MORRISSEY assures fans that second dates can be as good as first ones, on night two of his sell out shows at Glasgow’s O2 Academy.
Of course, this is old news to his faithful following, who hopefully reach out from the front row for a quick feel of the former Smiths frontman as he manically cries “yes, yes, yes”. Brandishing a bunch of crane flowers, he launches into the swagger of All You Need Is Me, crooning his wee heart out while comically contorting those eyebrows, and it’s clear from the start that there’s still plenty life in the old Moz, as suave as ever and definitely more dead pan than deadbeat. Next up he shows just how much of a romantic old fool he can be on You’re The One For Me, Fatty before cutting deep with the confessional Speedway, sending joy and pain around the room.
It’s fair to say that everyone is hoping for a Smiths track sooner rather than later, the wait over as the hypnotic quivers of How Soon Is Now send goosebumps skywards, dredging up memories of the criminally vulgar shyness which stalked so many of us during our teenage years. Sublime! Tonight we get three more Smiths numbers, Shoplifters Of The Word Unite, sung back to Moz in a wave of unity as I realise I really am part of this gang, recalling how I accidentally scanned two packets of a Parma ham as one in Aldi recently, the guilt increasing when a chap hands me a PETA flyer on the way out. Point taken… The beautiful ache of I Know It’s Over stirs up emotions later in the set and encore track Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loves Me keeps up momentum.
Of course, this is no Rick Astley gig, Moz preferring to show off his own back catalogue, fans delighted as he dusts down gems like 2014’s Scandanavia and old favourite Everyday is Sunday, from his 1988 debut Viva Hate. With no new music to promote, more recent tracks from the still unreleased Bonfire of Teenagers get an airing, including Rebels Without Applause, which buzzes with echoes of The Smiths’ Cemetry Gates, the propulsive albeit despondent Sure Enough, The Telephone Rings and I Ex Love you, which prompts him ask the crowd if we believe in love at first sight. Well, I’ll take a bet that quite a number of folk here tonight fell head over heels at the sight of Moz swinging his shirt about on Top of the Pops back in the day, so that’ll be a yes…
Before heading off stage to swap his black t-shirt for encore-ready formal shirt, Moz and his band step up to the mic one by one to deliver messages of thanks and hope…jeez, any more and we’ll be needing to dab our eyes with that fancy schmancy hanky he keeps wiping his face with. But nevermind, he seethes through classic closer Irish Blood, English Heart, followed by the much-anticipated shedding of his shirt, flung into the audience as the scavengers descend like seagulls to an abandoned Gregg’s sausage roll. And that’s it. Moz swiftly ushered off stage before anyone attempts to make claim to a piece of his bare-chested cheek.
Words: Shirley Mack @shirleymack.bsky.social
Pictures: Calum Mackintosh @ayecandyphotography