Geeks Who Morrissey
In honor of Morrissey’s birthday on May 22, here are ten Morrissey / Smiths trivia questions, starting with the easy ones and slowly progressing into the patently absurd. Please feel free to leave your answers in the comments…Winner gets…uh…high praise and the deep respect of everyone here at Big Takeover.
Don’t Plagiarize or Take on Loan
Which Smiths song is covered on the soundtrack to “Pretty In Pink” and “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”?
Where Do His Intensions Lay?
In May 1987, Moz and Johnny Marr wrapped up their final session at Firehouse Studios in London, squeezing out one final song. Producer Grant Showbiz called their last collaborative effort “a very direct song from Morrissey to Johnny.” Moz called it “The Smiths song that made him the happiest”, but Johnny said he…“hated it, absolutely loathed it”. What song is it?
Look into Those Motherly Eyes
Morrissey’s acting debut was in 1988, on a British TV show that was a spin-off of “Brookside”. What was the name of the show?
And You Must be Looking Very Old Tonight
Up until 1985, every Smiths song was written and arranged on guitar. That all changed when Johnny Marr bought a house in Bowdon UK which came with an upright piano. What were the first two songs Morrissey & Johnny wrote using the piano as the lead instrument?
Ice Water for Blood
In the summer of 1983 after getting signed to Rough Trade, The Smiths spent two months working on their debut LP with Troy Tate. Although the album was later scrapped, it was titled (as confirmed in “Mozipedia”). What was it going to be called?
I’d Like to Drop My Trousers to The Queen
There are two studio versions of “Stretch Out and Wait”, both have the same backing track but use different vocal takes. The standard version on “Louder Than Bombs” (and the Barbarism Begins at Home 12”) is the one they faithfully played live, but the original B-side version has different lyrics for the first two lines of the verse. What are the alternate opening lyrics?
Back to the Old House
Morrissey lived in three different places in Manchester during his childhood. The houses on Harper Street and Queens’ Square were demolished, but the house in Stretford where he lived from 1964 until 1982 is still standing. What is the address?
Sister, I’m a Poet
Morrissey’s sister Jaqueline claims that when she was a teenager, a sleepwalking Morrissey came into her bedroom armed with scissors and proceeded to cut and dice up a poster of a famous football player from Northern Ireland. Who was it?
Money Changes Everything
The Smiths final recording session at Firehouse Studios produced a slew of unreleased and unheard material, including an Elvis Presley cover, (“A Fool Such As I”) and several instrumental tracks that weren’t given names or assigned lyrics. Engineer and producer Grant Showbiz told Simon Goddard (in his book “Songs That Saved Your Life”) that one of the songs did have a name and was fully recorded before a studio engineer accidentally erased part of it, rendering it useless. What was the song called?
America is Not the World
Morrissey’s first visit to America is somewhat documented, he stayed with his aunt in New Jersey and visited New York City. But his second visit happened in 1978, one week after his disastrous record label audition with The Nosebleeds. This second trip was drastically different than the first, mainly because Moz spent two weeks in Colorado during November, which he later called “Aesthetes Hell”. What town did he stay in?
