NME: "Watch Blossoms and Rick Astley team up to cover The Smiths" (September 14, 2021)

As first spotted by @BookishBoy in the Strange... thread (who supplies the Twitter link), NME take up the footage:

BLOSSOMS_ASTLEY_NME_2000-1392x884.jpg


Watch Blossoms and Rick Astley team up to cover The Smiths

“Since it’s London, we thought why not do something special?,” said frontman Tom Ogden. “So we’re going to do some songs by one of our favourite bands with a friend of ours from the North West. Welcome our friend Rick Astley.

“Do you want to tell them what band it is, Richard?” asked Ogden, adding, “It’s The Smiths everybody,” before tearing into ‘Panic’ and ‘This Charming Man’.







Regards,
FWD.


Related item:
 
That’s all fine and dandy. Again, I’m not against anyone enjoying the music they enjoy. Lol!


The point is that you said they (Marr?) would reform The Smiths without Morrissey and that there is a demand for this supposedly.

And if those that demand this, they are saying that Morrissey has not made a contribution to that band and that he’s no longer needed for those songs to be enjoyed.


So I’m saying great! Let The Smiths reform, let the ‘demanding masses’
enjoy The Smiths as instrumental, since they seem to believe that he
plays no role in why they fell in love with those songs in the first place.
I said it’s easy to envisage. And if there is a way for it to be done (and legally there might not be) it probably will be, because the absence of Morrissey is no longer a problem. Not for the band, and certainly not for the accountants, and not for many lovers of live music.

It’s not a prediction. It’s a thought which affords some discussion about what people would expect and want from a Smiths concert now. And for many (and certainly enough to make it viable) it’s not Morrissey. Which I find quite interesting.
 
There is entertainment, money, showbiz and somewhere way down the list an altruistic idea of art. Morrissey’s magic trick, if you like, was to make the former apparently disappear. But he would now sell you the very instructions to the trick, for the right price.

None of which is unusual, but unfortunately for Morrissey unusualness was the very thing he traded on for the first 20 years of his career.

There has been a steady chip away at his own legend. Each act of self-harm considered independently might be perceived as amusing, admirable, or even an important philosophical statement of sorts—particularly as his ‘statements’ curiously erode the most enduring and seductive of Romantic/Rock Star myths.

But the cumulative effect is… well … precisely where we f***ing are. And if you think it’s something to celebrate then you’re as bonkers as he is self-defeating.

My son has (unprompted) asked to see Rick Astley (no more of his generation than Morrissey) doing The Smiths show in Manchester. I hope to oblige, and I expect to have a much more enjoyable time than I did at the Morrissey Wembley 2020 concert. No similar request has come in from my kids to see Morrissey himself. They don’t particularly dislike him, but they know they’re going to a limited number of concerts, and they are choosing wisely.

Moreover, and this is perhaps more significant for me, if I was to be given the choice on October 8th, between a Morrissey concert and The Blossoms gig, I would still choose the latter; in a flash.

I’m no Rick Astley fan, but I appreciate a good voice, a tight band and (more importantly) a palpable love of the live occasion which, in truth, I’ve not seen at Morrissey gig for fifteen years.

I only hope I can get tickets, as I suspect marketed right this Blossoms event could easily sell-out an arena sized venue.

I'm surprised at the venue choice for Manchester, they sold out 2 nights at Victoria Warehouse pre pandemic and have sold out the MEN this weekend, so I reckon they could have played one night at Victoria Warehouse with a Smiths set.
 
I said it’s easy to envisage. And if there is a way for it to be done (and legally there might not be) it probably will be, because the absence of Morrissey is no longer a problem. Not for the band, and certainly not for the accountants, and not for many lovers of live music.

It’s not a prediction. It’s a thought which affords some discussion about what people would expect and want from a Smiths concert now. And for many (and certainly enough to make it viable) it’s not Morrissey. Which I find quite interesting.

More interestingly it is Morrissey that will drive the interest.

Without that twisted hate of thinking they're hurting him - & they're tweeting stuff like this, it's not a guess - then they'd be at a Spice Girls Concert or anything else popular & naff.

It's so sadistic & sick - to go listen to songs about isolation & pain because they want to inflict isolation & pain - that it is the moment that sums up our culture.

Twitter made bastards.
 
I'm surprised at the venue choice for Manchester, they sold out 2 nights at Victoria Warehouse pre pandemic and have sold out the MEN this weekend, so I reckon they could have played one night at Victoria Warehouse with a Smiths set.
Yep. Easy, I’d say.
 
More interestingly it is Morrissey that will drive the interest.

Without that twisted hate of thinking they're hurting him - & they're tweeting stuff like this, it's not a guess - then they'd be at a Spice Girls Concert or anything else popular & naff.

It's so sadistic & sick - to go listen to songs about isolation & pain because they want to inflict isolation & pain - that it is the moment that sums up our culture.

Twitter made bastards.
I doubt they’d put their money where their mouth is.
 
No, not when they are dead. I mean tomorrow, 2 shows where a band and a singer are playing songs by the Smiths without any of the original Smiths involved.
Ah ok.
Not sure why you keep harping on about people believing Morrissey made no contribution to The Smiths as everyone knows he did.

I agree, it’s obvious he does. There’s some tweets you’ve must have seen in the other thread no? And of course the media article. (below)
I think it’s safe to assume they believe The Smiths songs would be enjoyed much more without Morrissey’s contribution, and I say, then let them have it!





 
More interestingly it is Morrissey that will drive the interest.

