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15 October 1986 Civic Hall, Wolverhampton The Queen Is DeadThis concert is remembered as a great one, which might have motivated Morrissey to hold his first solo concert there. Morrissey and especially Johnny were in great spirits. The crowd sang along to many of their favourite songs, such as "Panic", "There Is A Light That Never Goes Out" or "How Soon Is Now?". There was a good number of stage crashers during the encores. The setlist was the same as on the previous date. As the band entered stage, Morrissey took the microphone and shouted a loud "Hello!". As he sang the title line in "The Queen Is Dead", he pulled out a board saying THE QUEEN IS DEAD which he waved about for the rest of the song. For the following number, "Panic", he used another prop, this time a noose which he swung around to highlight the "Hang the DJ!" lyric. The newest single "Ask" was to be released the following week so Morrissey introduced for the benefit of the fans: "Thank you, we're enjoying you immensely... this is our new single, 'Ask'!". A few titles further down the setlist, another song needed an introduction: "This is a new song, which you don't know... 'Is It Really So Strange?'." That number was at the time considered as a potential single, but it would only be released the following spring as a b-side. The version done on this night still had minor lyrical differences with the one that would be recorded for release. The "...kick me ...punch me" lines were then reversed with the "...punch me ...butt me" ones. For the drama-heavy "Meat Is Murder" the stage was bathed in red light. During the final number of the main set, "I Know It's Over", Morrissey gradually pulled his shirt over his head. As he reached the song's final lines, he had his head completely hidden inside his shirt. At the very end he threw the shirt into the audience and left the stage, followed by his band mates. The latter number saw the first real attempts from fans at making it on stage. Then from "How Soon Is Now?" to the end, 10 to 20 of them would successfully make it up there during each song. If they were lucky, they would even get to hug their idol before they were taken offstage by security. At one point into "Still Ill", as Morrissey had collapsed onto the floor as he often did during that number, he was almost crushed under a few fans who rushed to him at the same time. Fortunately they were removed by security before any harm was done.
Were you there? Do you have a recording of this concert? If yes please information and be credited. |