2003 cover was followed by The Four Tops’ It’s the Same Old Song. After, Jet Boy by the New York Dolls closed the film.
[You can watch t.A.T.u’s cover here]
Once the video ended and the curtain lifted, the band rushed into position. Followed by Morrissey who stormed onto the stage to a mix of screams of adoration and excitement. He kicked off the set with his 1989 single, The Last of the Famous International Playboys.
The former Smiths frontman then launched into fan favourites I Wish You Lonely and Suedehead. He then followed by a new single, Jacky’s Only Happy When She’s Up on the Stage.
Morrissey’s first crowd interaction of the night came after The Bullfighter Dies. He briefly left the stage to thank audience members and to shake hands with several fans. He then also criticised the Brighton branch of HMV for not stocking many copies of his latest studio album. “Can you believe it?” he asked in dismay, “…No, me neither.”
A cover of the 1982 classic Back on The Chain Gang by The Pretenders followed his speech.
The singer then went on to address his recent snub at the Brit Awards before aptly launching into If You Don’t Like Me, Don’t Look at Me. “We don’t need academy awards, we don’t need the Brits, we don’t need acclaim…” He explains, “all we need is… you.”
The show climaxed with Every Day Is Like Sunday and his massive hit How Soon Is Now?. Surprisingly, it was the only Smiths song of the night. Morrissey then went on to close the set with a performance of his 2008 single, All You Need Is Me. That was the first time they have played the song live since 2016. No parting messages came from Morrissey, instead just an abrupt, and rather anti-climactic, “I’m done”. Before promptly rushing off stage, leaving fans to question whether the singer would return for an encore.
Sure enough, 60-seconds later the singer swaggered back onto the stage to an extended version of his 2004 comeback single, Irish Blood, English Heart. The song certainly proved to be a favourite with fans, with almost everyone singing back the lyrics word-for-word.
With the final note of the song, Morrissey thanked the fans for coming and joked “wherever you go tonight have a good time… God knows you’ve earned it.”
Whilst the singer continues to divide opinion, it is fair to say that his talent and on-stage presence does not fail to impress, making him worthy of his loyal fan base… and his show in Brighton, on Saturday, was very much testament to that.
Featured image credit of Monika Stolarska