Without that twisted hate of thinking they're hurting him - & they're tweeting stuff like this, it's not a guess - then they'd be at a Spice Girls Concert or anything else popular & naff.

It's so sadistic & sick - to go listen to songs about isolation & pain because they want to inflict isolation & pain - that it is the moment that sums up our culture.

Twitter made bastards.

Who wants to inflict isolation and pain?
 
Ah ok.


I agree, it’s obvious he does. There’s some tweets you’ve must have seen in the other thread no? And of course the media article. (below)
I think it’s safe to assume they believe The Smiths songs would be enjoyed much more without Morrissey’s contribution, and I say, then let them have it!







Yes I’ve seen that but they are just extreme idiots. If The Smiths reformed with Morrissey, most of those clowns would attend and forget any perceived comments he’s made.
 
I said it’s easy to envisage. And if there is a way for it to be done (and legally there might not be) it probably will be, because the absence of Morrissey is no longer a problem. Not for the band, and certainly not for the accountants, and not for many lovers of live music.

It’s not a prediction. It’s a thought which affords some discussion about what people would expect and want from a Smiths concert now. And for many (and certainly enough to make it viable) it’s not Morrissey. Which I find quite interesting.

Yes, I repeat, let them have The Smiths songs without Morrissey’s
contributions to them, all instrumental. Then we’ll see how quickly they miss the man that made them fall in love with those songs in the first place.

It’s easy to envisage the remaining Smiths performing the songs instrumentally and the crowd
would just be singing back the words! their love for those songs (Morrissey) would be the very embodiment of Morrissey/his
spirit ! Even in his ‘absence’ he can not be erased.
 
Ketamine Sun, in her usual emotional hysteria, manages to completely miss the point as she rages against a notion that absolutely no one else is putting forth.
 
Verso he has actually said that the reason that he stopped working with Joyce & Rourke was it was too painful to be reminded of the Smiths, he said he didn't listen to the Smiths because it reminded him of the past, his band have mentioned that he changed arrangements of Smiths' songs because they reminded him of the past & in Vegas when someone handed him Gladiolis he said it reminded him of a terrible time in his life.

Maybe you should get over whatever hang-up you have about him, rather than continually being nasty about reasonable points?
Interesting! 😊 If you happen to have any article links handy where Moz says it's painful, I'd be excited to read them. Either here or by direct message if you prefer.
 
Interesting! 😊 If you happen to have any article links handy where Moz says it's painful, I'd be excited to read them. Either here or by direct message if you prefer.

His autobiography is a good place to start.
 
Rick Astley is lovely.

I hope he never sees this.

But having listened to it now - it's awful.

It's a well trained, well behaved voice trying to sing emotionally complex wayward songs. Moz is definitely better - even old - because he brings whatever he's feeling to it.

I'm sure everyone will have fun etc...
 
Rick Astley is lovely.

I hope he never sees this.

But having listened to it now - it's awful.

It's a well trained, well behaved voice trying to sing emotionally complex wayward songs. Moz is definitely better - even old - because he brings whatever he's feeling to it.

I'm sure everyone will have fun etc...
It will be a collision of immersive theatre, SI iconaclasm, and pitch perfect pop.

Can’t wait.
 
The sad part is Rick Astley sounded better then Morrissey himself with his current lineup playing Smith songs. If Morrissey were to do an entire Smiths set on tour he would sell out every venue, hell that would have me interested in actually going to see him concert again. Unfortunately Morrissey likes torturing his fan base with the same o’l shit every tour and cover songs no one gives 2 shits about.
 
Rick Astley and Blossoms can both sell out big venues on their own merit, so no surprise that they can sell tickets for a fun show like this. They seem to have done a good job with the songs and I'm sure it will be a good night out.

Amusing that some people might like to try to twist it into anything to do with a Morrissey-less Smiths reunion. Have people forgotten about the Classically Smiths debacle so soon? :D

Without Morrissey the name The Smiths could not be used, and there would be nothing in it for Johnny anyway. He can play solo shows at reasonable venues mixing new and old songs, and there's no reason why he would trade that in for nostalgia. There's also no reason why he should ever want to share a stage with Mike again.

If Rick Astley and Johnny Marr ever wanted to do a show, I'm sure they could sell tickets. Johnny might hypothetically invite Andy along. It wouldn't be a Smiths reunion though, and including Mike would add very little in terms of marketing.
 
Surprised this wasn't mentioned yet, but Rick described his intentions back in 2019 (for those discussing the image elsewhere, note his recollection of being asked for a photo):

2: Morrissey’s re-issue of ‘The Last Of The Famous International Playboys’ features an image of Mozza and you backstage at Top Of The Pops.But which artist were you a replacement for?

“David Bowie”

CORRECT.

“I was a big Smiths fan through one of my older brothers. ‘Cos they were from Manchester, down the road from us, they made you think ‘It can happen on your own terms, taking no prisoners.’ So that was pretty crazy. But I remember the photograph. Somebody came into my dressing room and said: ‘Morrissey wants to have his photograph with you’. I’m like (Disbelieving ) ‘f*** off!’. Sure enough, he came to my room and we had a photograph and boom, that was it. I have an ambition which people would probably want to smash something or even throw-up upon hearing. I want to play a gig – probably in Manchester – where we only play Smiths songs. That would be a special evening. But then I’d also like to own a bar in Italy on the beach and just sing Sinatra songs when I’m old and grey, so I do have these flights of fancy.”

Morrissey’s cancelled his umpteenth recent UK tour, so now’s the time….

“I’m in! I’ll do it!”

From:
&



Regards,
FWD.
 

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